Disclaimer: I own no CCS. Happy?
Dedication: To the sweet Bloody-Stiletto-chan! Thank you so much. This fic is for you!
Also to imoutou-chan for letting me use the computer.
AGAIN
An ExT One Shot by Sai-chan
Six o'clock sharp, purple eyes sprang open and got ready for school. Running a brush on her shoulder length stresses she quietly tiptoed to the door so as not to awaken a sleeping Spinel but failed when she slipped halfway through the door with a WHAM.
"The klutz is awake already," a blue eyed lad dressed in a Seijuu High School uniform said taking a sip of his hot chocolate. On cue a ten year old lass came running down the stairs stumbling on her steps and landing with a thud.
"Are you alright, Hatoko-chan?" a middle aged man with the same blue eyes as the high school lad and wire frame glasses asked running from the kitchen to check on his daughter.
"Ohayou, Otousan," Hatoko laughed nervously as she stood up.
Her father smiled.
"Ohayou, Ha-chan. Breakfast is ready," he said ruffling her hair like he always does since she was little.
"This is the fourth time in a row you slipped, klutz-chan," the high school lad teased.
"Mou, oniichan" Hatoko whined walking towards the breakfast table. It was a Friday and they all still have school and work.
"Ohayou, okaasan," she greeted to a framed photo of a beautiful purple eyed woman with wavy ebony hair.
"Eriol-sama! Suppi-chan! Eli-chan! Ha-chan! Ohayou!" a superhyper Nakuru greeted storming the room.
"Tomoyo-sama, ohayou!" she greeted to the framed photo as well as she took a seat.
"For the nine hundredth and seventy-fifth time Nakuru- it's SPINEL!" the sun guardian said through gritted teeth.
"That's Eli-kun, Nakuru-chan!" Eli reminded holding out his fork like a trident in annoyance to his father's moon guardian.
"But Eli-chan is so KAWAII!" Nakuru complained.
"Ohayou, Nakuru-chan," Hatoko greeted before turning to the breakfast prepared by her father.
"You have part-time today, right Eli?" Eriol asked preparing lunchboxes.
"Hai, I'll be home just in time for dinner. It's Nakuru-chan's turn today," Eli said finishing his breakfast.
"Pray she won't put sugar instead of salt again," Spinel muttered under his breath.
"I heard that Suppi!" Nakuru said forking her sausage and stuffing her mouth with it. The two had a glaring competition electricity sparking from their eyes.
"I'll… I'll be home early today, I'll help Nakuru-chan," Hatoko said trying to ease the tension.
"I'll try to get home from work early as well," Eriol said placing the lunchboxes by the kitchen counter.
"I'll go now, thanks for the meal," Eli said standing up.
"You're going already?" Hatoko asked surprised.
"Soccer practice," Eli said grabbing his satchel.
"Have a good time at school," Eriol said handing Eli's lunchbox.
"BYE!!!" Nakuru waved over cheerfully whacking poor Spinel's face to his plate.
"I'll be going as well, otousan, Nakuru-chan, Spinel-chan," Hatoko mumbled finishing her plate in two seconds flat and rollerblading after her brother.
"Be careful," Eriol called out from the door as Hatoko rollerblade to the gate and yet again lose balance and landed on her butt.
Eriol sweat dropped then smiled.
"They're growing well, don't you think Tomoyo-chan?" he said to a transparent figure hovering beside him.
They both smiled.
---
"I'm home," Hatoko said upon entering the foyer, changing her shoes to her slippers.
"Nakuru-chan is not yet around from work," she noted upon sight of the empty house. Setting her satchel by the staircase she searched for her father's sun guardian and found him fast asleep on top of a thick book in her father's library.
"Tadaima, okaasan," she greeted softly to another framed photo of her mother by her father's desk.
She then successfully left the library in silence and went to her room to change. Just as she got out of her room, the door bell rang.
"Nakuru-chan must have forgotten her keys again," she said stumbling down the stairs.
"Mou, Nakuru-chan," she started upon opening the door only to be surprised to see a beautiful woman with shoulder length auburn hair and bright emerald eyes looking at her confused,
"A…a….gomen… I…" she stuttered her face turning a shade of pink.
The woman's face lit up and she smiled.
"You must be Hatoko-chan! The last time I saw you, you were just a baby." the woman said bending down a bit so they can see each other eye to eye.
"I…" Hatoko stuttered yet again.
"I'm Li Sakura, Is your daddy home?" Sakura asked.
"He's… he's not yet home, but he'll be here pretty soon… you're… you're the girl in okaasan's videos" Hatoko managed to say awe struck.
"Hai, would you mind if I come in?" Sakura asked.
"H-hai, please do so," Hatoko said opening the door wider for Sakura to enter.
"This place surely hasn't changed," Sakura noted looking around the interiors of the living room as she entered.
"Please have a seat. I'll get us some tea," Hatoko said as she rushed to the kitchen to which Sakura gave a small thank you.
Plopping down the soda she then saw a framed picture by the end table and her eyes softened.
"Hisashiburi, Tomoyo-chan," she said her fingers running on the photo's surface with such gentleness.
"You know my okaasan, right?" Hatoko asked walking towards her with a tray in hand.
"A… yes… she's my best friend back in elementary," Sakura said assisting Hatoko.
"You know both my otousan and okaasan?" Hatoko asked pouring tea for Sakura.
"Tomoyo's my best friend since I was little and Eriol's an exchange student from England in our class back in fifth grade," Sakura replied a certain air of nostalgia taking over her senses.
"You look so much like your mother… it was just like yesterday when she would fuss around the house with her camera…" she said reminiscent.
"Li-san…" Hatoko started.
"Sakura's fine, Li-san makes me feel way too old…" Sakura said with a smile.
"Hai… Sakura-san… would… would you mind telling me stories about my… my mom and dad…" Hatoko said fumbling with her words, her hands clasping and unclasping from time to time and her eyes glued to the carpeted floor.
"I bet your dad doesn't tell stories that much, ne?" Sakura said.
"Yes… he always talks about stories when he and mom got married and when we were little…" Hatoko said shyly.
"It's like Eriol-kun to be like that… he used to sit at the back of your mother's chair… come to think of it, he always seats behind her or beside her…" Sakura started.
Hatoko was all eyes and ears.
"No one expected them being a couple though, when Eriol first came to Tomoeda they weren't even close to each other"
"Then how did they get together?" Hatoko asked.
"We were in high school then, about the same age as your brother…. It was lunch time and Tomoyo insisted in climbing a tree to return a young bird to its nest… I told her I can do it but she insisted on doing this one…" Sakura said the memory fresh in her mind.
"She wasn't the athletic type though," she chuckled in reminiscence.
"She fell?' Hatoko asked eyes big as saucers.
"She fell… your father caught her just in time though… she landed on top of him." Sakura continued smiling as she remembered how Tomoyo screamed from her fall and how red she was afterwards.
"Do you know what he said?"
Hatoko shook her head no.
"He said he thought an angel fell…" Sakura said in glee.
"We were surprised later to find out he's our new homeroom teacher," Sakura chuckled her face full of expression.
"But I thought you were the same grade as otousan," Hatoko said.
"We were… he got accelerated a number of times though when he returned to England..." Sakura explained.
"Did my parents fell in love afterwards?"
Sakura nodded.
"But they were so young then… and your okaasan is an only daughter and heiress of the Daidouji family. Sonomi-san thinks that she's losing Tomoyo-chan the same way she lose my Mom, Nadeshiko…she was not in favor of their relationship…"
Hatoko looked at her intently. She understands that part very well. Every time her grandmother visits she always argues with her dad who but smiles.
"But Tomoyo-chan has never been so happy. She was all smiles when with your father, especially when they got married…in many ways her life was like Mom's… she even died the same death…" Sakura continued her eyes starting to water.
"She was so happy… I still don't understand how she could die when she was so happy..." Sakura sobbed tears falling carelessly falling from her eyes.
"Okaasan is still happy," Hatoko said smiling.
"I know…" Sakura said drying her eyes and smiling at Hatoko.
And to their surprise a magnolia landed on their laps.
"Tomoyo's favorite flower…"
Sai-chan: That's it. It's based on Nadeshiko and Fujitaka actually, something like history repeating itself and parallelism between the couples. Please do drop me a review, ne?