Snow.
Chapter 4: Eriol's gift.
T: As a pre-warning this is another explanation chapter and may yet again lag. Yaoishoujo hopefully this chapter will clear up the questions you posed in your last review and Noonespecial no they do not use such language in anime, it's simply my writing style. Despite what I said last chapter this is not the last, but the story is wrapping itself up now so the confession won't be much longer coming! Warnings remain the same.
An additional note because Yaoishoujo got confused about timeline, this is the day after the elevator incident and also no matter how confusing the hospital bit is later Touya is not the other half of Clow, I apologise if it seems that way.
Anyway clamp own ccs and almost all the money I've earned since I discovered them!
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He could not believe it.
Finally things with Yuki seemed to have been taking a positive turn, finally a perfect moment had appeared where he could let loose his inhibitions and finally tell the truth.
And she had appeared.
"Typical."
So wrapped up in his own personal misery had he been that Touya had managed to forget that the brat was visiting this morning.
Odd that the other individual he hated with ferocity was able to voice so well Touya's feelings.
"What has got you so down?" He enquired despite himself.
"Hiiragizawa is back and already he is all that Sakura can talk of, already she's invited him to spend time with us…time that we should be having alone."
"I know how you feel. Akizuki always pops up at the most inappropriate moments as well."
The pair exchanged a glance across the table and an instantaneous fellowship was formed.
When Sakura and Yukito emerged from the kitchen a moment later they came upon, what to them, seemed to be a miniature miracle.
Touya and Syaoran were talking together, indeed as the onlookers watched in stunned awe; first one and then the other man began to laugh about a remark Syaoran had passed.
Though all Sakura had wanted was for her beloved brother to like her boyfriend, she was a sensible girl and knew well that it would take a great while for Touya to let her go. Thus for the pair to be as they were after the passing of merely three months was unthinkable…
Unless…
"What are you two talking about?"
The smug look on her brother's face and the way that her boyfriend avoided her eyes told her everything she needed to know.
It was nice that they could get along at last, even if it was through very immature reasons.
Yet this male bonding was mistimed and needed to be stopped, after all there was nothing like striking the iron while it was hot.
"Syaoran, would you like to help me bring breakfast in?" Her boyfriend hesitated for the briefest of moments and then catching her intention followed her into the next room.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, Touya needs no encouragement as far as hating poor Akizuki goes and as for you and Eriol…"
"I am sorry, Yin Fa, but I see him and recall so well how he pressed always your strength."
"He was testing me, Syaoran, assuring that I would try my very best to save my beloved cards.
"If not for him I would not of had the courage nor the strength to face Void and win." She smiled then and caught a-hold of his hand; "I would have lost you without ever knowing your love and care."
Thoughts of Eriol and the anger that sparked into his mind at that imagining faded in the brightness of his love for Sakura.
Hiiragizawa be damned! He'd enjoy the time he had left with his beloved Ying Fa if it killed him!
A cry from the living room was enough to halt that idea, for in the blink of an eye Sakura was gone to see what the cause of such alarm might be. Syaoran followed at a slightly more sedate pace to find Sakura with a phone in her hand and Yukito propping up an unconscious Touya.
"What happened?" Syaoran enquired.
"I don't know. One moment he was listening to me try to explain myself and the next…" Yukito replied the panic clear in his voice.
Touya awoke to a mass of colour and vague shadowed shapes that solidified eventually into his father's face.
"Dad?"
"You collapsed, Touya." His father replied.
It made a great deal of sense thinking on it, after all he recalled Yuk trying to back track his rather forward actions and then a sharp pain in his forehead before darkness had taken him.
"What's wrong with me?"
"The doctors can not say."
Which ment, more than likely, that this was another unexpected side affect of leasing his magic.
Yet if that was the case, how did he know without asking that Yukito was not here, that Sakura was sat just outside with Li and that his mother had been here watching him at some point or another?
How had he known without doubt that Sakura had been behind the break down of the lift? And why had he been so very sure that Yuki was going to confess his deepest heart, when the situation had been adverse to such a confession?
"I do not think anything is wrong, dad," He responded as he drew his own conclusions, "Or at least I hope it is not. Is Yuki okay?"
"Yukito is fine, Touya, if not a little shaken."
Touya breathed a little sigh of relief at that,
"Might I talk to Sakura please, alone" He stressed that last, for though he could no longer bring himself to hate Li, what he had to say was best done in private between his sister and himself.
Sakura listened in silent wonder as he explained that he knew about her adventures, knew that she was the owner of some very powerful magic. Explained that he was tired of pretending he was ignorant and tired of Sakura hiding her true potential around him.
That out of the way he then informed her of the conclusion he had drawn, that he had fainted because his magic had returned to him.
"How?" And then because she could see the same answer as him enquired, "This has not harmed Yukito has it?"
"Not that I am aware, which means your strong enough now to support him on your own."
"That still does not explain how your magic has returned."
"I know and that is why I need you to fetch that stuffed animal of yours and find out Hiiragizawa."
He could see that she would hesitate a moment before he finished the request and knew, most likely before his sister did, that despite her doubts she would fulfil his request as quickly as she might.
He also knew that Yuki had finally entered the hospital and was currently being informed of Touya's condition by his father.
"Yukito is here."
"I've got to go and get Kero anyway." She replied.
It was all becoming stupidly clear now that he had the subtle support of his magic to back up his suppositions.
He was fairly sure that he was right about what was going on and though it was tempting to stop things before they got too over the top, he was curious to see where things would go next…
That and it would be fun to toy around with them a little.
Though of course such things would have to wait until he could cheer Yuki back up again.
"To-ya?"
"Sit down, Yuki."
"You collapsed, To-ya and it is because of me, is it not?"
"Yuki, I will never regret giving you my power no matter what might befall me because of that choice and I do not think anything is wrong." Of course the words would be more bate than comfort to his friend and Touya knew that Yuki would leap to clarify how he could be so sure.
Thus he distracted his friend as quickly as he might by informing him that he had finally allowed Sakura to know the whole truth.
By the time Sakura returned with Eriol in tow Yukito was recounting to Touya what had occurred after Void had removed his existence.
Sending Yukito out for snacks Touya directed his attention to the purse at Sakura's side.
Sure enough the little stuffed animal immerged a moment later and after giving Touya the once over floated onto the bed.
"So Sakura said you wanted to see me."
"I needed to thank you for watching out for my sister when I could not and I thought you would like to be here to hear this." Touya remarked as he re-directed his attention to Eriol.
"You are the reason my magic has come back, are you not?"
"Yes."
"But how? Even when you retained all of Clow's gift such a feet would have been difficult."
"Not difficult, Cerberus, just a little carefree.
"The aura of my magic is directly akin to Mr. Kinomoto's because his father is the other half of Clow's spirit and thus it made it very simple indeed to simply give him a little of my power.
"Yet while I held still all of Clow's incomparable power such a gift would have been deadly. For strong though his original power was Mr. Kinomoto's power was no match to my own at hat time."
"Yet why willingly drain a little more of your power to restore his?"
"Because he gave them in a selfless act and because the Guilt that Yukito feels because of Mr. Kinomoto's sacrifice would have been always between them."
"I can not repay you for this gift." Touya remarked.
Eriol smiled a slow lazy smile and replied,
"I believe you will Mr. Kinomoto. I believe you will."
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T: Well that's it now until the New Year. Merry Christmas and remember to RR.