Sai-chan here! I was honestly surprised when I read the reviews of Anata. I was out of sorts when I wrote it and was expecting 0 reviews and all. I'm so happy that it's the other way around.
I was unable to leave a note earlier on what himitsu and anata means, sorry about that. Himitsu means secret, while anata means you.
And Mermaid's Lagoon was right to say that the ending was a bit abrupt. Hopefully, I can make up for that this chapter.
Many thanks to my reviewers! Also, sorry for the late update, school can be such a pain.
Purple eyes stared with disgust at the four inch and a half high heel the sales clerk presented her.
There was no way she was going to wear it to the party. Definitely.
She shook her head in disapproval.
"No way," she muttered crossing her arms like a prima donna with all stubbornness known to mankind.
The salesclerk looked crestfallen but the Daidouji Toys President was impervious.
"Well, I find it lovely. We'll take it, Miss," she declared with ten times more stubbornness walking to another section of the huge shopping mall before the sixteen year old could protest and put about yet another verbal joust.
The lass rolled her eyes and sighed, reclining at the creamy sofa.
"And you said I'm stubborn," she grumbled picking the heel with arched eyebrows and staring at it like as if beams will come out and burn a hole in it.
No such luck though and the heel was as it was.
"This shoe should be included in the world's deadliest weapons," she said with a shudder, carelessly dumping the heel behind her and hitting a man in the process without her knowledge.
"If it could be called a shoe," she muttered in disbelief.
"I agree on that one Tomoyo-san," she heard a familiar baritone voice said.
"Eriol-kun! What happened to you?" she exclaimed upon sight of the English lad sporting a bleeding nose.
"I was to approach a fine-looking young lady awhile ago with a very suave line to sweep her off her feet when unfortunately a 'deadly weapon' found its way to my poor nose and now I have no honeyed lines to use but an 'Awww' and a 'Do you happen to have anything to treat a bleeding nose?'" the lad smirked a hand on his nose.
"Oh my! I'm so sorry! I was so careless!" Tomoyo said frantically ransacking her purse for a tissue and a small bandage.
"I'm so sorry!" she said yet again as she carefully put the bandage in place.
"It's nothing really, Tomoyo-san," Eriol smiled reassuringly as the lass continuously apologized, guilty.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Tomoyo asked.
"Oh… just a little shopping. Nakuru insists that young ladies like her needs to update their wardrobe," Eriol answered nonchalantly.
Tomoyo gave a small laugh. Just then Sonomi returned with yet another batch of parcels, bodyguards trailing her every move.
"Tomoyo-chan, we still have… Hiiragizawa-san! My! What happened to you?" Sonomi said surprised upon sight of Eriol.
"Daidouji-sama…" Eriol said giving a small bow, standing up.
"What happened to you?" the Daidouji Toys President asked.
"Just a little mishap with a heel, Daidouji-sama… it's nothing really…" Eriol assured right hand still in his nose.
Sonomi raised a brow.
The two gave nonsensical smiles.
"If you say so then… Tomoyo-chan and I still has an appointment with the seamstress, we'll get going…We'll see you at the party tonight," Sonomi said giving a small wave, Tomoyo awkwardly following behind, mouthing a bye as she waved before being sandwiched by black suit clad bodyguards.
"Bye!" Eriol waved.
Losing sight of the group, Eriol turned on his heel to come across a hyper Nakuru with a good two dozen shopping bags in tow.
"So, tell me… you drag me all the way here for a shopping trip I never asked for when I am in the middle of watching my favorite show just for a nose bleed and a goofy smile?" she asked with a teasing voice.
"Maybe, Nakuru. Maybe…" Eriol said flashing one of his inscrutable smiles unmindful of the moon guardian's teasing.
The moment Tomoyo steps on the carpeted staircase, she knew something will go wrong.
Her entrance to the well furnished antechamber was welcomed by copious flashes of light from cameras making her lose her balance and skip a few steps.
Luckily her firm grip on the rails prevented her from landing flat on her butt (and worse, her face), and she managed to uphold her bearing but unfortunately, not one of her shoes which was a couple of steps back the exquisite stairway.
"My…" she muttered, a hand on her evening dress' train as she moves to retrieve the shoe only to have Sakura's firm grasp on her arm leading her to the center of the room.
"Sakura-chan!" she said trying to free herself from Sakura's grasp.
"You look really lovely Tomoyo-chan! Chiharu and the others are over there… oh, we have so much to talk about!" Sakura said excitedly as she drags Tomoyo further.
"Sakura-chan, take it easy…I…need to…" Tomoyo muttered struggling to walk with one foot on tiptoe and another in heels.
"But Tomoyo-chan, we haven't seen Chiharu-chan since she moved to Tokyo… and if I let you go now, those photographers will flock on you like bees…" Sakura insisted like a child.
Tomoyo sighed.
No one can ever say no to the cherry blossom even if it causes that person a night with one foot without a shoe and the other with one.
"Let's just pray my shoe's safe and sound till I get back there…" she whispered to herself as they join Chiharu and the group.
"This is going to be a long night…"
"Talk about luck," Tomoyo sulked as she thoughtlessly slouches at the balcony railing of the hotel, not minding the creases it made on her white silky gown.
"My foot's killing me," she complained to herself, a hand gently rubbing her left foot.
She never got to retrieve her shoe.
After what seems to be an eternity of chatting with almost everyone in the room and drinking glass after glass of champagne, she finally got a chance to scurry back to the staircase only to find her shoe missing.
She couldn't think of a logical explanation of the shoe's whereabouts and was in no mood to delve further and found sulking by the balcony more appealing.
She was too frustrated to do anything now.
"Shoes don't walk, they're worn when one walks…And hotel employees don't advertise in the middle of a very elegant ball if they saw any lousy four and a half inch high heel in a staircase… they don't throw them away either… or maybe yes, if it's just a shoe and not a pair of shoes, since they cannot use it…" she debated with herself incredulously.
"Uggh!" she cried out, ruffling her hair in frustration.
"Cinderella?" a voice asked her from behind.
"Huh?" she asked turning to find Eriol clad in a fine tux walking towards her, carrying to her surprise her 'lousy four and a half inch high heel'.
"I knew I'd find dear Cinderella here…" Eriol said flashing his famous grin.
"Wha...a…" Tomoyo stuttered as Eriol bent on one leg and put on the missing shoe on her.
"I'm right. It fits perfectly on you." Eriol smiled with satisfaction
"A-arigatou…H-how did you know its mine?" Tomoyo stammered taciturn.
"The angle of the heel matches perfectly to the dent it created to my poor nose when I was out for a shopping trip with Nakuru earlier today," Eriol said giving a small laugh.
"Mou…Eriol-kun no hidoi!" Tomoyo whined childishly.
"Gomen… It's just that it isn't everyday one finds the great Tomoyo Daidouji in a pinch, you know," Eriol smirked seating himself beside her in the balcony.
Tomoyo watched him bewilderment painted in her face.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Eriol asked, hands on his pocket as he took a glance to the sky.
For a couple of seconds she was silent thinking of whether to reply or not, or rather, what to reply, for her mind was completely blank at the moment.
It probably has something to do with the way he always surprise her of his presence. She thought years of familiarity with him would prevent her from being so but then again, he is the master of surprises.
Eriol looked at her straight in the eye seeking her approval. He did not wear his glasses that night and his eyes were as blue and dark as ever.
Staring at them was like a spell, enthralling in every sense of the word.
In them she could see perpetuity in its very being and she was at a lost. And almost hypnotically, she managed to stare at the sky and realized the resemblance of it to his eyes.
"It is," she found herself replying.
Eriol smiled.
"Tell me again why am I carrying you on my back?" Eriol asked as he staggered his way back to the Daidouji mansion, miles away from the Penguin Park where the Daidouji heiress dragged him earlier to sit by the swings.
"Because my feet are killing me- no small thanks to that deadly weapon - and you being the perfect gentleman will not let such a fine lady walk barefoot," Tomoyo said with a chirpy voice.
Eriol smirked.
"Say… Eriol-kun…" Tomoyo started.
"What?" Eriol asked looking at the lass from his shoulder.
"You… you never asked me…" she said stifling a yawn.
"Asked you what?" Eriol repeated.
"About…what I feel… doushite?" she asked looking at him.
He turned his gaze back to the road avoiding her gaze.
He could not find his voice to answer.
"Eriol-kun?"
"Because…. I don't want you to feel pressured to give me an answer… and I…I…" he stammered uncomfortably.
"And?" Tomoyo prompted curious.
"Aren't you cold? I heard on the news earlier that tonight will be around twelve degrees or lower," Eriol said changing the topic.
"You're changing the topic, Eriol!" Tomoyo complained thumping the lad slightly on the shoulders.
Eriol was silent, the evening breeze blowing violently on their faces.
Tomoyo gave up and sighed. "It's alright you don't need to tell me… you're back is really warm and I'm really getting sleepy…" She said stifling another yawn.
Eriol patted the lass on the arm, prompting her to doze
"… I'm afraid of your answer, dakara…" he said out of nowhere.
"That's too bad…and I'm starting to like you…" Tomoyo murmured her eyes shutting close.
And Eriol stop on his tracks and glanced at the lass a smile on his face.
Please do tell me what you think about it! One or two chapters to go, hopefully.
Dakara: that's why
Doushite: why?
hidoi: mean