Guys, I read all your reivews and I'm terribly sorry. I'm sure I uploaded the chapter right, and I checked it and it looked okay to me. But then when I checked this morning, there were a lot of parts missing. T_T I uploaded this new chap and if the whole thing still doesn't show, e-mail me, or leave a message in the ML. I'm terribly sorry about the mishap, considering I was excited to let you guys read >
Author's Notes: I finally had the time to be quick with this fic. ^-^ You can see what ideas I thought of first because when I don't have ideas, I usually take too long =(. Anyway, this part WILL be short. Hopefully, it would not leave you hanging too much ^-^;;;
KristiexxNguyen: I know you from somewhere...hmm...I really know you fomr somewhere ^-^;;;
midnight blue: Nah, it wasn't really THAT tragic now ^-^ And yeah, I'll cheer for the KISS, too! Yatta! Heheh.
Maki-Kino-Kiko: I already did! ^^
Kali Kamiya: Thanks for reviewing even tho you are pressed for time ^^
KyteAura: Hmm...will Eriol really have the liver to kiss Tomoyo-chan now? Considering she shot a lamp at him, heheh ^^;;; I think I'll finish this before Valentine's Day, what do you think? =P
not applicable: Was the suspense thing good or bad? *.* Well, Syaoran is a wolf anyway, so make him one once more ^-~
anonymous: ^^;;; Umm..well....now you have to guess how often Eriol would have to kiss Tomoyo throughout the story, ^^;;
flitter bug: What a long review! Arigatou gozaimasu! (^3^) Yep, Tomoyo can only drink from Syaoran otherwise, it's the end of her and she can't be cured. And Kaho well....uhmm...hmm...who is she in the fic, I cannot yet tell ^-^ (she gonna appear at the epilogue maybe but I don't know who will care that much. ^^ kidding!).
BishounenzAngel: Thank you!
Dana Daidouji: Your naughty mind! ^-^ Umm the drinking method will be thru the mouth, you'll see ^^
Sasayaku: Errr...yeah, DUNDUNDUN is the sound when Jaws appears. I just watched it last week, scared the hell outta me! >
Pinboo Qeeyrana: Uhm...what meaningful? ^^;;; Gomen. Anyways, shouldn't you be in class and not in the computer room? -_-?
FlamingBallofDeath: Eheh, thanks. ^^ Hmm...the vampire stuff...well, we all know anybody bitten by a vampire becomes a vampire. ^^ The other stuff...I'll mention after this chapter so make sure you read the whole writing in this, ok? ^^
Fuuruma: ^^;;; courage to kiss each other? We'll see about that!
cyjj: This is the update you were asking for ^-^
By the way, the thoughts are enclosed in brackets now. I don't like the idea of enclosing dialogues and double quotations and thoughts in single quotations since it'll surely be confusing ^-^ Please enjoy this chapter! Merry Christmas and enjoy the holidays!
PILLAR SIX:
The door was suddenly flung open. Arisa stirred from the chair she was nestling on. It was the third full moon of the year, and every full moon, Hina's power grew strong, making it hard for them to suppress Clow's curse. She stood up and walked towards the front door. "Clow," she softly called out. The sorcerer went out a while ago to gather power from the light of the moon for the wand to be used in the final spell being prepared by Arisa.
Clow crept into the front door. He was haggard, his breaths coming in pants. "The wind outside..." he breathed. "Too strong...Hina..." He stumbled towards the priestess, keeping his urge to drink blood controlled. His hold on his thirst for blood was getting weaker by the moment, and Hina was getting stronger, too. He was glad Arisa was here to help him. "Arisa..."
"Ssshhh...don't speak anymore." Arisa cradled his head on her shoulder. "Go on." Tying her hands with his, she looked up to him.
Clow moved his head and met his lips with hers. He took in Arisa's pure, untainted soul, feeling its warmth comfort him and make his will stronger. This went on for several minutes, until Clow himself pulled away. "Sorry and thank you." He turned away from the priestess, not wanting her to see himself growing red from the contact.
Arisa herself could feel warmth coating her cheeks. "Umm...we cannot help it, since...it's the only way."
"Aa. The only way." Clow kissed Arisa's hand which was still entwined with his. "My strength is renewed, thank you." He bade the priestess good night before retreating tp his room.
The Light Priestess continued to stare at the fire. She never knew helping Clow in this situation could be so stressing. She could live with having her neck bitten every now and then, but this... She felt her cheeks and was not surprised that they were warm.
Whenever Clow's lips touched hers, minute tingles raced down her spine and her heart would start thumping. Could it be...that...
She shook her head. Thinking like this will never solve the problem. Hastily standing up, she decided to get some sleep as well.
+++
Tomoyo gaped at the ceiling and walls of the Hiiragizawa household. She carefully carried her luggage, almost afraid that her bag will hit some vase and will send the porcelain crashing on the floor. This house was a bit bigger than her house. And there were no bright fluorescent lights. Instead, chandeliers with pale yellow lights lit the main rooms, and the hallways were candlelit. But, unlike her house with many servants and visitors going in and out of it, there was no one.
"Uhm, Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo nervously inquired. "Where is your family?"
The young man laid the rest of her luggage on the carpeted floor. "My family doesn't live with me," he replied quietly. "They're afraid that they will be my victims. The washerwoman, the cleaninglady, and the gardener come here in the morning, but after that, I'm kind of alone."
"Oh..." Tomoyo stared at her host and felt a bit sad. Because of the curse, he was separated from his family, since all of them were afraid of him. She felt that he needed a pat on the back or something, but she doesn't know how to put it.
She sighed. Because of her situation, she was worried that she might injure others. After all, she couldn't very well control her instinct to suck blood. Even Sakura-chan might be hurt. That was why Li Syaoran, the reincarnation of Fenris the wolf bound by Clow's blood, suggested that she stay as close as possible to Eriol for her safety. And after a quick arrangements in her home and a phone call to her mother (Sonomi wanted to go home, but Tomoyo told her that she was fine), she was here standing inside the Hiiragizawa manor.
"You have this huge house to yourself?" Tomoyo asked Eriol. Rich or not, this house was too big for a son left alone.
Eriol nodded as he lighted some of the candles on the table. "Yes. This was a family heirloom. Everyone who had been inflicted with the curse had to stay here in order to stay connected to the past - with Clow."
[So that was it.] Tomoyo looked around. The place sure looks familiar. It must be the house Clow lived in during his stay in Japan. Maybe she had seen it before in a vision. "Umm...I'm really sorry, causing you problems like these."
"It's all right, Tomoyo-san," he replied as he motioned the young woman to climb up the stairs with him. "I owe you a lot still. If it weren't for you, I'd lose hope of even existing peacefully in this world."
Tomoyo kept quiet, running her hands on the wallpapered walls of the halls. She was gently ushered by Eriol into her room, and he was kind enough to make the room a little replica of her room back home. In here, she would be staying for a week or two, until her illness had vanished. Until then, she can never go out without Eriol by her side, for fear that she might jump someone and bite them. She cannot completely heal if she does that.
"If you ever need anything, I'm next door, Tomoyo-san," Eriol said as he lit the candles on the side tables and dresser. "Everything here runs by electricity, that is, except the lights, unless you want to turn them on." Tomoyo shuddered. She would never, ever dare open the lights in her room, unless she wanted to die the next day.
"Thanks, Eriol-kun," she softly answered. She sat on the bed and looked around. She cannot believe Eriol's family left a house as beautiful as this. The cleaning lady must have had tough times cleaning the whole house. She laughed to herself. Maybe she could start helping around the house in order to pay Eriol back for her mistakes, and at the same time formulating a way to bring Eriol back to a normal human.
+++
Tomoyo stifled a laugh as they entered a fancy restaurant a drive away from Eriol's house.
"What are you laughing at?" Eriol asked, a bit annoyed.
"Oh, nothing," Tomoyo answered, although she can't help giggling. "I can't believe we ruined the whole dinner that we have to eat out. But...this...this place is so fancy..."
Eriol pulled out a chair for her as soon as the waiter ushered them in. "If we dine in on some bright fast food restaurant, you'll be fainted within minutes."
Tomoyo looked around. Yeah, Eriol has a point, actually. In this restaurant, the lights were dim, and nobody notices anybody. Here, they can talk in private as well as not be scared by glaring lights. They looked up as the waiter brought the menu. She straightened her cardigan dress and looked at the menu.
"I'll have creamy fillet and midori(1), please," Eriol said. "Tomoyo-san, what's yours?"
"Ummm." Tomoyo gave up. "I can't decide," she said before raising both eyebrows at Eriol. Eriol quickly looked at his menu again. That symbol was an understanding that Tomoyo was starting to become thirsty for blood again.
The blue-eyed young man finally closed his menu and decided for Tomoyo. "Please give her another order of creamy fillet and..." A mischievous glint shone in his eyes. "And Petite-Syrah(2) wine." The waiter nodded and left them.
The young woman crossed her Ganymede sandaled feet and inquired at Eriol. "What's...petite...uh..."
"You'll see." Eriol silently smiled while Tomoyo pondered deeply.
At last the order arrived and Tomoyo found out that Petite-Syrah wine was actually wine made of red grapes. "That wine," Eriol said. "Will help you to control your desire for blood. It's not too strong and you can imagine that it's blood. Whether that can satisfy your thirst depends on how much your thinking power goes."
"How neat." Tomoyo laughed. She took a sip and found it to be delicious, however, she found out that concetrating that it was blood was actually hard. It took her many goblets...too many goblets, before she could satisfy her thirst.
+++
"Eriol," Tomoyo slurred, addressing Eriol informally. They were walking towards the house, the young man helping the young woman walk. "'M a li'l drunk," she whispered, as if she doesn't want anybody to know.
"Yeah, I know," Eriol said, feeling guilty. He thought Tomoyo could hold her liquor, but before she could finish her fourth goblet, she was already laughing like, well, drunk. He himself was feeling a bit woozy, having drunk too much of that strong honeydew wine. They'll both have headaches tomorrow, that's for sure. He helped her through the living room when, in a panic, he looked through the see-through curtains of his window.
The moon was full. He had completely forgotten about tonight.
Slowly, he could feel his body sending off vibes. His control is going to break apart soon. After setting Tomoyo on the sofa, he stumblingly sat down on a stool.
"Eriol-kun, what's wrong?" Tomoyo asked, worried amidst her dizziness. "Are you alright?"
The young man kept quiet, his chest tightening. He held on to the sofa's armrest and breathed slowly in and out. This time, Tomoyo seemed to be alert.
"Eriol-kun!" Tomoyo shook him. "Wake up. What's happening?"
Eriol knew, he needed to drink from Tomoyo. But can he take advantage of her under this situation? She's drunk. He needed to think fast. Wouldn't it be better of Tomoyo to be drunk? At least she wouldn't remember it vividly the next morning. Deciding against his virtues, Eriol stood up and placed his hands on Tomoyo's shoulders. She looked up to him, lips slightly parted as her eyes wondered what was wrong.
"Tomoyo-san, I'm sorry. I really needed to..." He cannot say it. It would be disrespect to Tomoyo-san if he drank from her now. "Tomoyo-san...I..."
He was cut off before he could finish when Tomoyo met his lips with hers. He was taken aback, yet at the same time relieved as he drew the energy from Tomoyo's soul into his body. He could feel the warmth...new, yet familiar warmth, enveloping him. Tomoyo raised her hands to his shoulders, tilting her head to give in more to the kiss.
Eriol had had his fill, but he cannot move away from the kiss. It lasted more than it should have, minutes of silence continuously flowing between them. It was openmouthed at first, yet it became so sweet...so..intoxicating...
The kiss stopped when Tomoyo let go and allowed herself to fall back to the cushions. Eriol quickly woke up and apologized. "Tomoyo-san...I'm sorry. I was carried away...I..."
The young lady sat on the sofa, eyes closed. She had already fallen asleep.
Eriol smiled quietly as he lifted Tomoyo to carry her to bed. "You are wicked, Tomoyo-san," he whispered. "You do something like that and sleep, leaving me to blush alone."
Closing the door of Tomoyo's room, Eriol left, hoping that none of their escapades this night would be remembered by the reincarnation of the Light Priestess.
TBC...=P
Author's Notes:
Now, that didn't leave you hanging now, right? t's Xmas so I'm a good little girl ^-^ Anyway, here are some notes regarding the past chapters as well as this one. ^^
[1] midori - a Japanese liqueur having a honey dew melon flavor
[2] Petite-Syrah - grapes that produce a deep red (bloodlike) wine
[3]Ganymede Sandals - Greek style sandals ^^
Anyway, where does all of my ideas come from? Well, sue Anne Rice. LOL! Not really. I am not that fond of vampires or anything, but then this idea came to mind (sue Eriol being pale and all that =P). I don't like having the idea of Eriol biting Tomoyo everytime he wants to since that will really hurt. Besides, we all know that those bitten by vampires become vampires, too ne? So I entered here the Japanese legend where mononoke (ghosts or something in Japanese...I unno...watch Princess Mononoke! >
Sidenote: BTW, I haven't told anyone ^^ this fic is a side product of my planned fic sometime ago where Tomoyo is a ninja and Eriol is a detective...something like St. Tail. But I was afraid some people would flame me again saying, "Ah, I already knew that. You got that from some anime, you plagiarist!" so I decided to discontinue it. ^^
So, there you go, the history of my fic. I never usually tell people this stuff but anyway...you are all very kind. Now, please leave me a review and be kind, ok? ^^
Meri kurisumasu!