Previously...>
"Onegai…Tomoyo…onegai…" he whispered over and over…
…"Eriol, what has happened to you?" she whispered in horror and pain…
"…I want to be with you…even for just a while…" he pleaded to her…
"Why…?"
"Kaho…she has left me, Tomoyo…" that name…every word he said, hearing his voice like it was pleading for release…it crushed her heart…it was like listening to a sorrowful song…
So she has left you…Oh, Eriol…you and your naïve heart…
+o0o+
A Bowl of Confessions & a Cup of Reflections
3:45 pm…Tokyo International Airport…>
An hour later…tic…tic…tic… >
The Quartz watch seemed too slow as time ticked away…Touya sighed as he averted his eyes towards the big clock just above him…the big clock seemed more advanced in minutes than that of his watch…He looked to his left, where he saw passengers huddle up beside the baggage counter, trying to get their luggage before it was far from their reach…He went over, huddled along with the crowd and waited for his baggage to come out…A black, medium-sized trolley luggage popped out from the counter…He hurriedly took it and left the crowd…He let his eyes roamed around, until he saw a sign which said ARRIVAL…He looked at his watch briefly before heading towards the arrival area…
"Touya!"
The young man turned to where the familiar voice came from…There stood a tall man with auburn hair and was wearing a pair of specs…He smiled and waved at him…"Over here, Touya!" the man hollered…Touya nodded his head, acknowledging the man and dragged his trolley towards that area…
"Hi dad. How are yah?" Touya greeted the man…Kinomoto Fujitaka, an archeologist/professor…
"I'm fine…How was your flight?" his father asked as they walked away from the arrival area…
"Tiring…but pretty much okay…sorry I was kinda delayed…the plane had to stop by Seoul for checking…" Touya said…
"That's alright. I'm glad you have finally come home." his dad said happily…
Both men headed towards the airport parking lot…After finding the car, the drove towards Tomoeda…to home…Along the way, father and son swapped conversations…
"So, how was Italy?" Fujitaka asked Touya…
"It was pretty much wonderful…I didn't get to roam around since I had to study and work at the same time…but it's pretty much like what we see in books and television." Touya said…
"I see Italy suited you then…that's good." Fujitaka stated…
"What do you mean by that, dad?" Touya interrogated…
"Well, I didn't think you would go there to study music…I thought you were going to study Law in Oxford…" his dad stated…
"I guess I found myself; drifted in Italy…" Touya said nonchalantly…Fujitaka gave Touya a long side-glance before averting back towards the road…He didn't further question his son, since it seemed that Touya wasn't interested to where it would lead to…
"Yukito is back as well…did you not know?" Fujitaka said carefully…giving his son a side-long-glance…But Touya didn't seem to react…He saw his son's expression…blank and uninterested…
"No…should I?" it was more of a statement than that of a question…Fujitaka just kept quiet…he knew that his son had some issues which he wouldn't rather talk about…"Hm." Was all he could say as they sped down the highway towards Tomoeda…
+o0o+
"How long have I been asleep…?"
"…the whole night, up until this afternoon."
"I see…"
"You know you shouldn't be drinking alcohol and very much likely get drunk. Really…"
A soft chuckle…
"You're still the same, Tomoyo…always worried about everyone…"
The amethyst eyed beauty frowned at her guest who sat up on the guest bed; seemed unaltered by last night's incident…
"What really happened, Hiiragizawa?" Tomoyo sighed dejectedly…eyeing him carefully, her elegant brows furrowed…
Eriol didn't stare back nor did he answer her immediately…his eyes were staring at the dark purple comforter on him…
What was his purpose by the way? Why did he fly all the way from England just to see the one person he left seven years ago…only to show up so suddenly, drunk and depressed…?
"Hiiragizawa…?" he heard her utter his name, a hint of annoyance was etched on her voice…He turned to stare at her…He couldn't tell her why he left…why he chose to be with Kaho instead of her…More importantly, he didn't want her to know at all…he couldn't…So what would he say to her now?
"Well…you do owe me an explanation, Hiiragizawa…but I think you don't have to…not anymore…" Tomoyo said conclusively…she smiled faintly, but to no one in particular…
"Tomoyo…I…"
"Look…it's been seven years anyway…I guess I kind of known that eventually you'll end up going after Mizuki-san…seven years is a long time…and a good time for healing too…so you don't need to explain anything…" Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders…yes; it has been that long...
Eriol just smiled…she really was a strong young woman…and he admired her for that…
"I'm really sorry about all this…" he murmured…Tomoyo shook her head and reached out; held his hand and gripped it in assurance…
"You know…somewhere, within those seven years, I finally figured out what my feeling towards you is…" she said wistfully…
"Oh…? And what might that be…?" he asked curiously…Tomoyo smiled at him warmly…Contentment was evident now in those lovely amethyst orbs of hers…
"…that perhaps…you were really somewhat a brother to me…an onii-san that I've never had…" she ended…Eriol just sat on the bed, speechless…All the while, she knew…and he never got the courage to confront her about it…He had hurt her that much…and he regretted doing so…She was perceptive…and really wise for her young age…Without warning, he pulled Tomoyo in a tight embrace…burying his face within those soft lavender locks of hers…Tomoyo staggered a bit by the sudden impact…
"Domo…Tomoyo…"he whispered in her ear…Instinctively, she returned his embraced…
"Ever since then…I already have forgiven you, Eriol-kun…" she whispered back…Eriol didn't say anything…He just embraced her even tighter…
+o0o+
9:00 pm…Kinomoto Residence...>
"Welcome home, Touya-san!" a small furry stuffed like animal greeted the young man with glee…Ever since Touya learned of Sakura's magical powers and secret adventures, he knew too that the stuffed like animal wasn't at all ordinary…The sun guardian of the cards flew and sat on his shoulders, giving him a big warm smile…
"Kero!…What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be with Sakura in England?" Touya greeted the yellow plush…
"Sakura was worried about your dad being alone here, so she sent me back…your dad was nice enough to accommodate me…so in turn, I've been keeping him company ever since." Kero articulated…
"I see…Well then, thank you for that, Kero…Oh yeah, I think I got some sweets from Italy…They're home made chocolates, made by an old woman who owns a quaint café, just beside the conservatory…" Touya told the lil guy…
"Really!" Kero exclaimed happily…
"It's in my luggage…I'll give it to you later…is that ok?" Touya asked as they both entered the living room…
"Sure. I wonder if they taste super…!" Kero uttered…Touya just chuckled…
"Oh I'm sure you'll love them…" he assured the yellow plush…as he plopped on the sofa…sighing in contentment for being home at last…
"Hey, you two. Why don't we have tea and cake?" Fujitaka offered, bringing a tray of warm tea and sliced cakes…
"Sounds great! Thanks Kinomoto-san!" Kero said with glee…
"The cake looks great, dad…one of your creations?" Touya asked as he took a bite…
"I baked that yesterday…I figured that I might as well make one since you're coming home…" Fujitaka said with a smile as he drank his tea…
"It's delicious." Touya finalized, taking another heavenly bite of the cake…
"Oh by the way…your room is prepared…so you can dunk in whenever you feel like it…How long are you planning to stay?" Fujitaka asked…
"Hmm…my manager told me I can have three months vacation…So I guess ill be staying for a while…" Touya answered…
"That's good…Why don't you go around Tomoeda while you're here…It has changed a bit, but it is still Tomoeda…The entertainment district has lots of new shops put up…" Fujitaka informed…
"Maybe I will…I'll have to go visit the university first…see if there are any extra-curriculars that I could take while I'm here…or maybe get a job at the district." Touya gave into account…
"Okay…but for now, it's best that you get a good rest…" Fujitaka suggested…"Sure dad…" Touya replied…
+o0o+
"So how are Sakura and Syaoran-kun doing in England? I'm surprised you didn't tell them that you came here…" Tomoyo stated as she sipped her tea…
"They're doing okay actually…their magic seems to be progressing rapidly than I could've expected…About not telling them? Well, I didn't want them to worry, and I don't want them to worry; concerning about my private life…They have their own lives to worry about…Besides, Ruby moon is with them…Nakuru, I mean…" Eriol said as a matter of factly…
"You've got a point there…so…where do you go from here? You said Mizuki-san left because she said to you that she wasn't ready…? What did she mean by that?" Tomoyo asked in confusion…What made Mizuki-san hesitate about something?
"Kaho never told me why…she said that she needed time to think about it…" Eriol said…
"Whatever her reason may be, perhaps the only option now is to wait for her…" she stated thoughtfully…Eriol nodded in agreement…then silence…both relishing the peaceful moment between them…The steam coming from the warm tea wafted into the air…Neither quite wanting to disturb the new found tranquility…
+o0o+
Chocolate brown eyes gazed outside the window of his room…The day seemed to end too fast…he saw thousands of stars in the night sky, shinning ever so faintly from far away…He was surprised that he missed this, terribly…perhaps coming back to Tomoeda wasn't at all that bad…Although bad memories still lingered, haunting him like a shadow that cannot be avoided…he cannot renounce the happy memories that were made here…
He first thought of Kaho…the very first person he had ever loved and cherished when he was still young and inexperienced…He remembered that she taught him many things that he needed to learn…So although they had issues regarding their age gap, neither of them let that get in the way…Until they got together…But still, some things weren't meant to last…and that day came when Kaho ended their relationship and left for England to study…
True, it hurt a lot…but he learned to get over it…
Then he thought of Yuki…of what they had…and how it ended up in an unexpected turn…how it ended so soon…But nevertheless, he didn't want to regret it…he had to…for both their sakes…Somehow, he couldn't help but think that it was meant to be…Touya sighed…perhaps it wasn't meant to be all along…
Perhaps he was meant to be a lonely bachelor…fated to be alone for the rest of his life…But who was he kidding? He still in his early twenties, heck he could go on a date once more for crying out loud! He maybe finds someone out there who could heal his wounded heart…who knows? Maybe he could learn to trust and love again…all it takes is a little patience and faith, like he did in his music…He wasn't a fan of Fate anyway…
WAW! WHEW! End of this chapter folks! It was really difficult to insert this chapter but it finally got through…thanks for the reviews and compliments! Hope you stick around for the next chapters to come! I welcome suggestions…thanks!