There was a man who walked with Sorrow
As though Sorrow were his love,
and he seemed to court her gently;
He was very well-behaved.
So, Sorrow came to live with him
in the twilight of his youth;
in the evenings she would hold him
till he could not breathe.
'Sorrow, Sorrow, ' said he,
'this love is worth more than life…' Will Barber
So it is this soon, huh…touya…
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Tomoyo stood by the window of Sakura's room…She quietly gazed outside, watching as the rain poured its blessings upon Tomoeda…She wrapped herself with her arms subconsciously…She then turned towards Sakura's room and scanned it…It was just the way it was…her memories of it seeped through her mind like watching a movie on a big screen…She smiled and sighed contentedly, recalling just about everything that happened in the very room…
A soft knock interrupted her…"Yes?" she inquired…
"Are you decent? It's me. I brought you warm tea."
"Ah. Hai, Touya-san. Please come in." Tomoyo straightened herself up as the door creaked open…
"Hey…I see you found some of Sakura's clothes. Here's your tea." Touya said as he set it down on Sakura's study desk…
"Arigatou…"
"Dinner will be up in about ten minutes…you hungry already?" Touya asked a he sat down at the edge of his sister's bed…
"A bit…but I can wait." Tomoyo said as she sat on a chair right next to the study desk…She reached out, took the cup of warm tea and took a sip…
"Hmm…tastes heavenly Touya-san! What did you put in here?" Tomoyo uttered in surprise…
Touya chuckled…"Just a little mint and honey to spice it up…nothing beats drinking warm tea after experiencing that down pour." He grinned proudly…Tomoyo grinned back…
Suddenly, her cell phone rang…which almost made her drop her cup…She sighed in relief as she rummaged through her bag to answer the blasted contraption…
"Hai? Tomoyo speaking…"
"Tomoyo? It's me."
"Eriol…?" she uttered rather softly…Touya stared at her as she spoke with someone on the other line…Eriol…? That name rings a bell…
"I just called to tell you that I've arrived in London already…"
"Oh, okay…did you have a fair flight?" Tomoyo asked…
"Hai…ne…Tomoyo…"
"Nani, Eriol?" Tomoyo questioned the sorcerer…
"I…thanks…I just wanna say…thanks."
"You've thanked me too many times, Eriol…" Tomoyo scolded him, but in an affectionate way…"you take care now, okay?"
"Wakatta…ne…Tomoyo…"
"Eriol…ill keep in touch. You take care, ok?" Tomoyo cut him off quickly and ended the call…She stood quietly for a moment…sudden sadness crept through her as she held her cell phone in her hand…her mind started to wander in the past…to where it all began…and to where it all ended…
"Tomoyo…? Daijoubu…?" Tomoyo jumped slightly…and turned to face her companion…She had forgotten that Touya was there…For a moment, she stared at him with a lost expression upon her face…Touya, for his part, began to think whether something was amiss or not…
"Are you okay, Tomoyo?" he asked again…this time she answered…but rather softly…
"H-hai…gomenasai Touya-san…I seemed to have…drifted away for a while…please don't worry…" she apologized and gave him an assuring smile…He shrugged in response…
"Say, Tomoyo…this Eriol…it's as if I heard his name before…and it's as if I've already met him…" Touya said…Tomoyo seemed to hesitate for a moment…
"You have, Touya-san…he was a classmate of ours during our elementary years…"
"Hmm…I think I quite remember him…the kid with midnight blue hair…the one wearing specs?" he asked, his face slowly frowning as he tried picturing the young boy who seemed to appear wherever his sister was…He had suspicions about this 'Eriol' that whenever he seemed to pop out coincidently, he couldn't help but feel that something was not right with that boy…What's his connection with Tomoyo?
"Hai. The one and only…" Tomoyo replied softly…He noticed her sudden change of mood when that boy's name was mentioned…Curious…he was about to ask her…when Kero flew in and announced that dinner was ready…nice timing…
The three headed down towards dinner…unbeknownst that a surprise was coming towards the Kinomoto Residence door…
+0+
"Has anyone found him yet!" an angry female voice bellowed to a group of people holding paper ads, newspaper article printouts, and flyers which had a piano printed on it…
"Gomenasai, Imonouyama-san! We couldn't find him…when we got to his pad, we found his cell phones lying on his kitchen counter…Most of his clothes were still in his closets..." one of the staff answered her in earnest…He eyed his boss with trembling knees…He had never seen the producer-slash-manager fume with intense rage as she tried contacting her outside connections just to find her 'supposedly-disappeared-star'…
"That darn Kinomoto! When I said to have a vacation, it doesn't mean he had to leave all his cell phones behind! How am I supposed to contact him now! AAArrrgHH!" Imonouyama practically was about to tear her hair out of frustration…
"Imonouyama-san! Phone call for you on line 6!" one of her employees hollered…
"Who is it this time! If its one of that showbiz tv stations asking for VIP passes to interview him, I'll give them a piece of my mind!" she dashed angrily towards the telephone…"Nani! What is it that you want this time! You better…" she was cut off by a familiar voice on the other line…
"Imonouyama-san…why so angry? What's happening there?"
"Li-sama! A-a…anou…gomenasai, Li-sama! I'm having a bit of a problem here but I assure you, it's not that big of a trouble." Poor Imonouyama-san was about to shed tears out of frustration…
"Problem…? Might I guess that have to be Kinomoto-san?" Lady Li stated calmly…a smile crept upon her face…
"A-a! Um…you see, Li-sama…" Imonouyama was about to explain when she was cut off…
"No need to worry about him…I told him to leave everything behind for a while and have a vacation…It seems that he really needed one badly…Why not get another pianist for the charity concert? I think that famous pop pianist…what's his name again? Well, good luck Imonouyama-san." Lady Li said and ended the call…
The producer-slash-manager had her mouth open, still unable to move since their benefactor called…One of her staff gaped at her, at the same time, worried that she might faint…His boss regained her composure a little moment later and turned to her assistant…She breathed in and out slowly to calm herself…
"Shin…please get me a glass of water…and some aspirins…" she told her assistant calmly…quite freaked out by the sudden change of mood, her assistant hurriedly got everything she asked for…
"Imonouyama-san…who should we get now?" another of her assistants asked rather hesitantly, eyeing his boss carefully…
"Get me Carter." Was all she said and turned towards her office quietly…leaving her bewildered staff behind…
Author: (um, names mentioned above, except Lady Li, are OCs…ok? And I just felt that I had to insert this scene…this scene will be essential for the last chapters… On with the story!)
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Chocolate brown eyes narrowed to slits as its gaze fixed upon silver ones which stared back sadly…
"Why!"
"Touya…" a sigh…
"Iie! I wanna know why, dammit!" the other yelled angrily…
"Because…it's for the best…"
"How the hell was that supposed to be for the best?"
"Touya…" the other sighed in defeat…"…we cannot continue on like this. We just…can't." the other replied…The other just glared back…
"So that's it then…Yuki…that's about g—damn IT!" Touya hissed…letting out all his frustrations and anger before the one person he thought cared; who loved him…Yukito turned away from his eyes and nodded solemnly…
"I'm sorry…Touya…" Yukito uttered sadly…for a long moment, Touya just stood before him silently…Suddenly, it began to rain that day…As drops of water fell from the heavens, the two lovers stood under its mercy…asking from it to wash away the pain that existed between them…
"Funny…how the heavens seemed to think so too…" Touya whispered softly, turning his face towards heavenward…a small sad smile crept upon his handsome face…Yukito stood in silence…he couldn't decipher that smile…
"I couldn't understand it either…" Touya continued…he turned to face his companion who seemed to be too confused at him…He gave him his one last smile…
"Good bye…Yuki…"
"We meet again…Touya…"
Touya stood in an uncomfortable silence as he tried to calm the bitterness that was growing inside him…his jaw clenching and unclenching with controlled rage…and one name escaped his lips, that same name that contained painful memories…"Yuki…"
He couldn't help but think of that painful past…all of it came rushing back into him…He reminisced, recalling every detail of it…and he resented remembering…
He sat on his bed, glaring at his tea which he held and was placed upon his lap…He had a million reasons to release all of it…to just shout it all out at the top of his lungs…Yet nothing left his lips…and he cursed himself…damned himself for ever thinking…perhaps for ever thinking at all…
"How are you…Touya…" he heard a voice utter, snapping him out of his chaotic mind…He didn't answer immediately…He continued to stare at his tea for a time…"Fine…I guess." He answered finally…a lie…"And you…?"
"Do you want an honest answer…?" Touya glared at his companion…
"Hn." Came his reply a second later…Yukito smiled bitterly…and that awkward silence returned…
"So…when did you arrive?" Yukito asked rather reluctantly…
"Just the other day…" Touya uttered quietly…
"I see…"
Silence…
"How…long will you be staying in Tomoeda?"
"A couple of weeks or so…" came Touya's short reply…deep inside, he wanted to burst…
Again, that awkward silence…then a sigh…
"Yuki…"
"What is it, Touya?"
Slowly, Touya raised his eyes to meet silver ones…"I'm sorry…"
"Huh?"
"You heard me…" Touya said quietly…Yuki gaped at his companion; a confused expression was etched on his face…When Yuki didn't say anything, Touya continued to talk…
"I…never really understood all of it before…but I think I get everything now…"
"What are you trying to say…?" Yuki asked…still confused…
"You were…in love with someone else…weren't you?" Touya asked quietly…Yuki didn't answer as he was surprised at Touya's revelation…He lowered his eyes to the floor, unable to look at those chocolate brown ones any longer…
"Hai…" Yuki answered softly…Touya just nodded…"I still do…"
"I'm…happy for you, Yuki…" Touya smiled, but it was bittersweet…Who was it that captured your heart all this time Yuki?
"Touya-kun! Yuki-chan!" a sudden outburst hollered, breaking the awkward silence in the room as a certain brunette-haired burst in…immediately, she hung onto Touya's neck and let her weight give way and making Touya stumble slightly…Touya suddenly growled in annoyance…
"Nakuru! Will you get off of me please!" Touya glared at the moon guardian as she giggled at him…
"Mou, Touya-kun! Is that how you treat a pretty lil thing like me, who missed you soooo much!" Nakuru began tugging at Touya's neck with her arms as she rubbed her cheek upon his…Touya just groaned irritably…Yuki began to smile, amused at how Nakuru could catch Touya off-guard…That glow in Yuki's eyes caught Touya's attention…and realization struck him…
"Touya-kun! Missed you! Missed you!" Nakuru said repeatedly, all the while rubbing her cheek on Touya's…
"Nakur- Akizuki-san, I think Touya needs to rest a while…Why don't we head downstairs and have some tea?" Yuki stated…Touya caught that slip and eyed Yuki suspiciously…
"Mou, Yuki-chan…Fine! C'mon then! See ya later Touya-kun!" Nakuru let go of Touya's neck; which was already aching thanks to Nakuru's constant tugging; and pulled Yuki towards the door…
"Whatever." Touya muttered in annoyance…but as he glanced at the retreating Yuki, he couldn't help but feel happy for him...but then something warm flowed down his face…
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"Nani! Hiiragizawa came here!" Syaoran practically shouted at Tomoyo as he clenched his fists in anger…
"Yamero Syao-kun…!" Sakura glared at him and sat next to Tomoyo, who was staring at the floor…
"H-hai…he left this morning…" Tomoyo answered…
"I see…" Sakura said…
"I'll give him something to remember! When I ever get my hands on that lying, good for nothing, son-of-a-…" Syaoran was blazing with rage at his ancestor, that it would seem that the whole room was blanketed with flames…
"Syaoran! No cursing here!" Sakura scowled at him and he shut up…She then returned her attention towards Tomoyo…"He suddenly disappeared, saying that he had to be somewhere…I never knew he would come here…" Sakura said, recalling things…Tomoyo remained quiet…
"So what did he do here in the first place Tomoyo-chan?" Syaoran asked curiously as he wondered…
"Oh…he just came here to visit." Came Tomoyo's reply…Syaoran was about to blurt out another curse when Sakura cut him off…
"Ne Tomoyo you see; we were in a middle of our lessons, which needed his attention, when Eriol-kun just disappeared…he left a note saying he had to be somewhere for a while…We were practically left with Nakuru who kept feeding poor Spinel Sun with sugar…Spinel got so high with sugar that he bulleted about the mansion, crashing about china wares and almost knocking off bottles containing magic…it was utter chaos back there!" Sakura giggled a bit which caused Tomoyo to smile…She hadn't heard her laugh in years…
"Hmf…if it weren't for Sakura restraining Nakuru before she ever fed Spinel more sugar, then there will be no mansion left standing…Hiiragizawa tends to be irresponsible." Syaoran concluded with a huff…
"Now, now Syao-kun. Let's not go over that again! What's done is done! Mou…you fuse up too quickly for your own good!" Sakura scolded Li…
"C'mon Tomoyo…let's go downstairs and have some tea…We brought home strawberry shortcake from Yuki-kun's bakeshop!" Sakura stated happily as she tugged at Tomoyo's hand…
"Sure! But you go on ahead Sakura, Syaoran-kun…I'll just freshen up a bit." Tomoyo dismissed them with a smile and a wave…The two left and Tomoyo got out a towel from Sakura's closet and headed straight for the bathroom…
+0+
She stopped short when she heard people coming out from the other room…She peeked out Sakura's door and saw the two moon guardians walking into the hallway and down the stairs…She giggled a bit as she watched Nakuru cling to Yukito, all the while tugging him which almost toppled him over…When the close was cleared, she softly walked towards the bathroom…A sudden movement caught her attention and she turned…She came across Touya's bedroom door…it was slightly open…She peeped a bit and saw Touya standing and staring into space…huh? What the...?
She gasped softly and almost dropped the towel she held as she clearly saw Touya with tears in his eyes…She was about to back away before he could see her, when she accidentally pushed the door open…The door creaked, causing Touya to jump and turn to where Tomoyo stood…His eyes widened as he realized that Tomoyo saw him crying…Tomoyo stared at him with confusion and shock in her amethyst eyes…
"T-ouya-san…?" she asked hesitantly, afraid that he might get angry with her for seeing him this vulnerable…
"Tomoyo…" she heard him whispered her name…She was about to turn and disappear when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her in the bedroom…Then she heard the door closed and locked…She had her eyes closed, bracing for him to interrogate her…But a moment passed, and not a single sound came…She slowly opened her eyes and saw Touya seated at the edge of the bed…his hands to his face…
"Touya-san…what's wrong?" Tomoyo was suddenly bewildered…she had never seen Touya so dejected in her life…
"I feel lost…I just wanted all of it to go away…" she heard him whisper…desperation was hinted in his voice…Her brow cringed at his statement…what is he talking about?
"Touya-san…please tell me what is the matter?" she asked gently and softly…she approached him and sat next to him…She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried comforting him that way…For a while Touya didn't answer…
"I never thought coming back here would reopen old wounds…I guess I was wrong…why did I even bother coming back here…" she heard Touya muttered angrily…She stared at him wide-eyed…could it be…?
A scene suddenly flashed in front of her…
She stopped short when she heard people coming out from the other room…She peeked out Sakura's door and saw the two moon guardians walking into the hallway and down the stairs…
Yukito-san and Nakuru-san…?
Tomoyo suddenly felt his pain…oh Touya-san…
She instinctively raised her hand towards his head and slowly dragged his towards her shoulder…letting his head rest upon it…"Touya-san…just cry…let it all out…" she whispered, all the while caressing his dark brown hair…thinking the simple gesture would ease some of his pain…She let him cry until the last of his sorrows were washed away…
"Feeling better Touya-san?" Tomoyo asked softly…she continued caressing Touya's soft hair…
He nodded slowly and lifted his head off her shoulders…leaving the warmth from her embrace and suddenly felt cold…He sat up and looked down at Tomoyo who still looked worried…He wiped the tears away from his face and smiled down at her…it was a small smile, but nonetheless a contented one…And seeing that he was okay, Tomoyo smiled back…relieved that she made him feel a bit better…
"Arigatou…for lending me your shoulder…" he murmured softly, a bit embarrassed of the way he acted earlier…he didn't expect the Daidouji Heiress to be the one comforting him at his vulnerability…
"You shared your shoulder to me once, Touya-san…It's my turn to share mine to you…" she stated softly…remembering Touya and Sakura comforting her during Sonomi's burial…she smiled even more brighter than before…He ruffled his hair and chuckled a bit…
"C'mon…let's go." Tomoyo suddenly stood up and tugged at Touya's arm…
"To where…?" Touya asked in confusion…his tear stained face wondered as he was pushed towards the bathroom…
"Anywhere…let's go anywhere…wherever the road takes us. Let's get away from it all for a while." She suggested as she handed him the towel she held earlier…indicating that he should freshen up before they leave…Touya just smiled and nodded…sudden hope reflected within those chocolate eyes as they gazed at amethyst ones, from which those same chocolate orbs could see a faint light…perhaps the light he had been seeking for so long…
Author: well, another installment finished! I apologize for taking this long…Took me quite a long time to finish this chapter...hopefully I get the remaining chapters finished…
Anyway, hope minna-san would bear with me for taking a long while to write… The finals are up…
Busy with drawings.