I Think I'm In Love with My Bestfriend's Boyfriend
Author's Notes: Well, I've created quite a twist now. So anyway, enjoy, and please review! TT My self-esteem is like…getting lower. O.o
Thanks for sticking around! Gratitude to my beta-friend, Walking Green Cucumber, and feifiefofum for reviewing.
Chapter Sixteen: Protection
The sudden change of altitude woke the person in the seat.
In the window, the clouds began to get thicker and thicker and thicker. The aisle smelled of perfume and sweet wine.
Eyes quickly shifting to the side, the person's eye caught the chestnut brown hair among the other blacks.
It was almost time.
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Stretching comfortably, Syaoran Li walked casually down the corridor, trying to push images of the recent past behind. Pulling his baggage even faster, he distracted himself with the many tourist brochures that lined the way. With each step he felt closer and closer to the place of his childhood.
What he didn't know was that he would never make it home.
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As Sakura woke up from a restless nap, she was spared no peace. Immediately her thoughts went to Syaoran. Looking around, she recognized the extra hospital room that Eriol had bought for the both of them. Eriol was nowhere in sight, so she decided to check on Tomoyo.
Creaking the door open, she saw that her dear friend was still asleep, though looking less pale at least - but as she glanced around the room, she noticed one thing.
Eriol.
Or at least, the lack of him.
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Syaoran scrunched his eyebrows together, carefully treading down the path. The small bits of ice crushed beneath his feet, and the breeze was refreshing. Still, he wondered why he walked so loud - that bit of martial arts taught him how to walk in every situation.
This was a walk-moderately-and-at-medium-volume thing…but…
Lost in thought, he didn't care much about the outside world anyway. There were so many ups and downs in the past few days…just yesterday Tomoyo was hospitalized, Eriol was acting strangely and Sakura-
Well, Sakura was the one he missed the most. The one who helped him stand up when he had been cast to the ground.
The one-
Suddenly, he was yanked backwards behind a tree…and the smell of something…not so good. Probably-
And consciousness faded.
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"Eriol! Eriol!" Her yells echoed through the hallways.
People hastily ducked out of her way and a few reprimands were heard. As she ran down the stairs, she didn't care about anything else.
Last night, she had heard something that disturbed her more than anything Tomoyo or Syaoran was going through.
Cries of pain and anguish, piercing through her to the utter core.
Eriol's voice talking to some unknown stranger with a similar voice.
It was all so confusing.
"Eriol!"
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"Syaoran Li!" Came a shrill yell through the house.
The girls all cringed, knowing how upset their cousin would be when she heard about the news.
Their brother hadn't come home yet, though he had promised to be home by 5:00 PM. It was already 6:30, and Syaoran kept his promises. He wasn't sure, but he was always honest.
The sun had already began to create silhouettes out of the many buildings and towers that lined the horizon. The night was taking over already.
In an unpredictable world of greed and power, it wasn't too safe to be a well-known heir of an ancient clan - especially the Li Clan.
"We're sorry, Meilin, but…he's not here yet." The eldest of the sisters said, then for a moment of silence no one dared to speak. But they all knew, underneath the young woman's eyes, tears were starting to fall.
"Impossible…" she said weakly, but as she looked up her tears were of anger, not sorrow. "I'm sure he's in trouble - though he'd hate to marry me, he knows how his mother is."
The three other girls could hardly agree more.
They could do nothing more but watch as she stomped out of the room in the direction of the mistress' bedroom. Yelan Li's lair.
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Eriol was fighting a war - a war that he was losing.
One against himself.
Collapsing painfully on the ground, he struggled to keep hold of the lamp post. In a darkened alley of a minor street, it was impossible that someone would come upon him.
Gasping for air, he tried to think of things that would make him happy.
Tomoyo.
He was winning.
Sakura.
He was losing.
Tomoyo.
He was winning.
Sakura.
He was losing.
Tomoyo.
Sakura.
Tomoyo.
Sakura.
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The room smelled of damp wood and alcohol. The whole room was made of cheap material and the cement walls were a paintless shade of gray. There were strange dark stains everywhere that he couldn't identify.
What surprised him was that he found Chinese characters in Japan.
'Wait…I'm in Hong Kong…' he thought miserably, then tried to stand up - only to find out that he couldn't at all. His wrists burned with fire and his feet struck him with pain. He was tied to a post with a rope.
He saw the stupidity of his captor at once - he could make whatever noise he wanted, like yelling-
But nothing came out of his throat but a thin whisper.
The door opened slowly, allowing a small ray of light filter in. In the brightness of sudden light, he blinked to see who the shadowy figure was.
'No! It can't…be…'
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Sakura ran faster and faster, nearly being hit by two cars and a motorcycle. As the sky began to darken, she became more and more worried. With every star that appeared, she knew time was running out.
She thought that she knew Eriol well, but apparently she didn't.
'Perhaps he's at his house?' she thought.
With that sense, she bolted in the direction of his area.
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Meilin used her good night vision to scan the area. No sign of anyone at all - the post-winter air was still chilly, and no one in their right mind would be out this late.
Searching in the most likely places and finding nothing, she knew that this was a hard situation. She brought out her cell phone to get information from her other cousins back home - deep inside she wished that he had gotten home.
"Hello? Is Syaoran home?"
The latest news stunned Meilin to unconsciousness.
"Meilin? Meilin? Are you okay?"
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Tomoyo woke up alone. So utterly alone.
Glancing around the room, she saw that neither Eriol nor Sakura were there.
She felt much better than before, and the only remnant of the near-dying pain that she had experienced the day before was a terrible ache.
But it was nothing compared to the white hot flash she had felt at the collision.
Slipping into her white hospital slippers, she walked towards the door. No one paid attention to her, thanks to most of her bandages being under her clothing. The hospital gown did make her quite suspicious, though she managed to sneak past the nurses.
Where could Sakura be? Where could Syaoran be? Where could Eriol be?
Her thoughts whirled to the nightmare that she had nearly forgotten about in her haste. It was the most terrible dream she had ever experienced.
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Syaoran couldn't talk at all, unable to create the slightest sound.
The reality of his captor - the one who had poisoned him - it was scarring.
"Xiao Lang, heir of the Li Clan…we meet again, hmm?"
That voice…he was sure of who it was. The same clear eyes, the same fine hair. But it was so unexpected. It was so…impossible.
Yukito had died years ago!
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Eriol stood up, trying to set himself back in place. The small wounds he had gotten were nothing in the hospital, and the tiny blood drops would be oh so easy to conceal.
Walking into the unforgiving pink neon light of a nightclub, he cleared his mind as much as he could. The bright sign of the hospital stood out from the range of smaller buildings, and it would be easy to get there, just a few streets away.
He could only wish that neither Tomoyo nor Sakura had woken up.
And that Syaoran would tell Sakura soon.
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Sakura was out of breath, finally arriving at the Victorian home of Eriol. She saw that none of the lights were open, and that the door was locked securely and fast.
Usually, the secondary lock jingled like a bell if he was home. And apparently, it looked like he wasn't.
Still, he could be hiding. But he didn't know that she was awake, did he?
Sighing deeply, she went through the hidden pathway in the garden and to the exclusive back door.
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In the dream, there were two Eriols.
One was the smiling, kind gentleman that she had fallen for.
The other was the image of him in the past few days - irritable, hot-tempered and unfriendly.
Behind the first was herself.
Behind the second was Sakura.
And suddenly, each Eriol turned to quickly kiss his partner.
Then…the two Eriols united to become one.
But she and Sakura were still separate.
They were both holding Eriol by the hand - and he was struggling somehow.
A mirror suddenly appeared. When Tomoyo gazed into it-
She saw the evil, twisted face of the second Eriol, instead of the proper reflection of the now troubled original Eriol.
From nowhere, a voice began to speak. It was neither feminine nor masculine - a strange but heavenly mix between.
"Eriol, you must choose between your two selves."
He nodded solemnly in return, a trickle of blood running down his face.
"And in doing so, you will choose the fate of all you hold dear."
Suddenly, shadows began to form behind Sakura and Dream Tomoyo. These two shadows were both Syaoran. The one behind Sakura was happy and smiling, and hugged her in a friendly way from the back.
The one behind Dream Tomoyo was sad and unhappy, and hesitantly held her hand, glancing towards the ground.
Then in the middle, another began to materialize. This one was cold and indifferent, gazing straight ahead, with a Oriental-looking girl by his side. He looked serious and unpleasant.
Eriol had crashed to the floor, torn between so many decisions.
"I choose-"
Then the nightmare ended.
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Eriol stumbled towards the hospital room.
'I have to protect them from myself…my other self…'
Opening the door slightly, he peeked in, only to find out that the hospital bed was empty. To his dismay, Sakura was gone as well.
'Could they have gone to find me?' He asked himself, certainly hoping not.
There was a name in his mind - he wasn't sure if it spelled Tomoyo or Sakura.
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Sakura ransacked the house, searching every one of the numerous rooms. And yes, there were a lot of rooms.
There was no sign of Eriol - so she decided to head back to the hospital.
Where could he be? Heaven knows what could be happening - I never expected that he was so…I can't explain it.
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Familiar gold glass-covered eyes stared back at him. Yukito Tsukishiro had the same strange gray-silver hair, and the same ghostly complexion.
He was exactly the same, if not a bit taller, or colder.
The warm smile was gone.
"We meet again, Syaoran." He said, not budging from his position. "I hope you're comfortable. Just say so if you aren't."
Syaoran would have turned red with anger, but this little thing inside of him prevented any attempts of escaping.
Love.
It was difficult to resent someone that you had a crush on long, long ago.
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