A/N: I really want to thank those reviewers who gave me the inspiration and encouragement I needed to write this chapter. You people gave me motivation beyond...um...motivation. So yeah! Thanks!
Disclaimer: Card Captors and everything in it is off-limits to poor, desperate fans like me. So no, I do not own Card Captors.
Chapter 8: Confusion is Insanity's best friend...
Eriol's POV
I only have a little magic left.
Back in elementary school days when I was still a cute, powerful magician and Sakura was still a developing card captor, magic would be a part of me as my own hands. Using magic would be as simple as putting on or taking off my glasses. But I knew it would only be temporary. The magic. I would not be able to keep it forever. So when the time came for me to give my magic to Sakura, I made sure to reserve some of my own... for emergency.
I only just have a little magic left.
And I use what little I have remaining to complete key tasks that will ultimately lead me to my goal.
Such as moving innocent banana peels.
Manipulating teacher's minds so that tournaments are held.
I can't say that having ice cream in my hair is a pleasant experience. However... it just may be worth it.
Tomoyo's POV
I feel like crap. Seriously.
I started IT today. And IT's been hurting me and giving me cramps like no tomorrow. Being a woman sucks. And with that, my feminist pride is going down the drain.
Not only that, but while moaning in my misery and pain, I was hit with the realization that I was Hiiragizawa's slave starting today. Not good.
I want something. I need something. I really, really need it and I'm not going to stop hurting until I get it! Where is it! I hobbled around my room and shuffled through the mess that was my desk. And there, lying half-open in all its gloriousness was my savior. Peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconut. I snatched it up greedily and took one out.
One bite of that delicious little morsel and my pain began to lessen. I could feel its magic working its way through that dull, aching cramp and sooth my raging abdomen. It was like the antidote for my poison... the cold massage cream for my sore, tired muscles...the first gulp of cold, clear water after an intense hour of running and weight room... it was heaven.
I munched happily on the peanut buttery-goodness as I rummaged through my clothes, wondering what I should wear. The weather was cold outside, as it should be during the winter. Though snow hadn't come yet, everybody was anticipating the fluffy whiteness to arrive on Christmas day.
Because I felt like I had all the time in the world to dress in my warm sweater, I mulled over the events that would be taking place soon. Winter break was a little more than a week away, and the Winter Festival was held on the evening before the long-awaited vacation. I chewed on a particularly tasty chocolate and wondered why the Festival felt so significant in my mind.
Oh yeah... I'm one of the committee members that are hosting it. Now how could I forget such an important thing like that...? I shrugged.
Now for the bet. I wasn't going to give up and let Hiiragizawa walk over me just because I lost a battle. No, of course not. Even if it was a significant battle, which would have been the key to my success, had I won... but it didn't matter anymore. Past is past! There was still the future! I nodded resolutely and went down to the kitchen.
The cook wasn't up yet, so I looked through the cupboards of the empty kitchen looking for some suitable food, all the while clutching my precious bag of heavenly morsels. Ah hah! With a smile of satisfaction, I pulled out a jumbo-sized bag of the peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts I craved for and immediately stuffed it in my backpack. There. Now I'm all set for school. Possibly even ready to face Hiiragizawa and his gloating, commanding self.
That's when IT really started to kick in.
At first I thought it was just because I hadn't worn it in a long while, therefore letting it shrink a little over time. But then I realized that it fit perfectly fine along my shoulders and arms, and that the problem was focused on my stomach. I was absolutely and positively SHOCKED.
And it wasn't like being shocked in a good way, like 'oh-my-this-is-a-pleasant-surprise!' shock. But the 'oh-my-beep-this-is-absolutely-positively-terrible!' kind of shock.
My sweater was too tight for my stomach. No, correction: I was too fat.
I was FAT! I was absolutely and positively FAT! As I stared down in horror at my now-bulging stomach and how the sweater looked absolutely atrocious on me, the cook, David, walked into the kitchen and greeted me amiably. I lifted my wide eyes up to his kind brown ones.
Now that I think about it, I should be feeling really sorry for David the Cook because at that moment I flung myself at him and started sobbing. I wailed, wept and poured a river of tears on his apron, which was bulging slightly because of his round tummy. I guess it was the knowledge that somebody else had a bigger proportioned body part than me that I abruptly stopped crying. The poor cook was left blinking dumbly at his wet apron as I skipped out of the kitchen, humming 'Where are you Christmas?' with a dazed smile on my face.
As it was, I didn't feel sorry at all for David (I blame it all on IT) and went up to my room to change out of the stupid sweater. I wore a sweatshirt that had my mother's old college name on it and resumed chomping that delectable, tasty peanut-buttery goodness. Those heavenly snacks lifted my spirits up so much that I decided I would go to school early. I hadn't done that in a long while.
And so I went back down, got my backpack (and waved a cheery goodbye to an extremely wary David) and happily walked to the limo already waiting for me outside. The weather was indeed very chilly, so I was glad I wore the old sweatshirt because it kept me so snug and warm. In the limo, where it was considerably warmer, I kept my bag of chocolates on my lap and contentedly leaned back in those plush, leather seats.
Then, Mood Swing #3 (counting my tears and cheerfulness) introduced itself in the form of locked, window-buttons.
It was beginning to get stuffy from the heater and the warmth of my snuggy-wuggy sweatshirt, and I was slightly growing irritated. So, I pushed the button that would let the tinted windows slide down oh-so-magically and bring in the cool, fresh air that I desired. For some reason, it failed to slide down. I frowned and pushed again. It did not do its magic. I was not happy.
"Why won't—" I pushed the button with considerably more force. "—you work—" push "—like you're supposed—" jab, jab "—to, you stupid—" JAB, JAB, JAB "—filthy piece of fu—" slam "—cked up sh—" SLAM, SLAM "—it bag! HUH!"
SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. SLAM. OW. SLAM! SLAM!
The limo eventually pulled over and the driver (Bill) asked me what was wrong. When I pointed out the stupid, broken window button, he raised his eyebrows. "Miss Daidouji," he'd pointed out, "the windows are locked on purpose. It's for your own safety." Hah! Safety my petunia. The freaking plastic nearly broke my wrist! Which, I might add, is not very safe. (But then, I might also add, it was my own fault.)
"Bill," I crossed my arms, glaring, "since when has the windows been locked for my own safety?"
"Miss Daidouji, it's been that way since you were born." And with that, we were back on the road again, with me sulking and glaring fiercely at the window button-that-was-not-broken-but-locked-for-my-own-safety. The window might win for today, but mark my words; I would not let it beat me! Both the window and Hiiragizawa! Evil will not prevail!
Actually, his connection with England isn't that bad. I love their bloody accents. And the way they say 'bloody' ever bloody sentence. I like it. I like it a lot.
And hence, I continued to eat my peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts in silence.
When the limo pulled up at the high school entrance, I noticed there was something very strange about the building. There was something different about it...so different, that I wonder if maybe there was a renovation. Then I realized that the entire place was empty. It was void of any movement and objects.
There were no students. Of course, this was to be expected, seeing as I arrived at nearly an hour before class started. Even now I could see a few teachers opening their classroom doors, yawning. And I suddenly thought...why am I here so early? I had an hour of freedom to spend...quite literally.
And so, I ordered (which the normal IT-free Tomoyo Daidouji normally would not have done) Bill to drive me to the Kinomoto residence. If I had an hour to spend however I wished, I might as well be enjoying it with Sakura. Especially since she's my slave-in-partner. Perhaps we can formulate a plan against the evil Eriol Hiiragizawa and window button...
"Tomoyo..." Sakura said tiredly, rubbing her sleepy eyes. I was standing at her front door, a bright smile on my face. "...Why are you... up so early...?" And without waiting for an answer, she let me inside and shut the door.
Since she was already up and awake, she decided to brush up and get ready for school. She didn't mention anything about the slave issue, and I didn't bring it up, so Plan Annihilate Evil Hiiragizawa was not discussed. Neither was the Evil Window Button-that-was-not-broken a topic. Instead, we talked about the upcoming Winter Festival.
"I know I'm in charge of the winter sports activities," she confessed as she ate cereal. She pointed her spoon at me as I stuffed my face with peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts. "Tomoyo, you signed up for the drama section, right? So you can design the outfits?" Ah, she knew me too well. I nodded happily, popping another chocolate into my mouth. She wrinkled her nose at my almost-empty bag of heaven. "Oh no, you're not eating those again." I gave her an indignant look and clutched the bag. What was so wrong with my lifesavers? She sighed and didn't pursue the issue.
"So how do you know you're in charge of sports?" I asked as she got up to put the cereal bowl in the sink.
She gave me a smug smile. "Well, the Committee President happens to trust me with the results of the festival events." At this I raised both my eyebrows, finding the fact very interesting. So interesting that I didn't notice my bag was empty.
"Sakura... the Committee Presidents happens to have a HUGE crush on you." Yes, yes, a crush. A crush the size of Texas. Goodness, that boy really needed some tips in hiding his feelings. If Sakura so much as passed by him he would stand stock still for about five minutes, his entire face red as a tomato. It was a little known fact that Syaoran Li didn't like him very much. My cousin's eyes widened as she stared at me in amazement. Apparently she didn't know of this little detail.
"Oh, well...that's very nice of him," she commented lamely. She frowned slightly and bit her lip. I could tell what was going on in her mind. She was surprised that a guy liked her so much, and was too nice to say anything bad about it, no matter how she felt. That was your typical Sakura Kinomoto: though she had a rough exterior, her heart was soft as melted cheese...
Hmm, I suddenly have a craving for melted cheese. (I wonder why). When I told Sakura this, she blinked in confusion, then understood (because she knew I had IT) and proceeded making me a toasted cheese sandwich. When Touya lumbered down the stairs and into the kitchen, he didn't seem surprised at all that I was sitting there, eating away at the delicious cheese sandwich and popping in a random peanut butter-covered chocolate with coconuts. But he was annoyed that I was sitting in his usual seat.
But then, I was a girl on IT. I didn't care about anything.
After Sakura finished her morning spat ritual with her brother, and kissed her father goodbye, we went to the limo that was waiting outside and drove off to school. I had now started on my new, jumbo-sized bag of peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts. And then it hit us quite hard.
We were slaves to Eriol Hiiragizawa and Syaoran Li.
I considered telling (no, ordering) Bill to turn around and take us back home, but then, that would be too cowardly of me. I was still determined not to fall before Hiiragizawa, and having IT did nothing to change my resolution. There was nothing that could stop me from fulfilling my goal to defeat Hiiragizawa.
That was why, immediately after Bill dropped us off, Sakura and I found ourselves looking for Eriol Hiiragizawa and Syaoran Li. I guess they were waiting for us to arrive, because as soon as we stepped toward the now-crowded school, the tall blue-haired young man stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I looked back over my shoulder and saw Sakura in a similar position with Syaoran.
Seeing no hope for it, I swallowed and turned back to face my "master" (ugh), waiting for him to speak. He stepped forward, making the distance between us less than decent, so I stepped back to make it more than decent. I heard him make a sound of amusement. I was determined not to look up into those dark blue eyes of his, for fear of losing my ability to speak. He had a way of looking straight through you... Becoming tongue-tied in front of your enemy is not very pleasant. Once is enough for me.
He still hadn't said anything. Yet. So I waited more. I was growing quite impatient, and anxious, because I wanted him to hurry up and give me an order so I could get it over with. Also, I was craving for another bite of my peanut buttery antidote, which was carefully tucked away in my bag.
And he still didn't say anything. And I still waited some more. Finally, I looked up quickly to see what was wrong up there (ha ha, that was a height joke... against me) and was startled when I saw twinkling amusement in his blue eyes. What was he hiding? Why was he being so mysterious? So annoying?
"Finally. I was wondering when you were going to stop hiding." And he speaks. Oh my, what an astonishing feat. I think I'm going to gasp and gush about how utterly amazing this achievement has brought us all. And... wait. What did he say? I blinked. He said I was hiding? Now what in the world did that mean? I wasn't hiding! In fact, I was the one seeking!
He saw my look of confusion and explained, "You weren't looking at me. I thought maybe you weren't confident enough to look me in the eye. Thus, you're hiding."
Then he had to go and smile, with this amused quirk on the corner of his lips. It was as if he was smiling at me. Like... a genuine, friendly, smirk-free, nice and caring smile. At me. It was safe to say that I was utterly and completely confused at his sudden change in character. And I was still craving for that bite of heaven waiting in my bag.
Thankfully the bell rung, and I was able to escape slave-order free. Hiiragizawa called after me, "Meet me at the public library after school." I was already halfway towards the school building by then, and cringed at the prospect of spending more time with him, but agreed anyways. Besides, I was relieved that I didn't have to do anything for him at the moment.
Sakura did not feel the same relief that I was lucky to have felt. As the math teacher lectured about not having to memorize postulates, I nudged Sakura and asked what happened with Syaoran. She frowned, which was her instant reaction to hearing her mortal enemy's name, and sighed. "He told me to meet him at the public library after school so we can "discuss more things in general".
A faint alarm rang in my head as my own eyebrows furrowed. "Hmm, that's strange," I pondered, "Hiiragizawa told me the same thing." We both looked at each other, blinking.
"Maybe they're planning on ambushing us," she offered thoughtfully, twirling her pencil. "Or, they're going to kidnap us so we can be ransom." I raised my eyebrow at this. Ransom? Well, it wasn't impossible...
Someone was standing behind Sakura, and I didn't notice him until he shifted slightly. I looked up to see Syaoran. He lifted a finger up to his lips and kept his eyes on my oblivious cousin's head. I raised both my eyebrows, watching him as he placed his hands quickly over Sakura's eyes. She had been talking about the different ways a person could possibly kidnapped in a public library, but fell silent when she felt his hands. I held my breath, waiting to see what he would say.
He snorted. "Yeah, as if anybody would kidnap you. You're hardly worthy."
Hmm, it seemed he needed to take a few classes with the Committee President as well.
The auburn-haired girl bristled, most likely because she knew who it was, and took his hands off her eyes. I barely detected a hint of red in her cheeks as she grabbed her textbook, stating, "I wouldn't put kidnapping past the likes of you. And if you touch me one more time, Li, I'll make sure you never have children." Ooh, tough words, my dear. But he only gave her head an amused look.
"Remember," he drawled, "you listen to me. You're the slave, I'm the master." He leaned forward and said more softly, "And you shouldn't threaten people. It's unbecoming on you, little flower." He smirked, slowly straightening.
"Oh shut up," my cousin grumbled, glaring at the textbook. And what's that I see...? Oh my. Our little Sakura flower seems to be blushing. Syaoran ambled back to his seat, a triumphant expression on his face. He started talking to Yamazaki, whom I noticed still had some markings on his face from the night we were at the maze. I'm beginning to wonder what Rika did to him.
Instead of teasing Sakura, because I felt bad for her, I thought about Hiiragizawa (again). Why was he acting so differently today? I mean I can't say I don't like it, because it was certainly better to endure his nice, weird attitude than Syaoran's usual cocky manner. But still, Hiiragizawa was acting very strange. And I was determined to get to the bottom of it. I nodded resolutely as I munched some more of my peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts.
Never in a hundred years did I think I'd ever say (or think) this, but...
Eriol Hiiragizawa has the softest, best smelling handkerchief I've ever known in my entire life. And exactly how did I come across this startling revelation? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't tell... it's kind of embarrassing. Oh well, since I'm the one who brought it up in the first place... I guess I should explain from the very beginning, seeing as that's always the best place to start long and complicated explanations.
Let's begin with Hiiragizawa's change in behavior this morning. He was not being the arrogant, cheating bastard I thought he would be, but instead an all right, sufferable human being in general. I thought his odd behavior was confusing, so naturally, I came up with the only reasonable explanation possible: He was planning Something.
I was especially suspicious when he told me to meet him at the library after school, as was Sakura, so I was determined to possibly prevent any sort of tricks and/or traps that would inevitably come our way.
However, when we met our two masters sitting quietly at a table and barely glancing up to acknowledge us before going back to their books, our suspicion dropped down a notch, though our irritation rose a bit. Not only that, but Hiiragizawa told me he needed me to help research for his Greek project, which would make up for his final grade of the semester. By then, my suspicion was close to zero, and so began the confusion.
Syaoran dragged his reluctant "flower" slave to the other side of the library where the computers were located, saying something about hacking into the teacher's grade book. Although I was tempted to see what they were up to, I quenched my curiosity and stayed quite loyally by Hiiragizawa's side (urg). And I was left all alone with him in the way back of the nearly empty library. Alone.
Once we sat down, he started his infiltration of muddling my brain and leaving me confused and scattered thoughts. He did this by being nice. Not the 'I'm-going-to-pretend-to-be-nice-to-you-so-you-can-help-me-research' kind of nicety, but the 'I-want-to-be-your-friend' kind of nice. Yes, that kind of nice.
You can imagine my confusion by now. I mean why was he being so nice all the sudden? Of course, I only reasoned that he must be planning my downfall or something.
As I looked through a book of Grecian translations, I steadily ate my peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts, and while doing that, eating away the last bit of sanity I had left (for now).
"Daidouji?" His voice still held that calm, eerily friendly note, which I'd started getting used to by then. However, I was too engrossed in that fascinatingly boring book of translations to look up at Mr. Weird. How did those people read this stuff? What kind of alphabet did they go by?
"Hmm?" I answered with much difficulty. I popped another delicious heavenly bite into my mouth, still not looking up. Whoa, was that a swear word I saw? And a very suggestive picture to go along with it too, I might say. Oooh... Bad Tomoyo, bad.
"I have a request for you." At this my ear pricked a bit, but I ignored it and nodded slowly, turning the yellowing page carefully. Perhaps I should've taken Ancient History also. All this stuff was highly interesting, not to mention easy to do research on. I must say, I admire Hiiragizawa's choice in choosing the easiest classes, though I disapprove the fact that he, being a reincarnated wise person, would be lazy and not take classes that are a little up to his standards.
Then he dropped the bomb.
"Call me Eriol from now on."
As I was reaching into my bag of bliss, my hand found the bag was empty, therefore... no more peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts. And it was then I snapped. I guess the mood swings IT brought on in the morning, the science test I forgot to study for, and Hiiragizawa's sudden change in attitude... and now my empty bag of peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts... Well, that did it. It was just too much for my IT-influenced brain.
I burst into tears. Quite loudly, I might add. I shamelessly broke down, crying into the Grecian translation book and clutching the now-empty bag of peanut butter-covered chocolates with coconuts to my chest. Then I was reminded of my stomach, and how FAT it looked in my sweater this morning, and I wailed even harder. I was blatantly crying, a sure sign of weakness, in front of my enemy.
I think it's safe to assume Hiiragizawa was just a little more than startled. After all, he only did ask that I called him his first name from now on. And hey, what was up with that? Call him by his name? When we were supposed to be rivals, AKA enemies? There was something quite wrong up there in his head.
And indeed, there was, because then I felt him scoot closer to me and place his arm awkwardly around my shoulder. That stalled my waterworks for a second. Awkward, him? Hiiragizawa? Hah, what a laugh. Except, it wasn't very funny, and so I continued crying my eyes out. He started patting my back, not saying anything, but I could hear his confused silence. Humph, take that, you girl-confuser! See how it feels to be confused now!
"Er... Tomoyo?"
There goes Bomb #2. And I think we may have some casualties. He called me Tomoyo.
"Wh-wh-what?" was my watery reply, too shocked that he said my first name to think of anything else to say. Ugh, I think my nose may be running big time. I sniffled a lot and broke out into random spurts of sobs, but was beginning to calm down.
I could still feel his arm around me. "I'm sorry," he said. And before I could answer, he held out a tissue before my eyes. I blinked and took it, wiping my tears and snot. All the while I thought, well, there goes my most embarrassing moment. But right then, I didn't care. All I cared about was why Hiiragizawa—no, Eriol, was being so bloody damn confusing. And his arm was still around me. I suppose it felt a little comforting, with his hand on my shoulder in an almost possessive way.
"Why are you sorry?" I muttered a little rudely, most likely because I was too confused and worn out to care anymore. Instead of feeling offended, or replying in a cool, flashy way, he chuckled. "And why are you being so nice to me?" That slipped right out of my mouth. I mentally cringed as I blew my nose.
He shifted so that his arm was more comfortable around my shoulders and leaned forward. "Well, shouldn't I be asking you why you're crying?" Damn. He shouldn't be asking me that. And was it just me, or was he avoiding my questions? Hmm, yes, I thought it was just me. I concluded that he was indeed planning something against me and was only biding his time.
I didn't realize I'd leaned against his shoulder until I sat up straight. I looked at him and was surprised to see a little concern in his eyes. Well, I'll be puttered if he wasn't a good actor. I resolved that I wouldn't tell him a single thing. But then, as I looked down at my empty bag, and the twinge of pain started in my stomach, I broke down yet again.
This time Hiira—Eriol (why am I saying that?) was ready for my tears, and kept patting my back, giving me another tissue. I answered his question tremblingly. "I-I... my p-peanut bu-butter-c-co-covered... ch-choc-clates... with co-co-co-coconuts... are all g-gone!" And that was a good enough explanation for me.
I heard him make an odd noise, like he was stifling laughter. I looked up glaringly to see his emotionless mask of a face. He smiled comfortingly at me. I almost choked. He was smiling that smile again like... like he was my friend! I was growing tired of his charade by the second.
"Wh-why are you... being so nice?"
He was still smiling that stupid smile as he answered calmly, "Shouldn't I be nice to a lady in distress?" I stopped crying to gape at him. Huh? So he was being abnormally nice because I was crying? Was that it?
I blinked furiously, clutching the tissue up to my red nose. "Wait... but you were nice to me this morning! What was that about? I wasn't in distress then!" He kept smiling and shrugged nonchalantly. I admired the way he kept eluding my direct questions. But I was still feeling crabby and annoyed.
What he said next caught me off guard. "Do you hate me?"
Do I hate him? Well, that was one question I knew the answer to.
"No." I shook my head to go along with my response. Then he smiled again and patted my shoulder.
"Good. This morning I was feeling particularly nice, so I decided I might as well be generous to my one and only slave." He grinned mischievously, something that was so familiar to me that I was startled, and leaned forward towards me. I found myself blinking into those deep, blue eyes. "Be grateful. Because it won't happen again." He plucked the wet tissue from my frozen hands and finally removed his arm from me, leaving me to feel quite lonely.
…But only because of the lack of warmth! That was all! I found myself glaring at his turned back, my senses coming back to me. So, Hiiragizawa was only being nice because he felt particularly nice? And he wasn't going to do it again? I tightened my jaw. Well then, this called for some nice, Daidouji action.
"You know, you might want to be careful, Hiiragizawa, because I'm—"
"Eriol." I blinked at his interruption. He repeated, "My name is Eriol."
I stared at his totally serious face. "B-but... I know! But WHY?!"
He grinned. "Because I'm ordering you to do so." Ah. There goes his cocky attitude.
I decided not to argue on his worthless response. "Fine." When I saw the triumph in his eyes, I couldn't help but snap, "But you won't get away with it." At that moment his cell phone rang, and as he answered, he tossed me a smirk. Damn him. I glared with all my might, hoping he could feel the burn on his head.
"Just a minute," he said, and he turned back to me. "I've got to go. Bring these books with you tomorrow to the festival committee meeting." He stood up before I could say anything and smiled roguishly. "See you tomorrow, slave." With that he walked away out of the library. I could hardly contain my outrage as I blinked at the doors. The nerve of... That stupid little...!
When I lifted the tissue to wipe my nose, I realized he had taken the tissue and left a piece of cloth.As I looked atit for closer inspection, I saw that it was a handkerchief. I blinked. It was a tiny.
But it was the softest, best-smelling handkerchief I ever had.
Once Ichecked out the Grecian translation books I headed over to Sakura and Syaoran's table. For some reason Sakura was standing in front of Syaoran, who was sitting down, and her back was towards me. I frowned slightly, finding the scene extremely odd. When I got closer, I saw the amber-haired guy had his head tilted up towards Sakura, who was leaning down. Her hands were on his shoulders, and his own hands were lightly holding her arms.
And the best part... Her mouth seemed to be very close to his face.
I clapped my hand over my mouth to prevent the squeal that was threatening to come out. Sakura and Syaoran were...! I nearly jumped and clapped with joy. Slowly, as not to disturb them, I backed away, keeping my eyes on them. As I hurried out of the library, I squealed and jumped giddily. I just knew those two were meant for each other! They were so perfect together...!
In my joy, I failed to realize I was now out in the public sidewalk, and that pedestrians like me were using it. As I jumped around, I accidentally bumped hard into another person, and almost fell back. Thankfully they caught me before I could damage my hip. Growing red with embarrassment, I turned around to apologize. "Oh, I didn't see you. I'm very sorry" would have been the perfectly fine thing to say. But nooo, I didn't say it. Instead, I stared at the person, who happened to be a young man, and stuttered like the stupid girl I was.
He was handsome. He was so good-looking that he had to be a prince. My prince, that is. His light brown hair was perfectly in place, and his deep, hazel eyes were full of compassion and... and... love! For me, of course. I had found my Prince Charming.
"Excuse me? That's very kind of you, but I assure I'm not at all charming." Oh... did I say that out loud? I blushed and looked down at the sidewalk, cursing myself. I'm so stupid. He must think I'm an idiot. "Um, I'm sorry for almost knocking you over," he apologized. I jerked my head back up and stared at him in amazement. His hazel eyes were truly concerned. I bit back a dreamy sigh.
"Oh, um, no! I should be the one apologizing." I ventured a smile, hoping I didn't look too much like a dope. He smiled back, a dimple making itself known on one of his cheeks. I nearly swooned. He was amazing. My dream man.
"Well, I couldn't just let the lady apologize, now could I?" He gave me a look of amusement. I laughed a little, yet there was something about his words that seemed irritatingly familiar. Oh well. Who cares? "My name's Muraki. Len Muraki. And what might your name be, miss?" Hn? He was asking for my NAME?
"Oh, uh, Tomoyo Daidouji." He smiled wider and took my hand, kissing it.
OH MY... AHH! I think I've died and gone to heaven! Oohhhh!
As I stood there, stammering and blushing, he somehow took out his wallet and gave me a card. He said something about calling him so we could "get to know each other better" and then he bowed and left. I was too much in a daze to realize I was blocking the sidewalk, standing there with a goofy smile on my face. I sighed, staring at the empty space in front of me.
Someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I blinked and whirled around, clutching the card tightly. Was somebody trying to steal my Prince's phone number from me? Never! They would never take him away from me! NEVER!
It was Sakura. She saw my flushed state and raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm guessing you and Eriol had fun?" Whoa, whoa, whoa. What? Hiiragizawa? Me? We had fun? My mind flashed back to when we were in the library. Images of him comforting me as I blew my nose came back full blast. No, no, that was not fun.
Suddenly, I remembered why I'd come outside in the first place. Sakura! And Syaoran! They were kissing! I grinned slyly and nudged my cousin's arm. "Hey Sakura. I bet you and Syaoran had lots of fun."
She blinked, and then said, "What? Oh, yeah right! Him?" She snorted and crossed her arms, not heeding the tint of red that was rising up in her cheeks. I smiled. She was a good actress, but I could see through her act.
I could say the same for a certain blue-haired, arrogant jerk. I could see right through him... through and through.
Ack. I've got chocolate smeared on my nose. Bloody damn.
A/N: And so the insanity continues...! I hope you liked this chapter, despite its slight craziness. I had fun writing it. Especially since I was having IT the same time Tomoyo started hers. Please review and leave me some comments and/or advise! Thank you!
