A/N: Tomoyo sings the song Misty Moonlight together with Akiho in episode 6 of clear card.
Tomoyo was sitting alone on a bench outside the library the week after that. She had come to the library earlier that day, and her eyes were tired from reading all day, but she was not ready to return home just yet. There was nothing much to do at home anyway, with her mother being away on a business trip. During such times, she missed her carefree childhood, when such weekends would be spent either in the joyful company of friends, or in designing costumes and editing videos, which was her most favorite part. However, with maturity, all those preoccupations gradually slipped away from her. It was when they were in high school when her dear friend Meiling Li had finally told her something which shattered the illusions that she had for many years.
"Tomoyo-san, you have to let it go," the girl from Hong Kong who was visiting her friends in Japan had told her one afternoon, as Tomoyo was showing her a latest model of a drone camera that she was planning to deploy to capture Sakura and Syaoran's lunch date on the next day.
"Let go of what?" she had asked, perplexed.
"You have to stop letting your life revolve around Sakura-san," Meiling had answered in a brutally honest manner that was only possible for her.
"What do you mean? She is my best friend!" Tomoyo had said.
"That is why it is all the more important for you to understand. Tomoyo-san, I really do want the two of you to remain best friends all your life, but there are boundaries in every relationship. It was different when we were little kids. While what you did seemed odd at that time, no one would take it seriously then. But we are grown-ups now. Tomoyo-san, please realize that there are moments of life which are too precious to be captured by a camera. There are smiles which you would only want the person most important to you to see, and words which are only meant for their ears. Ever heard the phrase that two is company, three is a crowd?" Meiling replied, quoting the saying in English.
"Did someone say something?" Tomoyo had muttered, her eyes hidden from view. It was too painful to even think that her presence might have been an unwelcome nuisance in the life of her dearest friends.
"No," Meiling had said firmly. "Those two will never say anything. They both two care for you deeply, and will always welcome your company. But that doesn't mean that they do not feel embarrassed," she had paused.
That was the first time in her life that Tomoyo's tears had fallen in the presence of another person, "I just wanted Sakura-chan to be happy, nothing more," she had said.
Meiling had extended her hand and placed it on Tomoyo's. "I care about you too, Tomoyo-san, but still I have to be truthful to you, even if you hate me after today," she had said in a sad tone.
"I would never hate you, Meiling-chan," Tomoyo had said, and found herself pulled in her friend's affectionate embrace the next moment.
"Tomoyo-san, you truly are a wonderful person, and there I want only the best for you. You know, I always resented the fact that I did not possess any magic to help Syaoran. I thought that if I had such abilities he would like me better. But I was so wrong. It was only after I decided to let go of my childish infatuation with Syaoran, that I realized that there is a beautiful world out there waiting for me, and its colors were more vibrant than any magic could create. Do you remember that night when I had told you that I will cry for Syaoran till my eyes melt, so that I do not have to cry for him ever again?" Meiling had asked her gently,
"Yes," Tomoyo replied in a muffled voice.
"You see, and I never did. It was after that night that I truly rediscovered myself bit by bit and found my own world. Tomoyo-san, I want you to discover your own world too," the young girl had said that afternoon, with a wisdom which was beyond her years. And indeed, what a fine young lady Meiling has become, from the whining child she used to be. She excelled in her martial arts, winning tournaments around the world. She was also doing her major in psychology, and was involved in a lot of social work. Whenever she visited them in Japan she managed to radiate her boundless energy to everyone around her.
However, letting go had not been easy for Tomoyo. Neither did it happen in one day. However, Meiling's words had stuck to her, and the closer Sakura and Syaoran grew, the more Tomoyo withdrew herself from the picture. Little by little, Tomoyo had realized that she was trying to live within a fairy tale in real life, and she was unknowingly making Sakura and Syaoran the lead characters in that fairy tale. It had probably started as a little girl's innocent fantasy, and grown with her, but she could not allow it to grow anymore. Maybe, the young cardcaptor and the boy she loved did not want to live within a fairytale after all, maybe all they wanted was a normal life like every other teenage couple who would go on ordinary dates, and talk about ordinary things for hours. Sakura and herself were still best friends, and Tomoyo knew that they would never stop caring for each other. However, there were no more costumes to deck Sakura with, and no more cameras waiting ready to capture her every energetic smile. Tomoyo would still diligently play the role of a videographer during special events such as one of their friend's birthdays, but that was about it. She forwarded those professionally captured videos to everyone who requested them, but never bothered to look at them twice. She still found herself watching the videos from her childhood though, the ones that showed the Clow cards were captured, and the ones that showed them being converted to Sakura cards. This was one thing that she could not let go of yet, but perhaps, she hoped one day she will.
Tomoyo opened her eyes slowly to behold the calm moon gazing upon her from just above the horizon, where it had just made its appearance. She closed her eyes again, and started humming a tune. Her song was probably the only thing that will always remain with her and comfort her like a quiet friend. The words followed soon after:
The light of the sunset grows dim over the field
The outlines of the mountains fade into the mist
In the calm spring breeze, I look up at the sky
A faint scent fills the air beneath the evening moon
The lights of the town, the colors of the forest
The people walking through the rice fields
The calls of frogs, the ringing of bells
All grow hazy in the misty moonlight
When Tomoyo's eyes opened again, she was sure that she had seen two moons at the same time for the first time in her life; one hung in the sky, while the other took the form of an austere young man who stood a few feet away from her. She brushed a hand over her hazy eyes, somewhat embarrassed that someone else had seen the raw emotions that must have played on her face as she sang the song. "You heard?" She tried to smile a little, not quite succeeding at it, as she spoke to the moon guardian.
"Only the last part," Yue responded, as he approached the bench and sat on the opposite end. "I don't mind if you continue though," he added, turning his face away from her, but not before Tomoyo had noticed that the usually sharp pale blue eyes looked somewhat softer.
Tomoyo smiled to herself. That was definitely Yue-san's way of telling her that he liked her song, and would like to listen to it again. Without another word, she started singing the song from the beginning once again.
As Yue heard the melodious voice of the young girl fill the warm evening air, something seemed to stir deep within him, that had remained motionless for centuries. He could not exactly name the feeling, as it was neither happy, nor sad. It was not unpleasant, and yet it seemed somewhat painful. In a brief moment, almost his whole life played itself before his closed eyes, from his creation to the present moment. The times spend in the company of his former master, his passing away, his reawakening to judge his new master, his assistance to her in her subsequent magical endeavors, the things he experienced as he lay dormant within his other form, everything. Yue had heard many beautiful compositions from many different parts of the world in his lifetime. His previous master used to acquire them using the Song card, and sometimes command the magical card to play them back for their enjoyment. However, no note or harmony could reach that depth within his heart as this girl's voice was reaching that evening. Was it because she was a human who could mix her melody with her emotions that the tune felt so rich and so different from what the Song card could render? All of a sudden, the renditions he had heard from the Song card seemed vapid to him, including the one that the Song had copied from Tomoyo herself. No magic can ever create such a divine melody, Yue thought. At the very next moment, his mind reprimanded him for entertaining such a ludicrous thoughts. What was he thinking, comparing the voice of an ordinary human girl to one of Clow Reed's creations? As beautiful as it sounded now, this human would inevitably age, and her voice would break and turn hoarse. However, the Song will always be able to reproduce the tunes that it copied to perfection, even when this human ceased to exist. That is something which could only be achieved by magic, by the power of the magician who was known as Clow Reed.
Unbeknownst to Tomoyo, a large car silently drew up just outside the lawn where they were seated, and a middle aged elegant woman rolled down the tinted window of the car and looked outside. She had asked her chauffeur to pull up beside the yard of the public library on hearing an extremely familiar voice while she was on the way back home. Sonomi Daidouji could clearly see her young daughter seated on a bench from across the street. Her hands were clasped together beneath her chin, and she was singing, in a voice which was neither too loud nor too soft. She seemed to have her eyes closed and thus to have taken no notice of the presence of the car. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the person seated on the other side of the bench; Sonomi would have thought that it was a woman by the sight of this person's long silver hair glistening in the moonlight, but the height and physique of the person suggested that it was a man. What was her daughter doing with this person? Was it someone she knew? Someone she was possibly dating? But who would go to a library for a date? Besides, they sat on the opposite ends of the bench, and the space that they left between them could fit at least two other people. If they were on a date, probably, they wouldn't sit so far apart from each other. Was it just a stranger who happened to be there? Would her daughter feel so comfortable to sing one of her most favorite songs in the presence of an unknown man? There was something strange about the two of them, which did not quite fit in with any of the conjectures that her mind could think of.
Sonomi soon realized that unlike her daughter, the young man with her was not oblivious to the presence of the car. His face turned halfway towards the road, and Sonomi saw a sharp and attractive face looking in the direction of the car. Sighing softly at the mystery, Sonomi signaled her driver to continue driving.
Tomoyo brushed her hand over her eyes again as she finished her song. For some reason that she could not quite understand, this particular song had been lately making her feel extremely melancholic. "You seem wistful today, Daidouji-san," Yue commented from the other side in a cool voice.
"So do you. In fact, you seem like that every time I see you, Yue-san," Tomoyo answered candidly.
Yue turned his face towards her sharply. He stared at her for a few seconds, with a strange expression in his eyes. His lips parted a little bit, as if he wanted to say something. Then, he abruptly got up from his seat, and walked away into the darkness. Tomoyo sighed as she observed the vanishing figure of the moon guardian. It was not her job to try to understand this arrogant gentleman, and hence she did not try to stop him or call him back. She quietly gathered her things to head home.
Tomoyo was surprised to find that her mother was at home when she returned home later that evening. "Konbanwa, okaa-san," Tomoyo greeted her mother with a happy face. "I thought you were taking the flight to London this evening for your meeting next week," she said. She had seen her mother leave for her office with her car loaded with her luggage that morning. Before leaving, she had hugged Tomoyo and stated that she would go to the airport directly from the office, and return home by the next weekend.
Sonomi smiled. "I came to know that the organizers from the other companies had to reschedule it to two weeks later due to an unavoidable circumstance," she informed.
"I see. Will you have dinner at home then?" Tomoyo asked with cautious hope.
"Yeah, it will be ready in a while. Come and sit with me until then, and then we will eat together," Sonomi replied. Tomoyo gladly complied.
"Oh Tomoyo," Sonomi pulled her daughter into her arms as soon as the girl sat down beside her. "I wish I could be home more often with you," she said. "How was your day?" she immediately asked.
"It was well. I went to the library, and I think I found some really interesting books," Tomoyo replied with a smile.
"I think you might have also met an interesting person today, ne?" Sonomi ran her fingers through her daughter's soft hair.
"I did meet someone at the library," Tomoyo looked up at her mother calmly. "How did you know?" she asked.
"I saw the two of you sitting outside the library on my way back," Sonomi said.
"Why didn't you call me then?" Tomoyo was only mildly surprised.
"I did not wish to interfere with your schedule. After all, my little daughter is all grown up now," Sonomi ruffled the young girl's hair a bit.
"You would never be an interference, mother," Tomoyo reassured her mother, holding her hand.
Sonomi smiled and remained quiet for a while. "Ne, won't you tell me who the strange boy was?" she questioned after a while.
"That was Yue-san. He is a close acquaintance of Sakura-chan, Toya onii-san and Tsukishiro-san. I have seen him come to this library a few times before," Tomoyo responded evenly. Sonomi closely observed her daughter's face for any signs of being flustered by the question, but there were none, much to her relief. On the contrary, she herself seemed to not know this person very well. Sonomi also felt reassured to know that her daughter was not with a complete stranger. From the description she gave, it seemed that the young fellow could be a friend of Toya and Tsukishiro-san. Sonomi thought he was probably another student who went to the same university.
Sonomi remained silent for a while. She then lifted Tomoyo's hand on her lap. "Tomoyo, my cousin and your aunt, Nadeshiko-chan married at a very young age, distressing grandpa and myself very much," she said plaintively.
"I know, mother," Tomoyo said gently.
"Tomoyo-chan, you are old enough now, so I am glad that I can discuss such matters with you more openly. Well, at that time, I was also angry at grandpa for refusing to see Nadeshiko-chan after she married Kinomoto sensei," Sonomi said. "But after you were born, and we lost your father, I began to understand grandpa much better. I began to wonder what I would have done, and how I would have reacted if my own daughter were to leave me someday like that. The very thought scares me sometimes," she added, her eyes gazing down on her lap.
Tomoyo smiled silently. She knew exactly why her mother brought this up all of a sudden. She was worried after seeing her with Yue-san. Only if she knew who Yue-san was, and more importantly how he was, then probably she would not even give the matter a second thought. The idea of Yue-san taking away anyone from anyone through marriage was so inconceivable, it was almost funny. Also, it was very unlikely that she herself would ever want to marry a man, forget about marrying so suddenly. Tomoyo was not an impulsive person, unlike her cousin Sakura. She extended her hand and touched her mother's hand. "Then allow me to take away that worry from you," she said. "Please be assured that your daughter would never do anything that causes you pain," she solemnly stated.
"Arigatou, Tomoyo-chan." Sonomi sighed, holding her hand. "You are so mature, Tomoyo-chan, something I wish Nadeshiko-chan was. But I guess it was her impulsiveness which made her what she was," she finally smiled at her daughter.
"Let's go for dinner mother. I am a bit hungry," Tomoyo said, in order to divert her mother's mind from the memories of the precious cousin that the incident had stirred up within her.
Thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated.