A/N: Since we do not yet know the full arc of the new characters introduced in clear card (Akiho and Kaito), I am trying to keep them out of this fiction for the most part, save mentions here and there. I assumed that they will eventually be allies to the original characters, since from what I have seen and heard, Kaito's actions seemed to be out of desperation rather than any true malevolent intent.
Thanks to the following folks who left a review:
James Birdsong: glad to know that you have been following along and liking it so far.
Tay: thank you for the encouraging feedback. Hope you like the progression of the story.
The summer vacation was finally over and everyone's colleges started again for the next semester, which marked the start of the sophomore year for Sakura and her friends. One late evening on the weekend following the first week of class, Tomoyo was returning from her college campus. That week, their choir club met on Saturday in order to have the final practice for their performance in the formal welcome event of the freshmen that was scheduled on the coming Monday. Tomoyo was at the train station, waiting to board the train that would take her home. The platform was quite crowded, and Tomoyo stood near the edge trying to avoid the crowds as much as possible. The train was scheduled to arrive in less than a minute. Suddenly, she felt a sharp jerk at her elbow, where the strap of her purse was looped. With a horrified gasp, Tomoyo realized that she was being robbed of her purse. The miscreant had probably watched her from a distance, and waited for the opportune moment to make his move. He thought that since the train would arrive any second, he would be able to easily get away with the crime amidst the commotion of passengers boarding and deboarding the train. As the rogue scurried to get away with her bag, pushing the people before him, Tomoyo made a desperate attempt to regain her valuables. She lunged forward, extending her hand, and was able to take hold of the long strap. "Let go," she screamed at the top of her voice. "Please, someone call a policeman," she yelled again. The mugger was stunned for a moment, because he probably did not expect any resistance. He tried to yank the bag away from Tomoyo's grasp, but she held on to it with both hands, refusing to let go. She pulled it towards herself with all her might and with both hands. The strap of the bag was at its limit, but before it could snap, the snatcher decided to let go of the other end, realizing that Tomoyo's voice had attracted enough attention, and people were approaching them. The sudden release made Tomoyo lose her balance, and fall backward. Both of her feet left the support of the platform just as the loud whistle of the engine reached her ears. She heard the anxious shouts of the people on the platform and the world seemed to go dark before her eyes. However, in the next moment, she felt the swirl of air beneath her feet, and the sensation of being afloat for a split second. A pair of strong arms encircled her and pulled her hard by her waist and shoulders, making her fall in the opposite direction.
When Tomoyo's eyes opened she was lying on the platform on top of someone, with her purse between the two of them. The person who saved her still had an arm wrapped around her shoulders tightly. "You fool!" The deep silky voice that spoke those words gave away the identity of her savior before she could see his face.
Tomoyo tried to raise herself from the ground and to ignore the harsh words of the man who just saved her from being run over by a train. If it was Tsukishiro-san instead of Yue-san, he would have never been so harsh in such a situation, or in any situation for that matter. But unfortunately for her, it was Yue-san. As she lifted herself off him, she could feel his heart, racing as fast as her own. Most people who had witnessed the near accident had boarded the train which was already departing with another shrill sound. Only a few altruistic folks stayed behind to check on them to make sure they were fine. "Are you both alright?" the few people who had gathered around them asked in anxious voices.
"Hai," Tomoyo replied politely as she sat up. "Yue-san?" she looked at the young man who was also trying to get up after her. He flinched as he tried to apply the weight of his body on one arm, and held it with the other, slowly standing to his feet. Tomoyo saw that his right forearm was badly bruised.
At that moment, a policeman came up to them. Someone might have already reported the incident. Tomoyo calmly explained the situation to him, giving him the description of the man who tried to snatch her purse. The policeman noted down the information, and let them go in a few minutes. Tomoyo turned her attention to Yue as soon as the policeman was gone. "Yue-san, your arm is bruised," she said.
"It would be fine," Yue tried to move his right arm without much success. From the way his lips pressed together, Tomoyo could tell that he was trying to suppress the pain. It was likely to be more than just a bruise
"It will be if it is treated properly. I am taking you to the medical center. We can take the next train, and get off at your station. There is one near Tsukishiro-san's house; I mean near your house," Tomoyo said decidedly.
"You will get late. I can manage it by myself," Yue tried to shake off the plan.
"No," Tomoyo replied firmly. " You can barely move that arm right now. Don't even think that I will leave you like this after what happened," she said resolutely.
Yue looked away with an annoyed expression on his face. "You did not receive any injury, right?" he said after several moments of silence.
"I am fine. You are not hurt anywhere else, are you? Like your head or shoulders?" Tomoyo asked a bit anxiously. The silver haired man standing next to her shook his head.
When the next train came after a few minutes, the two silently stepped in. It was not as crowded as the previous one. Yue took a window seat, and Tomoyo sat beside him. His wounded arm was next to her. Tomoyo pulled his forearm on her lap. She took a face wipe from her purse, and gently wiped it, cleaning the traces of blood from the bruise. Yue's eyes widened slightly from her action, but he did not speak. Once she was done, he promptly withdrew his arm. As Tomoyo wiped the palms of her own hands, reddened and lightly scratched by being roughly brushed against the ground, she saw that Yue-san was silently staring at her hands. "You denied having an injury," he said.
"Oh, this is very minor. It stings a bit, but does not really hurt," Tomoyo replied. "But yours-," suddenly, she seemed to remember something important. She hesitated for a moment and then signaled Yue to lower his face. Yue gave her a questioning look, but she repeated the gesture, insisting on her request. Finally Yue gave in and lowered his head, resting his forehead against the backrest of the seat before them
Tomoyo leaned in. "Will they find out that you are not a human if they check your injury at the medical center?" she whispered with her mouth next to Yue's ear, wondering if that was the reason why Yue-san was reluctant to get his injury treated.
Yue understood that the girl wanted to be discreet about asking such a thing, in order to ensure that it was not overheard by nearby passengers. "No," he briefly responded.
"Absolutely sure?" Tomoyo could not shake off the concern. If Yue-san got into any kind of trouble for her sake, she would feel devastated.
"Not unless they try to sequence my genome or something advanced like that," Yue said. "A person possessing magical powers would be able to tell though," he added.
Tomoyo smiled a little. "No, I think they will just take an X-ray, since there might be a bone injury," she said. "Let's hope that none of the doctors and nurses there are practitioners of magic," she said.
Yue did not reply. Tomoyo watched his back covered by the silky silver hair and the fabric of the gray shirt he wore, as he leaned forward against the seat before them. It seemed almost unreal to think now that two large wings appeared on either side of his back. She had earlier thought that his wings were a part of his body, but now it seemed they were just like the wings that Sakura's cards, The Fly and Flight gave to her when summoned. That is why both Yue-san and Kero-chan were able to make their wings disappear at their will. She could not help but marvel at Clow san's creations. At least superficially, the man seated next to her was no different from another human.
"Yue-san, when I lost my balance, I am sure that both my feet had left the platform and were in the air for just a second. You used magic to keep me from falling, right?" she asked him in a hushed voice.
"I was left with no other choice," Yue answered without raising his head or looking at her.
When the train came to a halt at their destination, Tomoyo carefully took the moon guardians right arm as they got off the train in order to prevent random people from hitting it in their hurry to board the train. The medical center was right next to the station. Tomoyo smartly went in and described that the person with her received an injury to the person at the front desk. Soon, they were sent in to see a doctor who decided to take an X-ray as Tomoyo had expected. Tomoyo waited outside during the process.
After a while a nurse came out, and handed her an envelope.
"It seems like there is a sprain near the elbow. Fortunately, the doctor could not detect any bone fractures. Just make sure he rests his arm, and your boyfriend should get better in a week," the nurse smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you," Tomoyo returned her smile with formal politeness. "But he is not my,-" she left the sentence incomplete as someone else called the nurse, and she turned away from her to speak to that person. "Boyfriend," Tomoyo finished the sentence to herself. She really disliked it when people just took the liberty of assuming things about complete strangers. Not that it mattered much to her, but she suspected that Yue-san would be very upset if he were to hear similar assumptions from this lady or anyone else. She saw him emerge from the doctor's room at that moment, his right forearm tied with a compression bandage, and his left arm holding the strap of his bag, which was crossed across his chest. Tomoyo waited for him to complete the formalities at the front desk, and once he was done, they stepped out of the medical center.
"The station is on the other side, it is getting late," Yue said when he saw that the girl was still walking beside him.
"I am going with you," Tomoyo replied.
That's unnecessary," Yue huffed as he took a step ahead of the girl next to him, hoping to shake off her company and send her home.
"Look, Yue-san, it has been a long day for both of us, and I don't really have the mood to argue with you about this. I have already asked my mother's bodyguards to pick me up from Tsukishiro-san's place, so you don't have to be bothered about me safely getting home," Tomoyo drew a deep breath as she paused momentarily. "Your house is also Tsukishiro-san's house, and I know that I will never be unwelcomed there," she added.
Yue stared at her with still eyes for a moment. "Do as you please, then," he resumed walking, and Tomoyo followed him. Until that day, Yue had paid almost no attention to the girl who was his master's best friend. She used to accompany them on their magical quests years ago, and it was something which Yue had always considered as an unnecessary liability. People having no magical powers of their own ought to be kept out of such things in his opinion. However, during those days, the young girl largely managed to stay out of trouble and would be protected by Keroberos or Li Syaoran if needed. So, Yue never openly objected to her presence, and his own focus was always entirely on protecting his master and assisting her. However, that child seemed to have grown up to be quite a resolute and headstrong young lady. The Daidouji-san who accompanied him that evening was still usually the quiet spoken girl he had known her to be when she was in school. But it seemed that she had also developed another personality, and would not budge from her position when she decided to. In any case, he was aware that his other form was very fond of this young lady, and the two shared an amicable bond.
When Yue had heard his master's best friend's unique voice calling out for help at the station earlier that evening, he had not thought twice before he made his way through the crowded platform trying to detect the source of that voice. However, before he could reach her, as the miscreant had sensed someone was approaching to help the girl and decided to make his escape, giving up hope of acquiring the valuables that the expensive purse contained. It was almost too late for Yue, as he saw Daidouji-san lose her balance and fall backward, first one of her feet leaving the platform and then the other. Yue remembered at that moment, all he could think about was the melody of Daidouji-san's song that he had heard her sing the week before. All he knew at that point was that he wanted to hear that voice again. Yue had activated his magic at that very moment, and lunged forward, pulling the light frame of the girl against himself. Such a gifted voice did not deserve to be silenced prematurely.
The two people reached Yukito and Yue's house after a short walk, as it was only two blocks away from the station and medical center. Yue opened the door of his house and stepped inside, holding the door open for the girl with him. Tomoyo stepped inside with a slight feeling of unease. It was not that she wanted to do this, but she could not just leave without explaining the situation to Tsukishiro-san and Touya onii-san. She also wanted to find out if Tsukishiro-san had also got injured along with Yue-san. She glanced at her phone. She had already messaged her elder cousin, explaining the situation very briefly, and he had replied that he had excused himself from his part time work a bit earlier, and was heading over to Tsukishiro-san's house. She thought it would be less awkward for her if Yue-san had simply transformed back to Tsukishiro-san now that he was in his own house. But Yue-san showed no signs of doing that, as he knelt to untie his shoelaces, obviously having some difficulty doing it with his left hand alone. Tomoyo too removed her shoes and went and sat down at the edge of the large table. Once Yue had finished taking his shoes off, he calmly placed his bag on the desk and walked over to stand by a window. An uneasy silence fell between them as Tomoyo had expected. Touya onii-san, please be here soon , she silently prayed.
There was an impatient knock on the door a couple of minutes later. Since Tomoyo was nearer to the door, she quickly got up to answer it. "Tomoyo," a slightly panting Touya snatched her shoulders as soon as he saw her opening the door. "Are you all right?" he asked his face barely concealing his anxiety.
"I am fine, please don't worry. Yue-san was hurt while saving me though. The doctor said he has sprained his arm," Tomoyo answered.
"Oh," Touya marched into the room and approached Yue. "Let me see," he said. But the stubborn young man tried to cross his arms across his chest defiantly, only succeeding in bringing his right arm halfway up.
"It is fine now. It has been duly treated." he answered.
"What exactly happened?" the dark haired young man asked in a serious tone.
"Someone tried to snatch my purse at the station. I lost my balance while trying to prevent it from happening, and was about to fall off the platform before an incoming train when Yue-san caught me. It was a thankful coincidence that he was there at the same time, and happened to hear me scream for help. But he fell on his outstretched arm while pulling me back, and that's how he sprained it," Tomoyo explained the incident in a factual manner.
"Coincidence?" Touya slowly repeated the word. "There are no coincidences in this world, only inevitability," he lips formed a half-smile.
Tomoyo saw Yue-san turn his head towards her cousin at those words. He stared hard at him for a few moments and clenched his left fist. "I shall change back now. Daidouji-san's people will be here soon," he finally said in an icy tone. Silvery white wings engulfed his slender figure shortly, and after a while Yukito appeared in his place. Touya held his shoulders carefully as the gray haired young man opened his eyes. "Toya," Yukito said in a soft voice as he oriented himself to his surroundings.
"Yuki, you are not hurt anywhere right?" Touya asked cautiously.
"No," Yukito answered, still somewhat dazed. Tomoyo observed that Tsukishiro-san's right arm was not bruised like Yue-san's had been. Finally his eyes fell on Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-chan?" he questioned.
Tomoyo explained the situation briefly once again, and Yukito listened to her attentively. "I am glad that both of you are safe," he finally said with a relieved smile when she had finished talking.
"Actually, I should have been more careful. Yue-san was hurt because of me. Please allow me to apologize," Tomoyo bowed sincerely.
"Tomoyo-chan," she saw that Tsukishiro-san had a confused look on his face. "Do you think I wouldn't have tried to protect you if I was there instead of Yue-san?" he asked.
"What? No, of course not. I mean I know you much better than Yue-san, and you would always help others, not just me," Tomoyo quickly answered, afraid that she was misunderstood. She still remembered Tsukishiro-san had shielded her with his own body when Earthy appeared many years ago. There was no way she would doubt his willingness to protect others.
"Then why are you apologizing?" the pleasant sunny smile returned on Tsukishiro-san's face. "Of course, Yue-san is far more capable than I am when it comes to protecting people. So, I am even more thankful that he was with you today instead of me," he added.
"Yuki's right. You are no different than Sakura to both of us. So, don't think anymore about it," Her cousin said quietly, his dark eyes fondly watching the man beside him.
Tomoyo nodded gratefully. She was a sister to Touya onii-san, and she knew that Tsukishiro-san considered Touya onii-san's relations as his own, by virtue of the deep bond that they shared. Touya onii-san had always been the protective elder brother to their entire group of kids, and Tsukishiro-san had been the caring elder brother. What about Yue-san? Was she a sister to him too? She wondered if that was why Yue-san chose to save her. .
"Yue-san means well, Tomoyo-chan. He doesn't want to let people know that he cares, so please don't be upset by his words," Yukito said. Tomoyo looked up at his face with a look of surprise. "I just thought that he might have said some stern words which made you apologize," Tsukishiro-san added an explanation, running his hand through his fine gray hair as soon as he noticed her baffled expression.
"I guess I cannot blame him for being angry," Tomoyo quietly replied.
"You know that this Yue behaves like a boy having a temper tantrum most of the time right? Geez, that Clow Reed must have really spoiled him, and even Sakura seems to do just that," Touya complained about his sister's moon guardian a bit.
"To-ya," Yukito tried to protest gently. "That's not true. We should be thankful to Yue-san for saving Tomoyo-chan's life today," he said.
"I am thankful. But I am not thankful for making her feel sorry for a situation which was no fault of hers," Touya stated firmly.
"Touya onii-san, Tsukishiro-san, I have a request," Tomoyo folded her hands. "Please don't say anything about the incident today to my mother, Fujitaka-san and Sakura-chan. I don't want them to be worried. I have told my mother's bodyguards that I was only visiting you today," she said.
Touya silently nodded with a small smile on his lips. Yukito placed a finger on his lips understandingly. "Sure, they won't hear a word from us," he smiled. As soon as Tomoyo thanked them, they all heard a car pull up outside the house. Touya opened the front door at the first knock to find a woman dressed in a black uniform waiting outside.
"Oi Tomoyo, they are here for you," Touya called his younger cousin.
"Hai," Tomoyo picked up the purse which was the cause of all her troubles that evening and headed to the door. Tsukishiro-san followed her outside to the small yard. "Thank you for everything," she bowed politely.
"Tomoyo-chan," Tsukishiro-san surprised the young girl by pulling her into a light hug. "Thanks for teaching me the mousse cake recipe today. I am sorry that it took so long though, and you got delayed. It was so stupid of me to have not realized that I was out of chocolate chips," he said.
Tomoyo smiled, and placed an arm around Tsukishiro-san's neck, returning the gesture. She relaxed a bit. Tsukishiro-san was so affectionate, so unlike his other self. And so present-minded too. To her mother's employees, she was only here to teach Tsukishiro-san how to bake a special cake, when they ran out of a key ingredient, and an unplanned trip to the grocery store made them later than they anticipated. She was with her cousin and his best friend, everything was simple and normal.
"It is no problem at all. Please let me know how it turns out the next time when you make it by yourself," Tomoyo said smiling, picking up the act quickly. They have both become experts in handling such situations mostly on account of the many secrets they had to keep for Sakura's sake.
"Thanks for having Daidouji-san today," the woman who was the leader of Sonomi's guards bowed and said respectfully as she closed the door of the Tomoyo after she stepped inside. The large car silently drove off soon after.
"That was some splendid acting right there. Why weren't you in the drama club again, Yuki?" Touya said with a chuckle, leaning on the doorpost from where he had observed the scene.
"You think I convinced them?" Yukito said with a nervous laugh as he walked back towards the taller young man.
"Ah, I wish I would have told our college drama club to force you to join. Tomoyo herself was pretty good too though," Touya said as he followed Yukito back to the house. "Oi Yuki, I am staying here for the night," he announced, closing the door behind himself.
"Oh, To-ya, I am fine. Yue-san took most of the pain on himself. You don't have to worry about me at all," Yukito tried to reassure his companion.
Touya raised an eyebrow. "Yuki, do you have a problem with me staying with you?" he asked.
"No. Of course not! I didn't mean,-" Yukito started.
"Then I am staying," Touya cut his friend off and squeezed his pale cheeks. "I have already called dad and told him on the way back," he added. "Golly, I am hungry now. What would you like to have Yuki?" he asked, walking into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator as if it was his own home.
Yukito lovingly watched Touya for a moment and then followed him into the kitchen. "Anything Mr. Tsukishiro would make me tonight," he leaned his head on the taller man's arm.
"Oi, I told you to not tease me with that. Damn! I should have never told you that day," Touya muttered, knocking Yukito's head lightly with his knuckles.
"Gomen ne, Toya. I can't help it sometimes," the gray haired man laughed sweetly. "But you cannot take them back anymore," he added. The world did not know yet except maybe the ones closest to them who could probably guess, but they both knew that they were each other's fiancé by that time. If they had not already been that way before, Touya's words that day pretty much sealed it.
"I am making fried rice then. It seems you have all the ingredients," Touya said, trying to the blush on his tanned face.
"Oh I love your fried rice. Let me help you," Yukito moved to set up the chopping board to chop the veggies for their dinner.
Once they had their dinner, Touya spread out the extra futon next to Yukito's and lay down. Yukito however sat on his futon and worked on his laptop. "Yuki, it is getting late," Touya said after a while.
"Sorry, Toya. I thought you were asleep. But maybe because the light is on you cannot fall asleep," Yukito turned his head towards him.
"I am fine," Touya replied. "But you are having to work harder during the nights in order to give one full day a week to Yue, isn't it" he murmured.
"Daijoubu Toya. He should have a life too, you know. This is the minimum I could do for him in exchange for what I have received," Yukito looked up with a calm expression on his face. "Anyway, I suppose I should continue tomorrow morning," he closed the laptop and placed it beside his bed. He reached for the light switch, turning it off, and then lay down pulling the covers over himself.
Touya's hand reached for his friend's face and gently grabbed the glasses that Yukito wore, pulling the pair away. "You still forget to remove your glasses before you sleep. Damn, both you and that monster will remain kids it seems," he chuckled.
"And annoy you perpetually," Yukito's soft laughter could be heard in the dimly lit room.
"That's right," Touya replied. However, he gently pulled his friend's hand into his own, and held it on his chest. "Yuki," he called his love's name quietly.
"What is it, Toya?" Yukito asked.
"That time, when you said that Yue took the pain upon himself, what exactly did it mean?" Touya asked. "Does it mean that there was a chance that you could also get hurt if he had chosen to do something else?" he elaborated his question.
"Well, it is hard to explain, but let me try. Yue-san can control how much of his sensations I can feel to a large extent. For instance, if he shared the pain that he experienced from his injury today with me, he would have felt it to a lesser extent. But he chose to not let me feel it at all," Yukito responded.
"Ah, typical of Yue," Touya answered curtly, although inwardly grateful that Yue was selfless enough to protect his friend.
"He is a proud man you know," Yukito giggled a bit. "But sometimes he is unable to control it completely," Yukito added in a more solemn voice.
"Like when?" Touya asked, a bit curious.
"At times when the pain is so severe and unbearable to him that it is overwhelming. Although he tries his best to keep it to himself, I am still able to feel just a small part of it," Yukito said. Touya had a very good idea about where this was going, so he simply nodded his head.
"You see Toya, I am not worried at all about the pain in his arm. It is the pain here that worries me," Yukito touched his own chest with his free hand, and pointed to his heart. Two drops of tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and rolled down his pale cheeks.
Touya quickly raised a hand to brush them away. "Yuki," he pressed his lips tenderly at the center of the soft palm of the hand that he cradled to his chest. "This pain will end one day, I have a feeling that it will," he said softly. The rest of the world had only ever seen Yukito's cheerful and comforting smiles. He was the only one in the world to see his Yuki's tears, and have the privilege of brushing them away.
"I too want to hope, Toya, but the darker possibilities scare me so much," Yukito said.
Touya turned on his side to face his best friend. "Yuki, do you think that Tomoyo could,-" a slender finger landed on his lips before he could complete the sentence.
"Not now Toya," Yukito said cautiously. The two men exchanged a glance the meaning of which only they knew. They have been with each other for so long that they had sort of learned to read the unspoken messages in each other's eyes. Hence, they were sure that Yue would be unable to decipher the silent message that passed between them. "Oyasuminasai, Toya," Yukito said softly in a drowsy voice after a while.
"Ah, sleep," Touya gently patted his friend's face before drawing his hand away.
Tomoyo sat up on her bed a few hours after she had gone to sleep. There was a sound of a speeding train in her dream and a blinding flash of light. Her heart raced rapidly in her ribcage. Just a dream , she calmed herself and lay down once more. However, she was unable to go back to sleep. As she lay in her dark and silent bedroom, the reality of that evening's incident slowly began to sink in. Had it not been for Yue-san's intervention, she would not be lying in her own bed tonight, but whatever remained of her body after the train had passed would probably have been inside the cold chest of some mortuary. Her poor mother who was on a flight that evening would have heard of the news of her demise once her flight landed in another country. Poor Sakura-chan would have cried her eyes out to a dumbstruck Li-kun and Keroberos. After a while Li-kun would have probably messaged or called Meiling-chan at Hong-Kong. Meiling-chan would have probably wiped her own tears after a very long time, and booked the next available flight to Tokyo. Akiho-chan, who had moved to Canada after high school, would have received no replies to her messages about scheduling a video call to practice a new song together, and got worried. Maybe after several days, when she would have finally got the news from Sakura-chan. Then she would have been upset and and ask Kaito-san to take her to Tokyo to be beside Sakura-chan. All of those unpleasant scenarios could be avoided because Yue-san had decided to step in at the right time.
Tomoyo did not care much about what happened to herself, but the thought of hurting so many people wrenched her heart. After her father's demise, shortly followed by aunt Nadeshiko-san's death, her brave mother had learned to smile again and live for the sake of her only daughter. Only the other day, she had promised her mother that she would never do anything to cause her pain. To take away her only daughter's life seemed to be too cruel. She could not afford to cause her mother that kind of grief. She could not let Sakura-chan feel the grief that her own mother had felt at the loss of her dearest friend and cousin. Yue-san had saved not just her, but so many other people in the process. And what did she do in return? She came away without even saying thanks to him. Yes, she apologized to Touya onii-san and Tsukishiro-san, but never once she uttered a word of thanks to the man who gave her another chance at life. Yue-san's behavior has always been a bit haughty towards everyone, including Kero-chan, Li-kun and even towards Sakura-chan on occasions. Could she really expect him to treat her any differently? He probably panicked himself at that time which made him chide her by calling her a fool, even as he had held her by her shoulders tightly against himself as he pulled her away from certain death. She wondered why Touya onii-san said that whatever happened was an inevitability, and why Yue-san seemed so shocked at those words.
Tomoyo pressed her face on her pillow, Arigatou, Yue-san , she whispered and two damp spots appeared on the pillow beneath her eyes. She wiped her eyes and sat up on her bed. She made up her mind that she would talk to Yue-san and thank him properly the next time she met him. It did not matter if he dismissed her, she would still do her part. She also really wanted to hear her mother's voice at that moment. She picked up her phone and dialed her mother's number.
"Sonomi Daidouji speaking," her mother answered in her professional voice. She must have answered the phone without looking at the screen to see who was calling.
"Okaa-san, it's me," Tomoyo said softly.
"Tomoyo-chan, you are still awake?" Sonomi's voice sounded surprised.
"No, I had slept. But I woke up for some reason, and thought your flight might have landed," Tomoyo answered.
"Yeah, we just landed at Heathrow. At the immigration queue now," Sonomi said.
"I am glad to hear that okaa-san," Tomoyo said.
"Sweetie, is everything alright?" Sonomi asked. She traveled a lot for her work, both within Japan and to countries abroad. It was such a regular part of her life that her daughter was completely accustomed to it. During such business trips, it was not normal for her to call in the middle of the night to make sure she has reached her destination.
"Daijoubu, okaa-san. I was just bored because I could not go back to sleep immediately. But I will try now. Have a successful trip," Tomoyo tried to make her voice sound as jolly as possible.
"I will call you later after I reach the hotel. Sweet dreams, Tomoyo-chan," Sonomi said. However, despite her mother's wish, Tomoyo lay awake with a strange restlessness for the rest of the night after hanging up the call.
At this point, it should be easier to guess where I am going with this Thanks to all those who have been following the story. As always, reviews are welcomed and serve as an motivation to write more.