Yay! Today, I'm giving you my last update for this year! 2014 is fast approaching and I'm So happy that I'm able to do this again! On the first part of this chapter, Tomoyo's intention was fto get to know more about Eriol. Our four main character had met again and it seems that Tomoyo had already discovered so much about him with her visit. But what are the things that's in store for her? How much more will she discover about him? And remember Yuji? The character on the 2nd Chapter? - His back with his family. What will be his role in Tomoyo and Eriol's life?

Anyway, just sit back and enjoy reading.

Chapter 9 : Knowing you more (Part 2)

Eriol, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Sakura and Touru were sitting around a kotatsu table. As the four didn't expected that they will see each other. Touru whispers as he didn't know what's happening. "Son, " he said. "What's going on?"

Eriol responded. "Seriously... I dunno..."

Tomoyo then broke her silence. "Ah... I didn't expected that you know Eriol." referring to Sakura.

"Yes, he is my childhood friend." Sakura replied. "And how about Syaoran... I never thought he will join you."

Tomoyo explains. "Syaoran's my secretary. He's been working within our company for more that 2 years now. But he's a family friend, too, that's why I know him for quite sometime now."

"Okay, I see." said Sakura. Silence covered the whole room for a bit. Then Tomoyo apologized to Sakura for being nasty when then had their lunch in the convenience store. "Um... About what happened to the convenience store... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at."

Sakura understood. "Oh, no! That's okay! It's my mistake since I was so clumsy. I am the one who should say that. To you and to your secretary."

Syaoran butts it. "Syaoran...call me Syaoran."

Tomoyo was annoyed. "Stop it." she whispered to him. Then she continues. "By the way, we're here to stay for the whole day. As a part of building our relationship with our employees, we usually visit our new hires' homes and and follow their everyday life for one day and we assign each of our personnel to do it. This way, we'll get to know them personally, and it will be much easier for us to understand their needs while they're working with us. this is not the first time that our company have done this. In fact, we're also sending people on other new hires, so I hope you won't mind if we ask some questions about Eriol. Again, this is just for business purposes and anything that will happen today will not be shared outside of the company. Understood? Any questions or clarifications?"

Sakura raised her hand. "I have one actually. You know, as you have mentioned, you send personnel to each of your new hires to do this. But I'm not sure why you're doing this instead of assigning your personnel, considering the fact that you're Eriol's boss?"

Tomoyo stuttered, as she had a difficulty of explaining it to her."Ah... well, you're correct! it will be easier for us if we send a representative. But Eriol is different from the rest of our new hires, and I think, it will be much better if I, as his boss, will go instead."

Sakura was a bit doubtful by what she said. "What do you mean he's different?" she asked.

"Well, I have sent him to one of my friends, which is also a psychologist. She explained to me his condition, and apparently, we have to take care of him as a company. remember that he's working on a diverse environment and that he has to meet a lot of people. I believe that it may be difficult for us to know his needs if we send someone out here to do this. I also think that his colleagues will understand him more if their boss knows his situation. As a high-ranking person within our company, I'll be able to explain to him his condition. I want to make sure that he's being treated fairly like his co-workers, and that he deserves respect." Tomoyo answered. "So, did it answer your question?"

"Sort of... " Sakura responded. "By the way, we thank you for taking care of him. Eriol's a good person, but sometime people around him are quite judgmental, so hearing these from you make us feel better."

"My pleasure. It's my responsibility to take care of our employees." Tomoyo said.

Sakura remembered something. "Oh! I forgot the groceries!" She stood up and excused herself. "I'll just buy some stuff. Our grocery store is just three block away. Oji-san, I'll just go there. I'll be back in a jiffy."

Touru lets her. "Sure, you may go now." Sakura went outside to buy some food for their visitors. Eriol also excused himself, as he saw some dishes on the kitchen sink. But his father told him not to. "No, I will mend the dishes. Stay here."

Eriol refused. "You've been cleaning the whole morning with Sakura... It's just a simple task... Let me do it." He stood up and went in to the kitchen.

"He's amusing." Tomoyo told Touru. "You're lucky to have a son like him."

"I know." Touru said.

Then, they changed their topic. Tomoyo looked around the house and she noticed that it's a bit small. "This house is almost as big as my bedroom." she said. "I just can't imagine both of you living in this place."

"Seriously?!" asked Touru. "So, you have a very huge house, then!"

"Yes, we have." she answered. As she roams the house even further, she noticed some pictures of Eriol and his father when he was young. She also noticed Eriol's medals and award he got when he was still in Grade school, Middle School and High School. All of which were hanging on the wall. But she noticed something, and from there, starts asking about personal matters. "I can see that you were there every time he receives his honors. But one thing is missing - Where's his mother? "

Touru had a deep breath. Then, he softly answered her. " Ah... about that, I really want to be clear that this is something that is personal. I will answer that for you, but could you please speak a little softer? he's just in the kitchen and I don't want him to hear this because again, as you can see, that is quite personal."

Tomoyo whispers. "Ah, I understand."

Touru answered Tomoy's question. "About his mother... she passed away just days after his birth."

Tomoyo apologizes. "Oh... I'm so sorry to hear that."

"That's okay." says Touru. " I know you'll be asking that question. As far as I remember, it was discovered that she had a lump on her ovary from the time that she was pregnant. Weeks after, it was found malignant. She underwent some medical procedure like chemotherapy but it didn't stopped the growth of the lump. That's why the doctor had had told her that there's nothing they could do but to terminate the pregnancy for them to remove the lump. But she refused. She'd rather die for her baby. He was born a month and a half before his mother's ninth month ."

- "So he was prematurly born that time?" asked Tomoyo.

"Yes, he is." he said. "In fact, he was barely alive from the time he was born. I also remember when his heart stopped beating just three or four days after he was born. I feared that my sister would lose her child because The doctors told me that he won't survive even for a week. I don't know what happened next because the only thing that I've done is to cry. All of a sudden, his hheart beats again, and his vital signs went back. It's was just a miracle for them to revive the child. But at the same time, our doctor had declared that my sister is dead."

- "That's sad, indeed. I know how it feels for someone to lose a parent. My father died when I was six due to an accident. Since then, my mother, together with my grandparents had raised me."

Touru complements her "Oh, that's nice! Just by looking at you, I can say that your mother had raised a wonderful daughter."

"Thank you for that." she replied.

Syaoran butts in. "Well, in most cases, she's stubborn, though!"

Tomoyo had a glare on him. "Syaoran?!"

Touru laughs. "Ahahaha! I'm telling you the truth. You're wonderful, and my son's so lucky for him to have you as a boss. By the way, I know you're tired since it's very hot outside. I'll make some cold barley tea for you."

"Oh, sure!" says Tomoyo. "I love barley tea. But please make it sweet just for me, and don't give a glass for this person, okay?" pointing at Syaoran.

Touru joked them "You sure are friends, right? All right then, I'll just go inside." He stood up and went inside the kitchen to prepare the barley tea. Tomoyo and Syaoran were left.

Silence filled the the whole room, as Syaoran felt like he will die because of boredom. "Huh... I'm bored. I want to do something outside but it's hot." he whispered.

Tomoyo scolded him. "If you're bored, then you should go back to the office and finish all the paper works that I'm asking you to do."

"I wish I could do that." Syaoran said. "But I've finished all of those last night."

Tomoyo smirked "Good! But it's your choice to come here and I didn't force you so if you're bored, you may go home now. Anyways, you'll miss that lady if you do that!" referring to Sakura

Syaoran sighed. " Okay, I don't have a choice, then. I'll stay."

The five people had gathered around the kotatsu table. Tomoyo was amazed with the vegetable dished and steamed fish that was served on the table. "Wow! It looks like we had a feast of veggies."

"We eat less meat here." Eriol told her. "Father's more than 70, that's why he has to eat healthy... Besides, meat is ridiculously expensive nowadays."

"That's good! Even in the food you eat, you still consider your father, don't you?" Tomoyo replies.

"There's a lot of food here. Don't shy, You may get how much you want." says Touru. Tomoyo thanked him. "Well, then! Let's eat!" he said. All of them did the usual etiquette before meals. They closed their palms together. "Thanks for the meal!" they said, then they grabbed their own chopsticks and a bowl of hot rice. Tomoyo and Syaoran tasted the food that was served. "This is great!" Tomoyo said. "I love how the vegetables are still crunchy, and the spices makes the food tastes meaty without the meat! It's delicious!"

"And the fish, too! It's moist and not overcooked." said Syaoran.

"Eriol prepared all of it." said Touro. But Eriol reacts. "Father taught me how to do it... I just learned it from him..."

"I remember Oji-san telling me that he worked on a small food stall while he was still living in Sapporo. Then, he taught not only Eriol, but me, as well. I'm telling you, oji-san is good!" Sakura adds

"Not really, sweetheart." says Touru. He gave another bowl of rice to Tomoyo and Syaoran. "By the way, eat more. This hot weather makes people more hungry and weaker so make sure that you're full."

Tomoyo thanked him. "You know what, I rarely experienced eating lunch and talking to someone other than my secretary. It's a good thing that we've visited your place. It may be small, but I'm sure it's filled with love and understanding."

"We thank you for visiting us." says Touru

"And we thank you for allowing us to visit you." Tomoyo responds. Syaoran asks for more fish. "I love the fish! Do you have more?" he said, while his mouth was full.

Tomoyo was annoyed by him. "Oh my gosh, Syaoran! You're shameless! Look at you, you eat like a pig!"

Syaoran responded "They are offering it to us, and I don't want to waste a food that is so delicious. Why are you stopping me?"

Tomoyo scolded Syaoran, but he just kept on getting what's on the table. The rest just laughed at the whole scene, and everyone had a great lunch time.

They helped each other cleaning up the table after lunch. After that, they enjoyed playing board games like Go and Shogi. Touru teach Tomoyo on how to play those games. Then they had a Shogi match between Eriol and Syaoran. "I can win this!" Syaoran said boastfully. At first, Syaoran was winning the match by capturing most Eriol's pawns. Little did he know that it was just luring him to capture Syaoran's king. "NO WAY!" Syaoran shouted as Eriol was able to defeat him.

"See? Don't underestimate everyone like you're the greatest." Tomoyo jokingly said. Syaoran asked for another round. But just like the first game, Eriol defeated him.

It was almost four in the afternoon when all of them noticed that time flies fast. Touru saw the mountain of uncleaned dishes. "Oh my, I'll just wash those." But Sakura told him not to. "No, Oji-san! I'll do it for you. Just rest for a while."

"I can do it." He said. "You know me. I just don't want to sit here and do nothing."

But Sakura insists. "But you've been doing almost everything since morning. I can do it myself. Just rest, okay?"

Syaoran has something in his mind. Then he asks Touru if he could help. "Ah... Sorry but, I also want to help you clean the dishes. Would you allow me?"

Everyone looked at each other. "Ah... What did you say?" asks Sakura

Syaoran responds. "Yeah. I'll help you. Right, Eriol?"

Eriol didn't get it at first. But eventually, he got it just as Syaoran winked at him. "Ah!" he reacted. 'Tomoyo... would you mind if I give you a tour of our town? It's quite small but our place is nice. We also have a garden and small playground here..."

Tomoyo felt excited. "Does your playground have swings?"

He answered. "Yes, we do!"

Tomoyo just can't wait to go outside since it's afternoon and it's not as hot as it was in the morning. "I wanna go! I miss riding a swing. Come on, let's go!"

Meanwhile, Touru told Sakura that he'll has to go outside to buy something for dinner. Sakura doesn't want to be left alone with Syaoran, that's why she asked him if she could do that after she finished mending the dishes, but Touru told him that the Fresh sea foods shop might have closed already if by the time she's done with the dishes. The three already left and there's nothing that she could do but to stay with Syaoran. "They left us..." said Syaoran. Sakura smirked and went inside the kitchen. Syaoran Followed her. "Hey, Sakura! Don't be like that!" Sakura kept her silence. "I didn't expect this to happen, either?!" he further explained.

But Sakura gave him a Sharp stare. - "Do you wanna help me with the dishes?" she asked.

"Yeah... I do." he said.

- "Then get the rubber gloves so that we could start."

"Yes, Ma'am!" He grabbed the gloves and put his hands into it.

Sakura started ordering him with so many things. - "Give me that sponge over there."

He picks u a scouring pad "This?"

- "No! The sponge over there!" she points at the sponge just beside the bottle of dish washing liquid.

"Okay,here you go."

- "The dish washing liquid."

"Here!"

- "Okay, then. You do the pots and pans, and I'll do the plates and utensils."

"Huh?! Can I do the plates and utensils, instead? It's hard to cleans these pots..."

Sakura was annoyed. - "Hey, you! If you don't want to help me, then go outside and let me do this."

Syaoran was surprised with her attitude. "Oh, no! No... I don't wanna go outside." Then, without any choice, he agreed to do his part. "Right... I'll make these pots clean as new."

The two started to mend the dishes. Both of them noticed that their sponges lack soap. They tried to reach for the dish washing liquid, but all of a sudden, their hands met, like they were holding each other's. Both of them looked at each other. Then, when they realized that they saw each other's hand holding together, they were surprised and released each other's hand.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to do that." said Syaoran.

"That's okay." Sakura replied. "Let's finish this before they come back."

Syaoran felt something weird after that. It's something he felt when back then when he and Sakura were still classmates. They were so close that time, holding each other's hands like there's no tomorrow. "Your hands..." he said. "It's still as soft as ever."

Sakura acted like she doesn't want to listen to him. "Just shut up and keep moving" she said. She continues cleaning the dishees, while Syaoran looked at her and smiled.

Tomoyo and Eriol were together the whole afternoon. They visited the special places in the community, like their small botanical garden where he used to visit since Grade school if he wants to have a quiet place to stay. They also went to the market place, the school in which Eriol had attended Elementary, Middle and High Schools, and the playground at the back of the school. She saw few people in the playground area, that's why she took advantage of having a ride on a swing.

"Eriol, can you please push the swing for me?" she asked.

He complied. "S... sure." He pushed it ans Tomoyo started swinging. As she swings faster, Eriol was stunned while looking at Tomoyo. Her long, curly hair that follows the breeze, her glowing eyes, and her sweet smile. It was as if he's seeing a different Tomoyo. Different from that Tomoyo he knew.

It was almost sunset when both of them walked all the way home. - "It was tiring." Tomoyo said. "But I had fun, especially the swing. I wanna do it again, sometime."

"Our community is open to everyone." Eriol told her. "You may visit as often as you want..."

- "I will, definitely." She said.

As the continue walking, Eriol suddenly ask her one question. "Ah... Tomoyo...I hope you won't mind but... I have a question..."

- "Sure! What is it?"

"Um... did... someone already told you... that you look great?"

- "Huh?...What is it again?"

"Um... You know... Like, someone will tell you how beautiful you are..."

- "Well... I'm not sure how to answer that. But let's just say that sometimes people would complement me with my look. Like, every time I have client meetings, people admire me for my confidence. Or every time I go to work, they usually say that I look sophisticated. But I humbly admit that I have insecurities, and I think that I'm just like every other woman. People may praise me for the way I dress, but I don't think they will say that I'm beautiful as is. Anyways, I think that there are more beautiful women other than me."

Eriol stopped while looking at her as she continues to walk. All of a sudden, he shouted.

"You're beautiful!"

Tomoyo stopped. She looked back at Eriol. "You may not know it... But for me, you're beautiful" he continued.

The cold afternoon air touched her skin. Looking back at Eriol from afar, she felt strange upon hearing those words. She's a woman who's always being commended by the way she carry herself. But that was was the first time that someone told her how beautiful she was, and his sincerity made a difference.

UnitedOsprey1991 , What I mean is that I'm not considering Sakura to be a part of the company as of yet. Anyways, thank you for being such a loyal reader, and thank you for the feedback.

That's all for today. On the next chapter, Tomoyo's ex boyfriend is back! See you next time, and Merry Christmas everyone!