A/N: I would like to thank: amy01, lioku, Chrono Breaker, Crunchy Snape, Koolmint26 and ChaseVoid for their much appreciated reviews. Yyaayy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.
The Next Morning
Chapter Two
Logic Of Things
Eriol lay on the large bed slightly smiling, and blankly staring at the ceiling. He was lying on the right side of the bed hands neatly folded on his stomach over the sheets, leaving a large empty space next to him. Through the light curtains rays of sun pierced the darkness of his bedroom. He didn't bother to look at the time; he knew the small digital alarm clock set on his right night table read six o' two. He always woke up at the same time everyday, after having done the same dream. When he would get off the bed, he would place his feet at the same spot he did every morning, in the very same order.
Eriol had a small laugh of contempt. How he despised the predictability of his life.
He hated everything of it, from his always neatly folded underwear in the top drawer of his dresser to the fact that everything always went according to plan.
Eriol threw his feet off the bed, pushing himself in sitting position. He stared at his feet lying on the soft carpet a moment before standing up and walking to the bathroom, not bothering to put on his glasses. Once he moved two footprints appeared, imprinted on the rug.
Eriol disliked constancy, he liked surprises and lively individuals as he selfishly hoped some of their vivacity would rub off on him. That is why he surrounded himself with a demented crowd such as Nakuru and Spinel, Eriol smiled at the thought of his guardians, and that is also why he and Kaho were so incompatible.
Eriol turned the shower handle, warm water sprinkled over his body. Kaho was about as dull as he was. They didn't complete one another the way lovers should. Over the years, they had inwardly began to simply tolerate each other's presence. He bathed in silence, leaned on both hands against the shower wall. Kaho never truly was in love with him, she always seemed to be searching in him, for something else.
He yanked the curtains open and took a step out the bathtub unexpectedly letting a small cry of surprise as his right foot slipped in the shower, tossing his whole body forward in a disastrous manner. In an attempt to stabilize himself, he grabbed the curtains that ripped unable to support his weight thus making him land hard on the tiled floor in a loud thump.
On the floor, Eriol rolled on his back, his eyes slightly narrowed.
The door to his bedroom slammed open and loud footsteps made way to the bathroom.
"Eriol-sama?" Nakuru barged into the bathroom a worried look on her face closely followed by Spinel.
"Eriol-sama! Are you alright!" gasped Nakuru seeing her young master so indigenously spread on the floor.
"Hm?" Eriol lifted his eyes to stare at Nakuru. They exchanged stares a moment, unable to pronounce a word or unsure of what to say. Nakuru was at a complete loss; she had never seen Eriol this way before. Apparently, he had just slipped in the bathtub, was now spread on the floor, wet and naked with only ripped curtains to his privates and… And that was pretty funny.
Taking in the humoristic value of the situation, Nakuru burst in a fit of giggles that even the stern Spinel couldn't resist. Eriol looked at his guardians curiously and smiled. He would laugh too, if he knew what was so funny…
Eriol came down for breakfast just a little later than usual. He wore his high school uniform which consisted of a plain white shirt and black tie under a sky blue vest that carried the small school insignia on the left, chest wise. The uniform was completed by clean black pants.
"Good morning Ruby, Spinel." Eriol greeted his two guardians who were currently arguing in front of a burning pan of omelette on whether or not they should add natto¹ to the dish.
"Ohayou Eriol-sama!" said Nakuru cheerfully flipping her head towards Eriol. Spinel flew to his master's shoulder and affectionately rubbed his small head on Eriol's cheek in a catlike way.
"Are you ok Eriol-sama? I mean, after that fall." Nakuru giggled in remembrance.
"Nothing but scrapes and bruises, I'll survive." smiled the blue haired mage.
Eriol glanced at burning omelette; a bowl of rice would do just fine for breakfast today. He walked to the kitchen counter and picked up his bento hoping Spinel was its cook and not Nakuru.
'I managed to break the routine, it's a good omen,' smiled Eriol petting the guardian on his left shoulder after putting the bento box in his schoolbag 'Maybe the little wolf's defences will fall today?' his eyes narrowed mischievously.
Spinel stared at his master of his slinky eyes.
"You seem pleased Eriol-sama" Spinel's wise eyes scouted Eriol's face.
"Ooh?" said Eriol with his usual smile. He walked out of the kitchen; the smell of burning eggs was starting to become suffocating, and escaped into the dining room.
"Hai hai! Suppi's right!" Nakuru started; coming out of the kitchen carrying on a plate, a black and brown omelette, "In fact, I haven't seen you this happy since Ka-…" she abruptly stopped at the blunder remembering Eriol highly disliked her name being spoken in his household, "Go-gomen…" Nakuru lowered her eyes.
Eriol briefly stared at Nakuru, sitting at his usual spot at the end of the massive dining table. He smiled sadly at the thought of her. 'What could have been under other circumstances? If I wasn't me but him?' he thought looking at his neatly folded hands resting on the table.
Both Spinel and Nakuru eyed their master in silence.
Eriol suddenly broke his reverie and looked up at Nakuru.
"It's enough," Eriol frowned standing from his chair at Spinel and Nakuru's surprise.
"G-gomen ne, Eriol-sama! I didn't mean to-" Nakuru yelped as Eriol walked in her direction. Eriol stopped right in front of her, and raised a hand. Nakuru closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.
London, England several months ago
It was a rainy night in London, though rainy wasn't quite the word. Outside, the Londoner streets were being submerged by one of the greatest storms they had ever been. The weather reflected quite well the mood at the Clow mansion.
In the living room, Eriol and Kaho sat in front of the fireplace in silence. Eriol sat in a corner of the room in his big armchair and Kaho on the couch. On the table in front of the fireplace, was set a tray where lay a teapot and two tea cups fuming with hot golden liquid. The room's only source of light came from the fireplace and nothing but the sound of wind leaking between branches of nearby trees could be heard but despite the silence, the atmosphere was right down hostile.
"What do you want from me Eriol?" finally asked Kaho turning her head to stare at Eriol. She made no attempt to hide the anger in her voice.
"I want you to stop lying to me," answered Eriol eyes never lifting from the fireplace but with equally as much hostility in his tone of voice.
"I do not understand," frowned Kaho
"Is it me that you love, is it really me? Or is it Clow?" Eriol took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. Kaho was slightly taken aback by the question,
"Is this some kind of tricked question?" Kaho stared at her folded hands resting on her laps.
"Don't be daft Kaho, just answer the question." Eriol put back his glasses and eyed the woman wearily. Kaho hesitated, unsure of what to say.
"How can you ask me this…? You are the one who took advantage of my admiration for Clow to seduce me. You knew who I saw when I saw you. You knew I always thought you to be him," said Kaho defensively.
Eriol felt a pang to his heart. Had Kaho really never acknowledged their separate existences?
"I am not him." Eriol's menacing tone was doubled but thunder echoing his intimidating behaviour.
"Yes, I see now that you are nothing more than a dysfunctional replica." Kaho spat bitterly.
"How dare you!" Eriol immediately standing up. The entire house shook from Eriol uncontrolled outburst.
"Face it Eriol! You are but the shadow of a great man!" Kaho shouted standing up as well.
"Kaho…" growled Eriol,
"Now that Clow's plans have been fulfilled, Eriol you are nothing! Behind all the mind games and illusions you are weak and insecure, nothing but a mere child getting a complex towards a dead man...!" Kaho walked toward Eriol gaining superiority as she stood at least a head taller than the young mage.
"Get out." frowned Eriol,
"You have nothing to give me and I'm done looking for something that isn't there," Kaho stopped in front of Eriol and stared down at him.
"GET OUT!" shouted Eriol in blind rage shattering the windows, teacups and tea pot using the mere force of his aura. Kaho cried out and shielded her eyes from the shards of glass flying across the room. When the rain of glass settled, Kaho relaxed and stared at Eriol who stood straight in front of her. They stood in silence until Kaho ran out of the room jostling into Nakuru and Spinel who were eavesdropping at the door.
Eriol looked at the withdrawing woman and dropped into his chair once she was out of sight. He stared at the fireplace, thoughtful. Nakuru and Spinel stood at the door staring at the shattered windows and ripped curtains. Without the windows, it was raining, cold and windy inside the room from the violent storm stirring outside. Though it would have been wise for Eriol not to stay there, neither Nakuru nor Spinel dared disturb their master in his current state. Soon, the fire died in the fireplace but Eriol remained sited. Despite the cold, he felt nothing but harsh numbness slowly spreading through his members.
-----
Nakuru opened her eyes at the feel of Eriol's touch on her cheek. She stared into Eriol's eyes that flickered with sadness.
"Have I scared you so much that night that you would think I would strike you for simply uttering her name? It is enough. I have made you both suffer enough. I cannot mourn forever and I believe… it is time for me to move on." having said that, Eriol walked out of the dining room carrying his book bag.
Nakuru and Spinel stared at each other and smiled.
When Eriol left the mansion, he pushed all thoughts of Kaho out of his mind determined not to let that woman get the better of him.
The sun was shining brightly, hinting that it was going to be a beautiful day and the streets were still relatively empty at the exception of a few cars passing every now and then. Eriol walked slowly in direction of Syaoran's apartment like he did everyday. The sheer thought of the little wolf made Eriol's heart swell but Eriol didn't kid himself, he knew fully well that Syaoran wouldn't accept him just yet.
In fact, according to his calculations it would take Syaoran exactly 2 weeks and 3 days to succumb to his charm, with of course a margin of error of about 2 days. Eriol frowned, his knowledge and ability to calculate human behaviour was something else he had inherited from Clow…Was there really anything about him that was only his own?
Eriol broke from his thoughts when reaching Syaoran's tall apartment building. He raised a hand shielding his eyes from the blazing rays of the sun, and tried looking up to Syaoran's bedroom window. Normally, Syaoran would be getting out by the front door at this precise instant but he was nowhere in sight. Eriol smirked, that was also in his calculations. Syaoran would not show up for school today. Eriol predicted that confused and uneasy, Syaoran would find it wiser to stay home and think himself to death.
'That boy thinks too much', Eriol sighed lightly, 'I have yet to teach him that not everything is logical or reasonable, especially when it comes to matters of the heart,' He smiled softly.
Eriol focused, scanning the building for Syaoran's aura. He felt a flicker of green aura past him as he searched the last floor but the faint trail soon faded.
"Ooh? So you chose to hide? How very uncharacteristic of you," Eriol murmured to himself looking up to Syaoran's bedroom window. Seeing no movement inside, Eriol turned and took the road to school and though it was unknown to him, as soon as his gaze left the window a shadow appeared, following of its eyes his retreating back.
Soon, Eriol joined the swarm of high school students entering the school building. Around him, people stared, boys and girl alike. With his fair complexion, midnight blue hair and tall and handsome figure, Eriol clearly stood from the crowd. Shortly after his arrival from England, Eriol had charmed his way to the top of the food chain at the Tomoeda High School stealing the title of high school heartthrob from any meaningful male.
He walked calmly fully aware of the looks he was receiving, which was also part of his daily routine. He couldn't just ignore them forever so Eriol stared back at some random girl in the crowd and sent her a smile. The girl blushed heavily and turned away. Her peers giggled and patted her back as though congratulating her.
Eriol smirked discreetly, 'One smile is all it takes to seem flirty, look approachable, and keep the commoners happy. People are too bloody readable,'
"Eehh? What's with that perverted smirk Hiiragizawa?" a voice shot from behind the mage. Eriol spun around startled, it couldn't be—
"Araa? Li-kun?" Eriol smiled at his friend hiding his incredulity. Syaoran stared a bored look on his face. He was wearing his school uniform and carried a black book bag slung over his left shoulder.
"W-why are you here?" said Eriol in a tone that betrayed his calm features.
"I'm not here for you," Syaoran walked past Eriol whispering "I'm here to make sure things stay fine between Sakura and me. I warned you Hiiragizawa and I meant it. Don't screw with me."
"Funny, I thought I already did." Eriol grinned trailing close behind the chestnut haired boy.
Suddenly, Syaoran spun around and gripped Eriol by the collar lifting him off the ground causing Eriol's schoolbag to fall in the dirt. Curious students formed a gasping, whispering crowd around them.
"You are making a scene Syaoran." smiled Eriol in spite of the uncomfortable position. He held both hands on Syaoran's trying to loosen the firm grip on his neck.
"It never happened Hiiragizawa. Keep your sick, twisted fantasies to yourself and spare me the explicit comments. If you say a word to her I'll kill you." said Syaoran like a low wolfish growl. With that, Syaoran let go allowing Eriol to fall freely on the hard ground. The brown haired boy turned around and walked away in the most nonchalant way. The crowd dispersed to let him pass and he soon disappeared into the school.
Eriol stood up and dusted himself patting his black pants. He picked up his dirty bag and stare at the entrance, where Syaoran disappeared. The fair boy gulped and shifted,
'Things weren't supposed to happen this way…'
(¹) Natto: Fermented soy beans.