Sorry for taking so long to update this. I just could never find the time or heart to finish writing it, but now I'm a bit free and bored. So here's the last chapter.
ENJOY!
The Truth Revealed
Tomoyo cling to Toya as both watched Sakura use the light card to break Eriol's darkness.
The moment Tomoyo saw Eriol release his key, she'd felt a rush of memories coming back to her. Memories of her running up to a seemingly grown Eriol happily as a child. He had turned back to her and held out his hand, a warm look on his face as he held her up and the child her laughed happily. Then, the shadow of a woman and a boy a few years older than her walked up to them and Tomoyo's smiles widened as the man turned to welcome the other two.
After that memory came another one. In this one, Tomoyo was a bit older. Around the same age as the girl in her dreams. She was sitting in a dark room full of glass mirrors circling themselves all around her. Tomoyo noticed that she was also wearing the same clothing as the girl in her dreams. Then, she heard footsteps approaching and turned her head around only to see the grown Eriol walking toward her, a small smile on his face and his eyes warm and loving. She turned her entire body towards him and Eriol held out his hand to her, a cheerful smile on her face.
"Come Tomoyo," she heard him say. "Let us go on another adventure."
Tomoyo's smiles widened and she took her hand, saying something back to him.
Then after that, Tomoyo remembered seeing her mother's tear stained face as she looked up at her and the grown Eriol from her place kneeling on the ground. Tomoyo remembered Eriol handing her off and into her mother's arms. She remembered looking back at Eriol and him smiling at her before putting his hand in front of her eyes. She felt as though she knew exactly what was coming as his hands glow blue and suddenly, Tomoyo felt something shatter before she closed her eyes and let out a cry.
Eriol stood back up and said, "Please take care of Tomoyo for me, Daidouji Sonomi-san." And he disappeared while Sonomi tried to calm Tomoyo's crying.
Tomoyo felt a sense of déjà vu. This felt just like that time in her dream when the man walked away from her and Toya. Then, Tomoyo's eyes widened as she realized that both the grown Eriol and the man resembled each other. Not only that, but she finally noticed that both felt the same as well.
Finally, the darkness disappeared and Syaoran woke up. Tomoyo and Toya ran to both of them just as Keroberos and Yue came out of the staff.
Tomoyo was fussing over Sakura before both went to help Syaoran. Toya stood beside Yue and watched as Eriol and his guardians came down from the Torii. Kaho walked past him to join them beside Nakuru.
Toya narrowed his eyes at the smiling Eriol when he landed. Syaoran, Keroberos, and Yue came to stand in front of Sakura and the others in a fighting stance as soon as they noticed Eriol.
"Eriol-kun," Sakura whispered, gripping her staff tightly.
"Congratulation Sakura-san," said Eriol, surprising most.
"Aye?"
"All the Clow Cards are now Sakura Cards," Eriol explained.
As soon as he said that, all the cards floated out of Sakura's pocket and made a circle around her, all happy to be in her service. Sakura smiled and held out her hands. Everyone watched as all the cards slipped into Sakura's awaiting hands. Sakura smiled and looked up to say something to Eriol, but found that he was gone.
"Aye?" she said, looking both ways to try and find him.
Keroberos smiled. "So he did all of this just so Sakura would become the next Card Mistress hah?" he reflected, and then shook his head. "Honestly, just what were you really thinking about Clow?"
The next day, Eriol didn't come to school and the class was informed that he had some family business to attain to, so was excused form school for the day.
Syaoran didn't look happy about this, saying that Eriol was just giving an excuse not to be here. Keroberos on the other hand, said that he wanted to avoid being confronted and didn't come.
Sakura though, was disappointed by this. She had wanted to talk to Eriol and thank him for everything. Tomoyo tried to cheer her up by saying that Eriol would be returning tomorrow and Sakura could talk to him than. For now, she should focus on Syaoran, who would be leaving soon. Although it is painful, Tomoyo found that it wasn't as painful as she had thought.
Tomoyo left the two alone for a bit, instead choosing to focus on her visions and Eriol. Tomoyo had a gaps on what was going on, but she wasn't quite sure about it and that was why she'd wanted to talk to Eriol as well. She was sure that he knew something, if not everything.
When school let out, the three friends found themselves walking together towards the front entrance, Sakura in a middle as always and Tomoyo trying to break the awkward silence between them. Then, she spotted Kaho, Toya, and Yukito waiting for them at the gate. As always, Toya had his arms crossed and looked annoyed while both Kaho and Yukito were pleasantly smiling at them.
"Onii-chan, Mizuki-sensei, Yukito-san," said Sakura, stopping in front of them. "What are you doing here?"
"Could it be that you were waiting for us?" questioned Tomoyo, coming up behind Sakura.
"Hoe? Why?" questioned Sakura.
Kaho smiled warmly at the young child and said, "Eriol-sama wishes to speak with you. All of you." Her eyes trailed off towards Syaoran then Tomoyo and stayed there for a moment before returning to Sakura. "And I'm to take all of you to see him after school."
"Eriol-kun wants to see us?" asked Sakura. Then her head titled to the side in confusion. "Why?"
Tomoyo's eyes flashed with realization while Syaoran frowned.
"What does that damned cat want now?" he questioned. "Hadn't he done enough already?"
Tomoyo giggled. "Now, now Li-kun," she lightly scowled. "You shouldn't be disrespectful to your elders, especially your own ancestor."
Syaoran only crossed his arms like Toya and looked away, his face unhappy about all of this. Tomoyo hide her giggles behind her hand as they walked off to Eriol's house.
Nakuru opened the door for them, dressed in a black maid outfit, and cheerfully led them to the living room. As they came closer, the children heard voices of grown ups talking and realized that they must be Eriol's family members whom he'd missed school for.
Once they rounded the corner however, all three children plus one teen were surprised by what they saw.
"Mother/Dad?!" shouted both Syaoran and Sakura. Both Tomoyo and Eriol chuckled at that as both children walked towards their parents, who were sitting on the couch, sipping tea. "Why are you here?"
"Hey! I'm here too!" shouted the girl from her place beside Syaoran's mother, now standing up.
"Meiling-chan!" shouted Sakura, giving her a hug. Tomoyo also walked over to hug her as well.
"And Meiling too?" shouted Syaoran.
"How-? When-?" both Sakura and Syaoran spattered out. "What-?" Both looked to Eriol, Syaoran with an angry face while Sakura's was happy.
"Hiiragizawa..." Syaoran growled out while at the same time, Sakura said, "Eriol-kun!"
"Quite down and take a seat, Xiao Lang," instructed his mother, Yelan, while quietly taking a sip of her tea. "You're being rude."
"... Yes mother." And Syaoran sat down next to Meiling.
Sakura and Tomoyo smiled as they turned to greet the rest of the adults in the room before taking their seats beside each of their respective parent.
Tomoyo sat beside her mother in one of the armchairs in the room while Sakura sat next to her father, who was next to Eriol on the long couch. On the other side of Eriol sat Yelan, Meiling, and Syaoran. Then, sitting on armchairs beside Syaoran were Yukito, who was served cake by Nakuru, Toya, and Kaho. Once she was done we ring everyone sweets and tea, Nakuru took a seat beside Sonomi while Spinal was resting on Eriol's lap as said person stroke his head.
"Come out and join us, Keroberos," said Eriol, a smile on his face.
"Hoe?!" shouted Sakura, surprised as she watched Kero fly out of her bag, an accusing frown sent towards Eriol.
"Clow," said Kero. "Explain yourself!" he shouted once he got closer. "Why? Why did you do all of this if you knew that your were going to be reincarnated!"
Eriol closed his eyes. "Is that what you wanted to ask me as well, Yue?" he calmly asked.
Yukito froze and turned into a frowning and cold eyed Yue. "Yes," he replied.
Eriol gave a small sigh and opened his eyes. "Then to answer your question, Keroberos," he said. "It was a favor. To a close friend, and... to my little sister."
"Little sister?" questioned Kero, confused. "You mean Yuuko?"
Eriol frowned. "No. Yuuko is only Clow's beloved cousin and friend..." He got up and walked over to the glass door at the back of the room and looked up. "The sister I am referring to is right here." Eriol held out his hand to tin air, but as the doors parted and the wind blew in, causing the white curtains to fatter about, a black haired woman dressed in white stepped out. She had a lovely smile on her face and her green eyes sparkled with life as she look Eriol's waiting hand.
"Thank you, nii-sama," she said.
"Mom?!" shouted Sakura, standing up.
Nadeshiko turned towards her and smiled before Eriol led Nadeshiko towards the couch.
"Sakura-chan," she said, standing in front of Sakura.
Tears fell down Sakura's cheeks as she hugged her mother. Nadeshiko looked around the room and sent a smile to everyone. "Toya-kun, you've grown," she said to the now standing Toya, who also came to hug her, a small smile on his face. Then she turned to the crying Sonomi standing on the other side of the room. Nadeshiko smiled and held out her arms. "Sonomi-chan?" And Sonomi came running into her embrace.
Once everyone had a hug, Toya went back to his seat and Nadeshiko took a seat on the long couch, sending a smile Fujitaka's way. Sakura was sitting in between them while Sonomi cling to her other arm.
"How is this possible?" questioned Sonomi.
Syaoran glared at Eriol, but his mother hit him on the shoulder and he looked away. Tomoyo only giggled at that.
"You have a brother," Sonomi continued, than looked up at Nadeshiko. "How come I didn't know about this until now?"
Nadeshiko smiled. "That's because I don't have one," she replied. "Well," her eyes trailed off, "at least, not in this life..."
"What do you mean?" Sonomi questioned, her eyes narrowed.
"Everyone," came Eriol's voice, breaking them out of their private reunion. "Please let me explain."
"Alright than Hiiragizawa," growled Syaoran, glaring at the older male. "Start talking."
Eriol nodded his head and began, "Since Nadeshiko brought up the topic, I might as well continue it... First of all, Sonomi-san," Eriol looked to the glaring Sonomi. "What Nadeshiko said about us being siblings us true. But that was in the past. Or rather, in one of her past lives. Many years ago, it is true that I had a little sister named Nadeshiko, who looked very much like the one here. Because of that, I'm sure you've already figured out our relationship, correct Fujitaka-san?" Eriol looked to Fujitaka.
"Hai" answered Fujitaka, putting down his tea cup. "I realized it the moment our hands made contact for the first time, though I did feel something the moment we meet. And how could I not? After all, you were a dear friend to me back than. Despite your position, you still befriended the lowly me. Even though you knew how that would be viewed by everyone else at court. You even gave the poor scholar your little sister, the only sister and full-blood sibling you had..."
"I only approached you because I knew you had a great mind. Beside, you should know that statues means nothing to me," Eriol shrugged, tea cup in hand. "As for letting you marry Nadeshiko..." He took a sip of his tea. "Well, I knew you'd be able to care for her. And I trust you. If anyone was able to keep her safe from the things going on behind the walls, it would be you..."
"So you basically using him," Yelan accused.
Both Eriol and Fujitaka looked at each other before laughing. "If you look at it that way, then yes, I suppose he was," said Fujitaka. "But I don't mind it."
"You never do," Eriol muttered.
"Nii-sama has always come off as the bad guy who manipulates others," Nadeshiko added in. "Even though he really meant for it to be good..."
"Forget about it, Nadeshiko," said Eriol, knowing where this was going.
"But you should really explain-!"
"He won't listen anyways," Eriol closed his eyes, a frown on his face. "...None of them ever do... Besides," Eriol smiled as he opened his eyes. Tomoyo could see some kind of sparks in them, like the gleam of a child getting candy or making merry... But in Eriol's case, Tomoyo had the feeling it was mischief. "It's fun to fight like cats and dogs with him."
Nadeshiko sighed and gave up on trying.
Tomoyo smiled. She was right. "...So than, does that make Hiiragizawa-kun Sakura-chan's uncle?" she wondered out loud, bring everyone's attention to her.
Eriol smiled. "Yes," he answered. "I suppose it does."
"But you're more than that though, nii-sama," Nadeshiko whispered.
"Is this the reason you did all of this than Clow?" Yue questioned. "For your niece?"
Eriol sighed. "Still being called that," he whispered in dismay before looking up to meet Yue's accusing eyes. "Yes Yue," he replied. "However, I did all of this for Sakura-san not only because she was my niece. But I did it because I owed her parents to protect her. As her godfather and the person who killed her parents."
"What?" shouted Sonomi, standing up.
Sakura, Tomoyo, Meiling, and Syaoran had their eyes wide open.
"It wasn't directly," defended Fujitaka.
"There was nothing you could do about it, nii-sama," said Nadeshiko, trying to ease his pain. "You had no choice. It was either us, or your family and the entire kingdom." She leaned over to touch his arm. Eriol solemnly looked at her and she smiled. "You did your best, onii-chan." Eriol weakly smiled back at her, some life returning to his eyes.
"So you didn't kill them?" asked Syaoran.
"No," replied Eriol, looking away from Nadeshiko. "But I might as well have..."
"...Let's move on to a different topic," Toyo suggested. "Before you go too deep into your past sins and become lost in them so much that we won't be able to pull you back out." He smirked and crossed his arms. "You won't be of any use than, old man." His eyes then trailed off to Yue. "And can you do something about Yuki?"
Eriol smiled knowingly. "Of course," he agreed, standing up. "My apologies." He went to stand in front of Yue and pulled Yukito out, separating Yue and Yukito from each other.
Yukito opened his eyes and moved away from Eriol, stumbling a bit until Meiling made her way across the room and caught him. Toya smirked from his lace next to them.
"Honestly," Meiling grumbled. "You're really hopeless, aren't you?" She helped him into his chair and stayed standing there, her arms crossed and face annoyed.
Yukito smiled. "Thank you Meiling-chan," he said.
Meiling blushed and muttered, "Whatever," before moving back to her seat. Yukito's smile only widened.
"I must apologize for that," said Eriol, addressing Yukito.
"Eh?" Yukito looked up at him.
Eriol only smiled at his change of expression. "How are you feeling, High Priest Yukito?"
"Ah, I'm find now," replied Yukito. "Thank you for asking, your majesty."
Eriol only smiled and went to sit beside Tomoyo in place of her mother.
"What just happened?" questioned Syaoran.
"Yeah, what was that all about? Your majesty? High Priest?" inquired Meiling, confused.
Yukito only laughed, realizing his mistakes a little too late, and looked to Toya for help. Toya only shook his head and looked to Eriol.
Sakura looked confused and Eriol chuckled.
"Two souls in one body..." whispered Yue, his eyes wide with realization.
"Yes," Eriol replied. "Yukito-san is actually a Priest and a sorcerer. I hid him away with Yue to protect him, by having Yue seal his powers for a time... But now that I've broken the seal, Yukito-san should be able to use his powers once more. And as he is my son's closest friend and advisor, he is well aware of the many things going one within my family."
"Your son?!" Kero shouted, his eyes wide. Yue's eyes also widened, as did the member of the Li Clan.
Eriol smiled while Toya clinched his teeth and Yukito held him back with a small smile on his face. "Yes," said Eriol. "My son."
"Clow Reed had a son?!"
"No, he does not," Eriol answered.
"Wha-?"
"Let me explain," Eriol held up a hand. "To begin with. I, am not, Clow Reed. Nor was I ever Clow Reed," he explained slowly, as if to toddlers. "I am Hiiragizawa Eriol, Clow Reed's direct ancestor on his father's side, and indirect ancestor on his mother's side, as Lee Hyeon-Ma was, and still is, my baby brother."
"Lee Hyeon-Ma?!" shouted Syaoran and Meiling, standing up.
"Who's Lee Hyeon-Ma, Syaoran-kun?" asked Sakura.
"He's our direct ancestor through marriage to Li Xifeng," Meiling explained for Syaoran, who was apparently still in shock over the news.
"Ah yes," said Eriol, a fond smile on his face. "Xifeng... The girl who made our obedient baby brother who follows his older brothers every order to disobey us for the very first time." He sighed. "He never did disobey any of my orders, or Kazune and Takachi for that matter. Even though Takachi..." Eriol laughed. "Ahh, Xifeng really had that idiotic half brother of mine head over heels for her, enough to even become a stalker and sacrifice an heir to his own clan just to be able to marry her... But I suppose it all works out in the end, since he's still alive to run the Lee clan back in Korea."
"Wait, what?" questioned Syaoran. "He's still alive? But that can't be right! He existed 500 years ago!"
"Really?" questioned Sakura, before turning to Eriol. "Wow Eriol-kun, you're old!"
Eriol smiled. "Yes," he replied. "I know." He took a sip of his tea. "But 500 years doesn't even compare..." he whispered into his cup, his eyes a little sad.
"Wait, you said he's your half brother?" asked Meiling.
"Yes," Eriol put his cup down. "Back than men were allowed more than once wives, though none of us brothers had more than one at a time... Hyeon-Ma was the youngest, born to Fourth Mother, whose position wasn't as high as mine, the legal wife, the First Wife. I have three younger brothers and one baby sister, who was my only full blooded sibling. My brothers were all born to different mothers, and just as any family, we had problems. But it wasn't exactly pity augments though... I usually team up with Kazune, who's just as responsible as me, while the younger ones, Takachi and Hyeon-Ma, pair up with each other, just to make things even." Eriol smiled at the fond memories.
"So, you're really not Clow Reed than?" asked Kero in a whispered voice, his eyes sad at the revelation.
"That is correct," answered Eriol, his eyes staring right into Kero's. "But you needn't look so sad Keroberos, Yue. Honestly, both of you are wounding me here... To think you would find Clow Reed more interesting than your own creator... Really, if I knew that this was going to happen, then I shouldn't have made you both look after Clow in my place..."
"You had no choice, Master," said Spinal, picking his head up to look at his master.
"It would have been dangerous if you continued to stay with him," continued Nakuru. "You know that. That's why you had to do what you did that day. Right Kero, Yue?" She narrowed her eyes at the two guardians.
Both Kero and Yue had their eyes wide opened as they remembered back to the day Eriol had ordered them to look after the orphaned baby Clow and how they'd come to loss their memories after being sealed in the Book by Clow to await for Sakura, whom Eriol was also waiting for as well.
"I see," said Yue, his eyes clearing up as he came out of the past. "So that's it..."
"You knew all along hah," accused Kero. "And you planned everything from the very beginning... Typical..." And he flew over to sleep on Sakura's lap. "But even so, Yue and I belong to Sakura now!"
Eriol smiled. "Of course," he acknowledge. Kero merely huffed and looked away.
"So when sensei said that this was a family reunion, he wasn't lying, was he?" Tomoyo spoke up. "Both the Li Clan and the Kinomoto family are indirect descendants of yours in someway, Hiiragizawa-kun."
"Yes," replied Eriol. "But you forgot one, Daidouji-san."
"Eh?"
"You forgot the Daidouji family. They too are indirect descendants of mine." The two looked each other in the eye. "They are my 3rd brother, Yanagi Takachiho's, descendants... Though my youngest child, Chrono, and his son, Minoru, also has ties to the family through their descendants' marriage as well."
"Really?" questioned both Sakura and Meiling.
Sakura looked at Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-chan, we're related on both sides!" she shouted, happy.
Tomoyo smiled at her while Meiling shook her head. For some reason, Sonomi looked sad.
"This family is really messed up," commented Meiling, shaking her head.
Eriol smiled and then pushed an envelope and a photograph up towards them. Everyone looked at it, some showing shock at the picture of the castle and the crest on the side of it.
"But that's not the only reason I have called you all here today, though," said Eriol."I'm sure that some of you have seen this crest before."
The members of the Li family looked up at him. "Yes, this is Hogwarts castle, the school of magic in England."
"Eriol-sama, surely you're not-" Yelan began, but Eriol put up a hand to stop her.
"You are well aware of what happened at Hogwarts last year correct?"
"... Yes," Yelan replied. "The Battle of Hogwarts."
Eriol nodded his head. "Hm. You may not know this, but I was very close friends with Albus Dumbledore, the previous headmaster of the school. Though I did not attend the school myself during those years, a friend of mine asked for my help in protecting the muggles- I mean humans and hiding the half-bloods during those times. And since we've known each other for such a long time, I agreed to help him. It was the least I could do for my country... Although Arthur still hates me, to a point..." He sighed. "And now Alistair is asking for my help in revising his school. You see, many people died during the battle, as to be expected of any war. And because of that, many spots have been left open, and Alistair wished for my help in filling up those open spots for him. I told him to give me a year to round up some people, and though he didn't like it, as he had hoped to have Hogwarts ready with all its permanent staff members present this year, he and Arthur had to make due with my request."
"So because of this, I cannot return to England without some teachers, otherwise England, and Scotland, will definitely kill me. I'm not joking..." He looked dead serious. "Of course, the Li Clan won't have to get involved in this, and Syaoran may still continue his training. All I'm asking is for someone to volunteer to come back to England with me. I don't want to face the wrath of both Arthur and Allistair Kirkland at the same time. It won't end will if those two work together on something. Actually, if all the Kirklands work together on something other than bullying Arthur... Especially if those Sytherins turn their gaze on the entire world. Considering what Arthur already did... That will not end well..." Now he looked really desperate, which confused Tomoyo, as she thought he was supposed to be the most powerful magician in the world. Why was he so afraid of two wizards who were younger than him?
"Even if I am more powerful than all of them combined and am older," Eriol answered Tomoyo's unasked questioned, "It's still scary to face those two in combat. I shudder to even think..."
Fujitaka came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Eriol-san," he said. "I'll go to England with you."
Eriol looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Futa!" he shouted, hugging the man. "Thank you!"
"Since you're going, Sakura and I might as well follow," Toya spoke up. Eriol stopped crying and looked at him. "What? I want to see her! Is that bad?"
"No," said Eriol, letting go of Fujitaka. "It's just, I was hoping that you and Sakura-san would come as well. This way, she could learn western magic and you, Fujitaka-san, Yue, Kaho-san, and Yukito-san would each teach a class."
Toya only stared at him. "So you had it all planed out and were only waiting for us to agreed hah? You Cheshier Cat. Fine!" Toya threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "You win!"
"EH? So we're moving?" questioned Sakura.
"No," said Nadeshiko. "We'll only be going to England for the school year and come back during break and summer."
"Oh." Sakura looked down, sad. "Than I won't be able to see Tomoyo-chan either..."
Tomoyo got up and went to sit beside Sakura. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll still see each other during breaks, and we could call to keep in contact," Tomoyo assured her.
"Actually," said Eriol. "The thing about British wizards is that they kind of do things the old fashion way... So you won't be able to call each other, but you well be able to send handwritten letters." Eriol quickly added when seeing the girls' faces. "However, there should be no need for you to separate."
"Eh?" both girls looked up.
"What do you mean, Eriol-kun?"
Eriol smiled and walked over to them. "I mean, both of you could come," he explained. "As I've said, the Daidouji are descendants of mine as well..." The children's eyes widened in realization. "Of course, if that is alright with you, Sonomi-san." He looked over to the sad Sonomi.
Sonomi nodded mindlessly. "Of course," she said. "It's not really my choice after all..."
Eriol smiled sadly at her. "Of course it is," he said. "You raised her as your daughter after all. You have to have some say in these things." Sonomi quickly looked up at him, her eyes calculating, and Eriol just smiled sweetly at her.
"Sonomi-chan," said Nadeshiko, coming over to hug her shoulders.
"I suppose I shouldn't be very surprised to find this out," said Sonomi, stilling looking at Eriol, almost as if searching for something from the look on his face, before looking to Tomoyo. "Your father was a strange man after all. Suddenly appearing like that..."
"What do you mean by that, mother?" Tomoyo questioned. "Are you saying that father was a magician? That I'm...?"
Sonomi smiled sadly back at her. "Yes," she replied in a soft tone. "He was, or rather I should say, is a magician." Her eyes trailled up to Eriol's smiling face. "And you are probably one too."
Eriol continued to smile as everyone looked at him. "Since we've already come this far," he said, "I might as well finish it." Yukito stood up and moved to sit in Tomoyo's seat while Eriol took his.
"Finish what, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked while Syaoran and Meiling's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"My family tree, of course," he replied. "I have already told you about my siblings, and the fact that I have a son and a grandson, correct?" Everyone nodded their heads.
"Have?" questioned Syaoran, his eyebrow raised.
"Yes, have." Eriol nodded. "They are all still very much alive, which is sometimes annoying, but since we don't meet up often..." Eriol sighed. "Yes, they are very much alive. In fact, two of my children are in this very room with us right now." He looked off to the side. "Isn't that right, Toya?"
Everyone looked towards Toya for his replied and Toya looked unhappy about all of this, almost as if he didn't like the fact that he was related to Eriol, much less being his son, for that matter. For some reason, Tomoyo didn't like this and frowned at it.
"Nii-chan?" questioned Sakura. "What about nii-chan, Eriol-kun?"
Eriol only smiled at her oblivious face and Syaoran faced plumed himself on the forehead.
"Are you kidding me, Kinomoto!" shouted Meiling. "You didn't get what he," she pointed an accusing figure towards Eriol, "was implying at all?" Her face showed complete disbeilf. "Geez, just how-"
"Meiling," scowled a ticked off Yelan, and Meiling hurriedly sat down.
"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized.
"Hoe? What are you talking about, Meiling-chan?" Sakura was still confused.
"She means that I'm one of Eriol's children, Sakura," Toya explained. "His eldest in fact."
"EH?! NANI?! But that's impossible, you're my older brother-"
"You're an only child, Sakura-chan," Nadeshiko interrupted.
Sakura looked towards her. "Hoe?"
Nadeshiko smiled at her child's pureness. "I only gave birth to you and you alone, Sakura-chan." She looked to Eriol. "Nii-sama only asked me to look after Toya-kun for him for a while. I'll admit, I was quite surprised to see Toya-kun looking so lifeless the first time I saw him as a 6 year-old child. It was hard getting him to open up to us, ne anata?" She smiled at Fujitaka and he smiled back.
"Hai," he agreed. "It was."
"How come I never knew that Onii-chan was adopted into our family than?" asked Sakura. "I mean, shouldn't other people know about this as well?"
Everyone was surprised. For once, Sakura asked the right question and seemed to have a total grasp of the situation.
"Nani?" she asked, looking around at everyone's faces.
Fujitaka shook his head. "No, it's nothing... Memories can be tampered with, Sakura-san," he explained. "Eriol-san erased, or rather, suppressed Toya-san's memories and turned him back into a child to have us raise. Then he messed with the memories of others and made everyone believe that Toya-san was our son by birth."
"And Toya wasn't the only one I did that to," Eriol added in, looking straight at Tomoyo, causing her heartbeat to increase as she knew what was coming next. "I also did it to my two daughters as well."
"...D-daughter?" Tomoyo shattered out, her eyes weary of the situation, fearing the known, yet unknown.
Eriol smiled. "Yes, daughters. Toya's younger sisters. Though the younger one and her brother could be considered his half-sib-"
"I don't consider them my half-siblings," Toya rudely interrupted, his voice laced with anger. Eriol merely turn his gaze towards him. "We," Toya breathed out, "don't consider them our half-siblings."
"Hm," was the only sound that came out of Eriol's mouth. His gaze then turned back to the glass doors that led to the sunny backyard. "Of course you wouldn't," he continued, before closing his eyes and sighed. "After all, my second wife is the incarnation of my first."
"Onee-sama died?" Nadeshiko questioned, worried.
"It was during the Struggles..." Eriol whispered, and suddenly, the image of the dying woman flashed across Tomoyo's mind. She closed her eyes and tried to forget it. "But she's fine now," Eriol continued.
Toya let out a chuckle. "As fine as any Sleeping Beauty could be," he added. Eriol glared at him.
"Sleeping Beauty?" questioned Nadeshiko.
"She's currently in a coma right now," Eriol explained. "After giving birth to Chrono..."
"And whose fault was that that she ran away, I wonder?"
"We are not here to talk about your mother, Toya." Eriol finally turned to look at him. "Yes, I admit it was my fault she ran. I should've told her, I should've explained those things to her first instead of letting her find out for herself and then ran away thinking I didn't love her, but the woman she resembled. I was a coward for not wanting to face her, I'll admit, but we're not here to talk about her. We can have this arguments later, Toya."
Everyone stayed silent after the outbreak, taking everything Eriol had just said and letting it sink in. Eriol took a deep breath and ran his hand over his head in frustration.
Finally, Tomoyo decided to be brave and break this unpleasant atmosphere. "So you have four children than, Hiiragizawa-kun?" she asked with a kind smile on her face.
Eriol looked up and after a while, smiled back at her and Tomoyo could feel the strong atmosphere lifting with his change of mood.
"Yes," he replied. "Though I would love it very much to not hear you call me Hiiragizawa, D-. No. Tomoyo-chan." Tomoyo's heart beat faster at this and Eriol weakly chuckled. "I feel like I'm in trouble when you call me that-"
"Well aren't you?" both Toya and Syaoran questioned at the same time, than glared at each other.
"After all," Eriol continued, deciding to ignore the two, "That is the only time you'd do it... And besides," he gazed off towards Toya, who was being held back by Yukito, telling him to calm down and not do anything ruthless while Yelan gave Syaoran a look that shut him up. "It's your last name too."
"Ay?"
"Hoe?"
Sonomi looked down.
Eriol took a deep breath and turned back to face Tomoyo. "Out of all my four children, Chrono, the youngest, is the only one whose memories I have not tampered with. I can't really... well, I could, but considering he is known as the Sorcerer of Time... It's a bit hard... My older three on the older hand..." His gaze shifted towards Toya, who had now calm down. "Toya, I left with Nadeshiko and Futa, my third child, I left with the Hyuuga Clan... and finally," he turned back to Tomoyo. "My second child, possibly the closest to me, I left with Daidouji Sonomi so that she could be close to her beloved cousin and her older brother. Just as she had wanted... Just as you had wanted, Tomoyo."
Tomoyo's eyes widened as memories rushed back to her from behind the closed gate. She remembered now. Sitting in that room, he told her of his plans. He introduced her to the young Clow Reed and Yuuko. And most importantly, he asked her what she had wanted to do with her life after she had chased him to the End of the World just to keep him company.
She remembered Sonomi, crying because, not only had she lost her husband, but she also lost the child she didn't know she had been carrying. Tomoyo remembered Toya, Yukito, Kurogane, Soma, Chrono, the little brother she had raised, and his older sister, Hinata. She remembered everyone and everything that happened in the past. But most importantly, she remembered her.
Tears welled up in Tomoyo's eyes as she whispered, "Okaa-sama." She remembered back to the scene under the sakura tree.
Tomoyo then turned her gaze to Sonomi, who had her head down, and came to kneel in front of her. "Thank you," she said with a warm smile. "For everything." Sonomi looked at her and tears began to stream down her face. "Even though I'm not your daughter by blood, I would like to ask if it'd be possible for me to still call you mother and continue to be your daughter? Because to me, you are also my mother, and I'm sure my real mother won't mind it if I explain it to her." Eriol clinged a bit at that.
Sonomi looked at her for a moment, searching her the same way he'd been searching Eriol, before bringing Tomoyo into a hug. "Oh Tomoyo," she cried. "My sweet, lovely Tomoyo. Of course, you'll still be my daughter." She then looked at Eriol. "Thank you, thank you."
Eriol shrugged. "It's her choice," he said. "Even though I don't like admitting it, Tomoyo is already grown up and can make her own decisions."
"That is correct, father," agreed Tomoyo, coming out of the hug to look up at Eriol. "I can make my own decisions now, but I still would like to hear your opinion on some matters once in a while." She walked towards him to stand in front of him. For some reason, Eriol seem to look a bit guilty and uneasy when she said 'once in a while'. "Like for example, how are you going to get us into Hogwarts without problems and what subjects would the grown ups be teaching?" She leaned in to hug him and whispered into his ears, "Could you answer me that, father?"
Eriol hugged her back and let out a chuckle. The hug was brief and when she let go, Eriol spoke up. "To answer you're question," he said. "I should like to remind you that I was close friends with the late headmaster, and Alistair does have connections to the Magic Ministry, as will as Hogwarts, since it is in his land, but on Arthur's traff. I could always have him and Arthur pull some strings with their governments to get us in. Although Arthur has yet to go back into his magical side, despite going to Hogwarts during Harry Potter's years, he could still help us out, especially with the human side of things. He has a lot of influence on that, after all. Besides, we could always use the excuse of moving and having to change schools to our advantage if those guys won't cooperate, but considering it's their school and they asked for my help..."
"As for the subjects... since I already have Von on Alchemy and Gilbert would like to teach History of magic to pass the time and hide himself from the rest of the world when the time comes for him to disappearing... I was thinking Kaho for Divination, Futa for History of Magic until Gilbert comes to claim it, Yukito-san for Ancient Ruins, Ruby for charms, Toya for Defence Against the Dark Arts, and yes, Toya. I know." He hushed Toya with his words. "You'll be fine as long as you don't show them too much of your Dark magic."
"I wonder who taught me," Toya commented sarcastically.
"And I wonder why I did it," Eriol said back with the same sarcasm. "Oh that's right, to prevent you from blowing things out of proportion! It's not my fault that you continued to practice Dark Arts even after I left."
Toya looked like he was about to say something back, but then stopped when Tomoyo shot him a look. She then turned to their father said say, "You were saying, father?"
"Right," Eriol smiled sweetly at her. "Continuing where I left off... Let's see now, ah yes, Yue for Potions, Nadeshiko for Muggle Studies, and finally, I think I'll be teaching Transfiguration. That one has quite the rich history."
That night, Eriol looked up at the moon from his place behind the glass doors before moving to his desk and began to write:
Dear Alistair and Arthur Kirkland
I hope both of you are reading this together and not trying to kill each other, because I'm only writing this once. Anywho, I have finally found you some teachers for Hogwarts, but there is a catch...
Once finished, Eriol opened up a portal and sent Spinal off with his letters to the two Kirkland brothers, hoping everything would work out without him having to push too hard to get the results he wanted.
Once Spinal was off and the portal closed, Eriol went back to staring out at the moon.
Well, that's the end of this one. I hope you've all enjoyed it and don't find it too confusing to you.
NOTE: THIS STORY TOOK PLACE IN 1999
Also, if you don't recognize who Arthur Kirkland is, then look him up. He's really popular. You should also be able to find Gilbert with him. I plan to do a story on that one too, and it's lossy related to this one, and I may explain the reason why Arthur hates Eriol so much. Von came from Fullmetal Alchemist, Chrono is from Magical Girls Lyrical Nanoha and Minoru is from Chobits. Hyuuga Hinata, you should be able to recognize right away, but if not, google it. Kazune came from Kamichama Karin and Takachiho and Hyeon-Ma are from mangas. Hyeon-Ma from GoodLuck and Chiho form Shounin AR (I think that's how you spell it).
If you don't recognize any other characters mentioned, just ask and I'll try my best to explain how things turned out this way. NOTE that none of them were OC. Except maybe Alistair and definitely Xifeng. I Had to improve on that one.