COUNTDOWN
Prologue
-ERIOL POV-
In this world, every human is born with a counter tattooed in their wrist. It's a small tattoo, a simple line consisting of some digits and letters, that always moves backwards, never stopping.
What is this counter marking?
It's a simple countdown that will hit zero at the time you meet the love of your life. Your soulmate.
Every person has a different timer when they're born: from the moment you take your first breath, the counter starts going backwards. Years, months, days, minutes, seconds… time doesn't stop, and neither does the counter.
When the counter is just some hours away from hitting zero, you can't help but wonder where you will be. Still stuck in the traffic, going back home after a draining day at work? Will you be sitting in the school bus, going to class? Or maybe you'll be an old soul who lives at a retirement house with no problems and is just waiting for the end? The counter can stop when you're six, or when you're sixty. But there's an absolute truth about it: no matter how near or how far the date set is, the counter is always right.
That's why in this world, witnessing the counter reach zero, is the most important event that will happen in your life. Almost everybody holds to it, knowing that as soon as they meet their destined person that will stop their counters, they'll have found the love of their lives, and will never be alone again. Knowing your life will never be the same, that you found the person you'll get married to, will have children with, will live awesome experiences until death do you part…
When your counter tells you you're less than 24 hours away, that's the day you decide to get dress for it. You do your hair, your make up, you wear your favorite clothes and use your favorite perfume… you want to look your absolute best for that unique and unrepeatable moment. When you're just some hours away, you can't help but imagine, based on the place you're at the moment, how will the event that will make you meet will unfold. And, when you're just a couple of minutes away, you can't help but look at everybody that's around you. Is it him? Her? Where is this person?
And then, when that last second turns into zero, your eyes lock with that person's eyes, and time just stops. It's like being able to see for the first time. Like the world finally has colors. You are now conscious of every scent and every flavor, as if before this moment you weren't truly alive. The whole universe resumes in that instant when you see your special person for the first time. That person who's only yours, because you're also only theirs. When the two parts of a soul that was ripped at birth, finally merges in one.
In this world, there are people who live waiting for this magical moment.
But there is also people who wish that moment had never happened.
That morning, I woke up thanks to the alarm clock, which to be honest, got me confused for a second. After all, I had got used to getting up late during vacations. I got up and practically crawled to the bathroom, where the shot of cold water finally woke me up completely.
Eriol Hiragizawa. That's my name. Sixteen years old. Average student that just started his first year in high school.
As I look at my reflection in the mirror that hangs in my closet's door, I finish buttoning up my uniform's white shirt. A white that matches my skin, white as snow, and that's a totally opposite of my black-blue hair, and black-blue eyes.
Average height, average weight, I hurry and put on my pants, my shoes, and after making sure my hair is perfectly combed (it just comes down naturally, although it sometimes gets messy in the ends), I then hold that dark blue ribbon. I look at it, while a ton of thoughts fill my mind.
But, just as always, I do my best to ignore it, and with my eyes closed, I hurry and place it around my right wrist, tying it firmly with a single knot, covering my counter.
Trying not to think about it, I put on my glasses, take my uniform's jacket, and finally exit my bedroom, towards the kitchen, where breakfast awaits, made by my mom, Nakuru Akizuki.
"Ready for your first day?" Nakuru asks. She doesn't like me calling her mom. I think she does this to feel young. Being a thirty-five-year-old widow must be tough for her. She has even insisted on me calling her nee-chan, to which I totally opposed.
I answer her question with a simply nod, since I'm busy looking at that photo that rests next to the pantry. A man, with skin as white as mine, blue yes (a little bit lighter than mines), and black-blue hair, stares back at me.
"Good morning, dad." I say in a whisper. His name was Reed. He died when i was six years old. Since then, mom, I mean, Nakuru, has been the one that has taken care of me.
I sit as Nakuru places a bowl with rice, boiled veggies, and fried shrimp in front of me. I eat as fast as I can, to be honest I eat a lot, while mom packs my lunch. Fifteen minutes later, when my bowl is empty, I take my lunch, and walk out of the kitchen.
"I'm leaving!" I say, as I also say goodbye to my father's photo, and walk towards the entrance, where I sit to put on my shoes, and slid an arm inside my jacket.
"Have a nice day! Say hi to Sakura from me, okay?"
"Ah…" I whisper, suddenly losing all my energy. "Sure."
Kinomoto Sakura is my best friend, since three years ago when we started middle school. When I was in elementary, to be honest, I didn't have any friends. That was basically because I was too shy, thing that even got worse when my dad suddenly died. Despite being not sociable at all, I met Sakura on my first day of middle school. She was (and to be honest, she still is) a happy and cute girl with short light brown hair, pinky skin, and a delicate tiny body, that simply smiled as she sat next to me in the school bus that morning.
I can tell friendship was instantly, and after three years of being best friends, I owe her everything I am now. Sakura was the one who made my friend circle expand; after all, she is very sociable, and fun, and there is something about her that doesn't allow anyone to hate her. It came as no surprise that she ended up being one of the most popular girls in school. During our second year in middle school she even joined the cheerleaders team, and she was the one who convinced me to join the football team. That's why I need to eat a lot to maintain my stamina.
But the fact that Nakuru has mentioned her today, makes me feel a little bit weird. We saw each other during our summer vacations (we don't live that far away from each other), but during the times we hanged out together, I've noticed her acting a little bit strange. It kind of felt as if she was hiding something from me.
I tried not to think about it. Maybe she was just nervous at the fact we were going to start high school at a new school. Still, since we were both attending the same school, I trusted that, when the routine of everyday classes and clubs stablished once again, Sakura would go back to be the usual happy, funny and kind girl she always had been.
That's what I repeated to myself during these past few days. Still, my theory came crashing down when, last night, before going to bed, she sent me a text:
"Eriol, there's something I have to tell you."
And that was enough for me to not sleep at all, and thus that morning, I found it so hard to wake up.
But, as I said before, I quickly recovered.
So, after breakfast, and after taking the lunch mom prepared and packed for me, I walked out of the house, walked through some blocks, and finally stopped at the end of the block where Sakura's family lives.
I see her, she walks out of her house and behind her so does her older brother, Touya, a university guy who's tall and strong, with light brown hair just like hers. Sakura and Touya live with their father, professor Kinomoto, who I'm pretty sure is the one who made the lunches they're both carrying this morning. Just like me, Sakura just has one parent at her house: her mother, Nadeshiko Kinomoto, died a little bit before we met each other. Maybe that helped a bit for us to connect instantly.
I wait until the two Kinomotos say bye to each other. Is not like I don't want to interrupt, is just Kinomoto Touya has something that makes me nervous. I may be his little sister's best friend, but I'm still a guy, and in Touya's eyes, I'm a menace that can take Sakura away, at any instant.
Touya walks in the opposite direction, towards University, and Sakura starts walking towards me. She's halfway the block when she sees me, and proceeds to smile at me.
"Eriol!" She says happily, and hurries to reach where I am.
I can't help but blush a little. The new uniform looks really good on her.
The black short skirt that matches her jacket and long socks make her look so pretty, while the two little pigtails she's done in her hair make her look still so innocent.
"Goodmorning!" she says as soon as she stops next to me, but before I can reply, she asks. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought you'd like if we walked together to school."
"Ah…" She looks down, and in a quick movement, turns her right wrist.
I don't need to be a genius to know what that means: she's checking her counter.
For a second, my heart skips a beat, but I soon collect myself. Sakura looks at me once again, slightly nervous.
"Shall we?" I say, nervous too. I'd like to talk about the text she sent me last night, but I'm not brave enough. What if Sakura has decided she actually doesn't want to tell me anything, because she thinks is not important anymore, or I'm not trustworthy enough?
"You know, Eriol…" That's enough to freeze me.
The step I was about to take to walk towards school, never occurs. I stand there, looking at that little girl who still smiles at me, despite looking completely nervous.
"What happened?" I ask, trying to not sound as worried as I actually am.
Sakura takes her time to grab her backpack and lunch with her left hand, and then, after looking at that tattoo once again, she shows me her right wrist.
"Eriol, today's the day."
And there it is. Her counter. That mark that looks like a tattoo; a thin line that says… I feel a knot it my throat, and hurry to look away. Sakura's counter states:
"20 mins"
Yes, today's the day she'll meet her soulmate.
"Twenty minutes are more than enough to reach school." I reply, trying to sound casual, as if nothing had happened, to calm her down. "You think it might be someone from our class? Not many of our old classmates from middle school transferred to this high school, but there's also the possibility it might be a senior."
I keep on talking, as I put my bag in my shoulder, and taking my lunch box with my other hand, I start walking once again.
Sakura stays behind, unable to move, but soon enough I hear her giggle, and hurrying up, she finally reaches me and so we now walk together.
We keep on talking about random stuff, while very minute that goes by takes us a step closer to school. Ten minutes later, being just a block away from school, we're finally surrounded by the rest of the students, all of them wearing the same uniform as us.
And my paranoia starts. Is it him? No, he was in our class last year. What about him? No, he's Sakura's neighbor, they see each other almost daily…
I stop myself from overthinking when I notice how Sakura is even more nervous than me. I eye her counter and see how it now says "9 mins". She tries to pretend she doesn't mind, but she's also looking around, to every guy that is around us.
But we both know that's useless. The counter won't stop just yet. Whoever is the person destined to her, will still not appear.
We keep on walking until we finally reach school grounds. There, we're surrounded by even more people. We walk side by side as we cross the main yard, saying hi to some old classmates. I hope we're in the same class as Yamazaki, he's a good guy. I say hi as I smile at him, which makes me stop looking to where I'm going, and as if this was a romantic comedy, I trip and hit someone…
"Ouch!" A girl.
I hurry and turn, just to face Daidouji Tomoyo. Daidouji is a classmate from middle school that, just like me during my days of elementary school, she now doesn't have that much friends. Tall, skinny, athletic, porcelain skin, red lips, with long and silky black-greyish hair, she was one of the most popular girls in our middle school, along with Sakura. Still, her popularity soon came to an end when the rest of the school found out what happened to her counter: during our second year, her counter had stopped in "7 years".
That was enough for anybody to not treat Daidouji Tomoyo the same way. After all, the only reason why a counter can stop before reaching zero, is when your soulmate dies before you can meet them. Somewhere in this world, there's a boy, buried six feet under, who's counter will also forever say "7 years." That immediately made her different from the rest, and being different was never good.
"I'm so sorry, Daidouji. Good morning." I hurry to say, but she doesn't reply.
"Good morning, Tomoyo." Sakura says too. To my surprise, Daidouji replies:
"Good morning, Kinomoto."
And then, after saying just those three words, Daidouji Tomoyo walks away, not even looking behind. I can't help but feel something heavy in my stomach. Something similar to anguish.
"Is she planning not to attend the opening ceremony?" Sakura asks.
"She knows what she's doing." I say. "It's more important that we find a good spot."
We walk a little bit faster. We can see the end of the main yard, where there's already a platform placed, and so is a microphone and some chairs for the professors to sit. There are already a lot of students gathered around, everybody quite close to the improvised scenario.
I stop and analyze our situation. Our best option is to be the closest we can to said platform.
"Come on, Sakura." I say to my best friend, who has stopped to look at her counter.
"2 mins"
A little bit nervous, I grab her by her wrist, and gently pull her so we can keep walking.
A good spot, we're looking for a good spot.
I gently push a couple students so we can go through (and I don't forget to say 'sorry'), and finally, we reach the front row.
"I think this is quite a good spot." I say, smiling.
From there, the rest of the students are behind us, and in front of us is only the teachers.
"I think so." Sakura replies, in a weak whisper.
Once again she's looking at her counter.
"59 secs"
"58 secs"
"57 secs"
"Welcome to a new school year at Clow Academy!" A man's voice is heard through the speakers that are placed around the main yard.
I look forward to see the man who has reached for the microphone. It's a tall and skinny man, who stands in such an elegant way, with his long hair almost touching the floor.
"I'm director Clow." He introduces himself, as he bows to us.
"He's so handsome." I hear a girl at my right. What? Then I look at Sakura. Is she thinking the same?
But she doesn't look at him. She has her eyes glued to her counter.
"46 secs"
"45 secs"
"44 secs"
"If you keep looking at it, you'll definitely witness it hit zero but you won't see your destined person."
My whisper makes her gasp. She takes her hand to cover her mouth, as if she was trying to hold it her breath. in that new position she can no longer see her counter, but I can.
"33 secs"
"32 secs"
"31 secs"
Sakura looks to the front, trying to pay attention to the director's speech, now being me the one that's not paying attention. I see the fear in her face. She wants to look away. As if her subconscious has told her that, despite being Director Clow the only one she sees right now, he's not the one.
"20 secs"
"19 secs"
"18 secs"
I see Sakura close her eyes. Is this possible? She doesn't have a special someone? Does a person like that actually exists? Someone who's life is not tied to someone else's?
"6 secs"
"5 secs"
"4 secs"
For an instant, I feel the urge to pull her, and ask her to open her eyes. Don't close them! Don't lose this opportunity!
But then, the mysterious magic of the counter finally appears.
"3 secs"
Someone bumps into her.
"2 secs"
"I- I'm sorry." Says a boy's voice.
"1 sec"
And Sakura opens her eyes.
"0"
My best friends looking at a tall, skinny boy, almond eyes, tanned skin, and messy dark brown hair.
I got no idea who he is, but he looks our age. Probably same year as us.
He looks at her, intensely. She does the same. For a moment I wonder if they're even breathing.
"I- I'm sorry." He repeats himself, visibly ashamed. "Didn't see you."
"N-No! Don't worry about it!" she replies, also ashamed. Then, nervous as she is, she shakes her hands in front of her, as if she was trying to excuse herself.
It's then when the boy takes her wrist, gently but firmly.
"Your counter just reached zero?" He asks in a whisper.
Sakura holds her breath, and nods slowly.
And that's when the boy looks at her, eyes wide open, as he turns his wrist to show his counter.
I see another zero.
"Mine just stopped too." He says, and unable to contain himself, he smiles at her. "My name's Syaoran. Li Syaoran."
"Ki-Kinomoto Sakura." She replies, as she can't help but cry from happiness.
"I've been nervous all summer." He says, still visibly shocked. "I mean, I just moved to Tomoeda with my mom, and… With my counter so close to hitting zero… Well, you know…"
"Syaoran, I'm waiting for you." A man's voice says behind his back.
The three of us hurry to turn around to see the person who has spoken. Director Clow had gotten close to the edge of the platform, and had crouched down, which made him just a little bit taller than this boy. Syaoran can't help but jump, startled.
"I'm coming, coming." He then hurries to look back at Sakura. "Will be back in a minute, okay? I gotta give a speech."
"I'll wait for you." She replies, in a whisper.
"I'll be right back." I feel like throwing up.
We both see Li Syaoran run towards the end of the platform, and go up the stairs. With a big smile, he walks towards the center of the improvised scenario, and takes the microphone.
"Did the director just acted as if they knew each other for a long time, despite him being a new student just like us?" I say out loud. "Do you think they're related?"
But Sakura's not listening to me. She has her eyes fixed in that guy. A smile draws in her face, and I can't help but feel… How exactly do I feel?
Knowing Sakura won't even notice my absence, I turn around, and walk past the rest of students. It doesn't take me long to reach the other end of the main yard.
From there, I can't see Sakura anymore, and since Li Syaoran's speech was short, I no longer hear his voice through the speakers. On the platform, I can see how the director gives the microphone to another student, a girl, who introduces herself as Sasaki Rika.
But to be honest, I don't see anything anymore.
I can't hear anything anymore.
It's just me, and this heavy feeling in my chest.
Not knowing why, I take my left hand to my right wrist. I caress that black ribbon that covers my counter. It's been years since I don't see that tattoo on my skin, which I'll never be able to erase, no matter how much I wish for.
Feeling completely lost, I unconsciously undo that knot, and the black ribbon slides down the floor.
And that infernal number greets me.
"0"
The day that my counter announced just a couple of hours, had happened exactly three years ago, in my first day of middle school. My counter was counting in minutes when I got up the school bus, and sat in one of the few empty seats, right in the back. Being the lonely kid I was back in the days, I didn't feel nothing when I looked at the girls that were already sitting, or that were yet getting up the bus. I simply stared out the window.
But it was then, when the bus stopped once again, that I looked at that girl with short light brown hair, and emerald green eyes, and my counter hit zero.
It was that day that my counter told me Sakura was my soulmate. The very first instant I saw her, I saw nothing but perfection. Her beautiful brown hair that had no need to be long to wave 'cause of the wind, her gorgeous smile, her cheeks and pinky lips, her delicate movements, and her gently and lovely personality. She was simply perfect.
I had fallen in love with her even before she stopped next to me, and asked me if she could sit beside me. I nod, nerviously.
I was about to introduce myself as "they boy you just stopped his counter", but then, I could see how her tattoo changed to say "4 years" to "3 years".
And I felt like dying.
My counter might have stopped for her, but her counter… She was destined to someone else.
in this world, every person is born with a counter tattooed on their right wrist. A small tattoo, a simple line of digits and letters, that moves countdown, never stopping. What is this counter marking?
It's a simple counter that will hit zero when you meet the love of your life. Your soulmate.
In this world, there are people who live waiting for that magical moment.
But there are also people who live wishing that instant had never happened.
People who don't have a soulmate.
People whose feeling will forever be unrequited.
People who will never know what love is.
People like me.
Hi everybody!
I had this story waiting to be translated since years ago, but had no time until now (?
I was planning to update every thursday, but I'm gonna be making some major changes in my work schedule starting next week, so there's a high chance I come back home really tired, and so I'll probably update quite late. Worst case scenario I'll update until the weekend. I'll let you know in advance.
As always, this is a translation of my own fic, so probably there will be tons of typos and gramatical mistakes. Please excuse me, and hopefully it won't be too hard for you to understand the story. Feel free to point them out tho.
Now, let's talk about the story. This is one of those few Tomoyo x Eriol you'll find in my profile (not because I don't like the couple, but because I find it much easier to write about Tomoyo x Touya). The story is set as a 2 side POV, meaning we'll switch from Eriol's POV, to Tomoyo's POV, almost every chapter. This prologue is narrated in Eriol's perspective, so the next one will be from Tomoyo's POV. It will say so at the beginning of the next chapter, but I'm just letting you know beforehand so it doesn't take you by surprise.
Anyway, please feel free to write a review, or give likes and favorites. I'll really apreciate your support.
XOXO,
Ribo~