Disclaimer : I don't own CCS. CCS is owned by CLAMP.
Notes : This chapter is dedicated to animefantv88… So sorry for my stupidity, Dear… I hope this chapter can make it up for you
Thank you for the reviews and comments for the previous Chapter 3: Death101-Fox Version, neomoose, Malu Daidoji, Midnight Ghost, Shanaa12, SnowCharms, CHeRRybLoSSoM361, animefan88tv, cheng, bshinigami, Nils, chainedheart999, i? (i'm sorry if the 'heart' shape doesn't come out. ff dot net always does ruin my original document).
Summary : Once upon a time, with a Cursed Man and the soon-to-be Cursed Woman. Set 9 years post CCS series.
Recap : Eriol was cursed and to lift the curse, he would need a girl's help. After being reluctant, Tomoyo finally succumbed to the Sorcerer's will and word tricks.
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The Misfortunate Tale: Beauty and the Beast (Not)
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:: Chapter 4 : :
After Luck
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It was the next day at campus. Tomoyo had just arrived in class and she was searching for a free seat when Sakura suddenly came and greeted her. "Tomoyo-chan!"
The cheery smile of the Cherry Blossom really brightened up Tomoyo's mood. Giving a matching wide smile, she greeted her cousin. "Good morning, Sakura. You seem happy today!"
"It's because I finally made it!"
"…You made what?"
Sakura playfully nudged a secretive smile before getting something from her big tote bag. "Tadaa! To celebrate our 13th year friendship!" She exclaimed as handing her a blue knitted-scarf –which was definitely a hand-made.
The gift was beautiful, but it made Tomoyo felt horrible.
"Oh my God…" the Daidouji murmured.
Sakura's cheeky grin faltered. "Aa… I know it's not perfect. I'm sorry that you don't like it –"
"No, NO! I LOVE it! It's just that…" she trailed and mentally never stopped cursing her own self to forget bringing her the gift to celebrate this day. "I really don't deserve it…"
"What? Why don't you deserve it? There's no one deserve this more than you –"
"I forgot to bring you the present," Tomoyo interrupted in embarrassment.
Oh, and guilt. Definitely.
And again and again, she just wanted to blame the reincarnated magician for this. Thanks for him to screw her mind the day before, she completely forgot about having to finish her own knitting for Sakura. She had planned it, but completely forgotten about it! How shameful!
Sakura shoved the scarf into Tomoyo's hands. "Tomoyo-chan! You don't have to bring any gift to me! Your being as my best friend for the past 13 years had been more than enough! I can never ask for more! Please, accept this… You deserve it,"
Still gazing ashamedly at the scarf, Tomoyo sighed, "I really don't –"
"You DO deserve it. You don't have to think about giving me any gift. Just please, accept this, okay?"
"But Sakura…"
"Tomoyo-chan…" the chestnut-haired said in warning tone.
Tomoyo finally accepted. Holding the blue scarf carefully, she murmured. "Thank you very much. I'll take the greatest care of it,"
Sakura laughed. "You're exaggerating. Thanks for accepting it, Tomoyo-chan. And thanks for being my friend… You're more than a sister to me,"
"You too, Sakura. Always,"
Nodding spiritedly, the Card mistress than announced that she had better be back to her class. "My next class' professor hates tardiness. So I should be going. Bye!"
"Bye," smiled the raven-hair before opening her daily planner and saw her agenda for today:
College until 3 PM
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Erm.
Tomoyo sighed realizing that she didn't even know what to plan for today. Her deal with Hiiragizawa Eriol warned her to expect the unexpected. She supposed that writing plans on her agenda like the usual would not be as effective as it had been. But her rather obsessive-compulsive persona demanded her to make a plan for today. After debating for few moments, she finally wrote down:
College until 3 PM
Go downtown to buy more wools (ran out of it) until 4.30 PM
Finish the knitting until 6 PM (or until finished. Period.)
Do the essay until 7.30 PM.
"Nice," she muttered softly, hoping that there would not be anything extraordinaire to change her plan.
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The violet-eyed lady sighed in relief. It was 3 PM, and she had just finished her last class for today, and thankfully, she didn't have any encounter with Hiiragizawa Eriol. Even so, her slightly-paranoid personality drove her to just go shopping gift for Sakura now. She didn't want to waste more time in the campus and risked meeting Eriol in the end, so she quickly got back to her car and drove instantly out of the campus compound to go to the town's shops.
By the time she finished parking her car on a parking lot near the shop and got out of her white car, the rain was falling down.
"Oh no," she muttered as getting an umbrella inside her car to shield her from the heavy rain.
Thankfully enough, the fancy shop was near. Entering the small yet homey shop, she soon began her shopping. She was picking the pink-colored wool and put it into her shopping basket, when a familiar voice greeted her.
"Tomoyo? What are you doing here?"
Turning around, she found the brown-haired Araide Kaze was smiling down at her.
"Hello, Kaze! Oh, I'm just doing some shopping to prepare my gift for Sakura-chan. It's the celebration day for our 13th year of friendship,"
"You're planning to…" he paused to look into the balls of wool. "…make her a sweater or something?"
"Sort of. And what are you doing here?" she asked back.
He gave a nervous laugh. "You know I live around the block,"
She smiled and remained silent, because Kaze looked like he wanted to continue his words.
"Well, I was just having my usual afternoon walk –in the rain, yes – and I saw you entering this shop and I just… well… want to say 'hi',"
Tomoyo looked at him suddenly, making the jade-eyed guy to feel uncomfortable.
"Not that I'm stalking you… it's just… well…" he sighed blushingly. "It's nothing…"
Something about his naturally blushing and shy-boy persona warmed her heart –bringing her memory back to the old times in Junior High –when she and Kaze dated. Of course, back then, it was never a 'love', just a simple junior-high crush. Kaze's mother and Sonomi were old friends, and thus the idea to match both their kids was cute that time. He was nice, and their 'dating moments' had been childishly sweet, but then again all cute dreams had to end sometime. After only dating for 2 months, Kaze (for a lack of better term) dumped her for an older woman
…
Well, it was only childish romance anyway. What was there to expect?
"I can help you carrying your shopping bags later,"
"Don't worry, Kaze. I don't shop much. I'll be able to bring it myself,"
"No, I want to help. Just let me –"
"There you are,"
A sudden new voice interrupted and both Tomoyo and Kaze turned around to see who was coming.
Uh oh.
Hiiragizawa Eriol.
And that guy smirked once he caught the displeasure written on her face.
"Hi, there…?" Kaze confusedly greeted this newcomer.
Sighing, Tomoyo knew that she had to be the mediator. "Hiiragizawa, this is Araide Kaze, my friend from the Science Department in our campus, who also happened to be my ex-boyfriend once, years ago…" she paused before continuing, "And Kaze, this is Eriol Hiiragizawa,"
Eriol smirked. "You don't want to tell him the certain additional explanation about me?"
She smiled back. "What's there to explain?"
"That you're my girlfriend?"
"I don't remember submitting myself as one,"
The glasses-eyed guy glanced at Kaze and spoke, "Tomoyo surely loves to joke around,"
"No, I don't joke. You're not my boyfriend,"
"Oh, don't be shy, Love…" Eriol muttered as grabbing her hand and squeezed it gently.
Realizing what he was doing (and what might happen to her later), Tomoyo quickly took back her arm and gazed in annoyed fashion at him.
"You –"
Before she could finish her sentence, Eriol's hand had pulled her hand –swinging her body aside in a very quick manner. And just as acrobatically, his other pale hand reached out to catch the falling box.
Tomoyo steadied herself and gazed at the box of wools –which would have landed nicely on her head, had it not be for Eriol's save.
"You're alright, Tomoyo?" Kaze said and he was the first to break the silence. "T-That box…just fell from the shelf all so sudden, I didn't notice it…" trailed the brown-haired man. "You… sure have very good reflex, Hiiragizawa-san,"
The magician just nodded and flashed a polite smile. "Just a coincidence," he said as returning the box back to its original place at the top of the shelf. The height was surely not a problem for a tall guy like him. "Now, Tomoyo… may I have a talk with you, please?"
"In case you don't notice, I still have to finish my shopping first, Hiiragi –Hey!" she protested once Eriol grabbed the shopping list from her hand and gazed into her shopping basket.
"Apparently, you're done with your shopping. So just bring this to the cashier and then we'll have a talk, okay?" he said, and without waiting for her approval, he brought her shopping basket to the cashier. Ignoring her protests, he paid for her groceries, grabbed the shopping bags in one hand, and dragged her out of the shop. Outside, the rain was still pouring, so he let go of his hold on her hand to get the umbrella (that just came magically out of nowhere).
"And apparently, your politeness has melted away –revealing your true color," Tomoyo said. "You forgot that I still have company," she muttered as going back into the shop to search for Kaze. Weirdly, the jade-eyed guy still stood there on the same spot –seemingly confused and out of focus.
"So… you're dating someone now?" The Araide guy questioned once seeing the amethyst-eyed returned in front of him.
"…it's a long story," Tomoyo finally said. "I'll… explain things to you later. But for now, please don't assume anything. And I…gotta go now, sorry. I still have business with that Hiiragizawa guy. Sorry…" she muttered quickly before rushing out of the shop again to meet Eriol who had been waiting under the umbrella.
"Come, for a walk in a rainy day," he said as extending his arm for her –which she gracefully declined.
"I'm not in the mood to experience any bad luck," she reasoned, but stepped next to him under the umbrella. To her comment, Eriol just flashed a soft chuckle and led her for the walk.
Once Tomoyo was sure that they were out of Kaze's sight (and out of everybody's sight), she confronted him. "Don't do that again,"
"Do what?"
"You just… popped there, ignoring any 'best timing' –"
"It was actually the best timing. If I hadn't showed up there in the shop, you would have continued your cheating,"
She stopped on track. "Cheating? And who are you anyway? My boyfriend?"
Her sudden stop made him did the same thing. "I thought we are dating…?"
"I agreed to help you, not to be your girlfriend, Hiiragizawa-san. There's a difference between –"
"Now, Love. What would people think when you let a guy who's not your boyfriend touching you like… this?" he said as caressing her cheek to emphasize his statement.
Tomoyo quickly slapped the hand off her face. "I –"
"You have agreed to let us have a romantic relationship. Don't you need a 'dating status' as the cover?"
She glared at him but realized that he had the point there. True, she had drowned herself in a huge problem by agreeing to help him get the curse off. And he was right. She couldn't let people think that they had a status-less relationship. As much as she loathed it, Tomoyo understood that she needed to acknowledge him as her 'boyfriend'.
But still...
"I need time," she announced. "We are… going too fast. I…need some more time to adjust myself. So please, leave me be for a while," and with that, she took her shopping plastic bag from his hand, bowed, and went out of the umbrella's cover into the softly-splattering rain.
"You still need me to protect you," he said calmly as handing her the umbrella (while popping a new umbrella for himself again, still magically)
Sighing, she took the umbrella but spoke, "For now, it's safest to be as far as possible from you."
Eriol studied her for a moment before smiling politely. "Good day, Daidouji-san. Please be safe,"
She nodded and returned the words. "Good day too, Hiiragizawa-san. Thanks for the umbrella," and with that, she turned her heels and walked back to her car's direction. Eriol watched the girl's back for some moments before turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
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The pouring rain was soon accompanied by thunders. Looking up, Tomoyo found out how dark the sky really was, even when it was still a late afternoon. There were barely any people there in the street of Tomoeda. Glancing at her wristwatch, she knew that she had wasted time. It was 5 PM, and she should have done her shopping 30 minutes ago. Noticing that she had better paced herself up (to be able to finish her knitting for Sakura in time), the long-haired tightened her grip on the umbrella and fastened her walk.
She could already see her white car parked on the parking lot at the end of the street, but –
A sudden, strong arm pushed her until she fell down to the wet street. Just when she was about to protest to whoever had roughly pushed her, Tomoyo felt the very same arm snatched her bag away from her hand.
"HEY!!" She shouted at the group of men who was stealing her bag away. But there was barely anybody around and –
Suddenly she remembered something very important.
Sakura's gift –the hand-made scarf Sakura presented for their 13th friendship anniversary – was still in the bag.
The bag that was just snatched away from her.
Panic and anger rose inside her. Quickly, she stood and chased the group of thugs.
"Damn it, return my bag!!" she screamed while still trying to catch up.
Running was very troubling for her, but thankfully, her athletic record had improved over the years. That, and the strong will inside her heart to get Sakura's gift back. Because there was no way that she could lose it. No way. And as crazy it was for her to chase a group of brutes, she still did it –for the sake of her most-loved cousin. And just like what everyone should have known: Daidouji Tomoyo would do anything for Kinomoto Sakura (and that included any kind of effort Sakura had done through for her). Come hell or high water, gangster or no gangster, she would get that scarf back and –
"The bag is mine!!" she shouted when finally succeeded to catch up. Her hand impulsively snatched the bag back, and she let a big portion of air entered her burning lung (in exhaustion and relief) before realizing that for the rarest time, she hadn't really used her logic.
She hated to create trouble, but apparently, she already did: with 3 boys (probably around her age) glared back at her in anger.
Saving Sakura's scarf was one successful thing, but saving herself seemed to be…
…a failure.
Before she had the chance to run or to scream, a guy had covered her mouth forcefully while his friend had securely pinned her arms on her back. Struggling even seemed pointless, as one of the guys picked her up and carried her into one of a dark hallway.
And there was still no single person there to help her.
In a behavior so not Tomoyo-ish, the woman tried to let herself free: she tried to bite, to kick, to claw, to desperately do anything to save herself. But her fighting apparently annoyed one of the men, as she felt a hard hit on her head.
"Be still, you woman!" the guy shouted after hitting her head with a bottle.
The pain was unbearable and it stung throughout her entire body. She could have fainted immediately, but fortunately (or unfortunately), she was headstrong enough to not faint after receiving such hit. Her mind twirled, of course. And she lost any strength to move her body –which brought a certain disadvantages towards her. Realizing that the woman had ceased her fighting, the guy laid her down on the cold pavement of that secluded hallway.
"Hey, isn't she a Daidouji? Are you kidding? Don't mess up with her!" she could hear one of the guys spoke.
The one that kept her pinned on the ground just mercilessly smirked. "Well, then just make her too embarrassed to report our doing, shall we?" he muttered.
To her greatest horror, Tomoyo could feel and hear the buttons of her shirt snapped.
And her entire body… still weak from the hit she received. Even screaming seemed impossible –her throat was suddenly to dry…
She realized how terrified she was.
Being so helpless made her felt frustrated about herself. Embarrassedly, she could feel those rough hands touching her collarbone and dared to even move lower…
…and stopped there.
All happened so fast, Tomoyo could only feel that certain familiar aura, and felt that the pressure from the guy above her suddenly disappeared.
She heard those guys' screams too.
Then there was silence.
Not long…
"I suddenly had a bad feeling and when I went to walk in your direction, I found your umbrella and shopping bag scattered on the street," he began calmly –as if he was just reciting a tale. "Then I walked again, and that time, I found your bag. Then I followed my intuition, and I was right. You were ganged by a group of men, almost being raped and –" Hiiragizawa Eriol paused to take off his jacket and covered her upper body. Her blue shirt was torn in the middle, but it was a very good thing that she still had her bras to cover her private area. "You're okay?"
His question was remained unanswered, and he realized that the woman was still too shocked to reply anything. Sighing, he then asked her, "Where does it hurt?"
Still no reply.
"Daidouji-san…"
"…m-my h-head… o-on the left…"
He kneeled beside her lying form and formed bluish glow from her palm. Few seconds passed and he finally heard her voice better.
"…Thank you," she muttered, as trying to get up. Her left hand clung tightly on the jacket he had laid on her torso to keep her modesty. "Those guys…"
"Are dead pulp," he grinned.
And to think that this certain man just defeated the 3 guys in such a short period of time…
A monster he was –Hiiragizawa Eriol.
…
But he saved her.
"What happened actually?" he questioned her as placing the umbrella, her shopping bag, and her bag beside her.
"… Those guys tried to steal my bag. And in my bag, there is Sakura's gift. I can't possibly lose it, so my instinct told me to chase them down. Well, then… I think you can guess what happen next,"
"You're so reckless,"
She chuckled. "I'm not normally doing this. It's just because –"
"Sakura, yes, I understand. But still, your action was very foolish and dangerous. At this point, you get the bad luck even without me being responsible for it," he muttered as darting his gaze around to find the object he was looking for. His gaze stopped at a certain object. Her cell phone –which probably was thrown out of her pocket when those guys pinned her down to the floor. Casually picking it up and studying it to find whether it was still usable or not, he then hit some buttons and put the device next to his ear.
"…Who are you calling?" Tomoyo inquired.
"Your mother,"
"What?" she frowned. "No, no. Return my phone back. You can't call my mother!"
"Of course I can. And I have to,"
"S-she's not in Tomoeda currently –"
"I know. A business trip to Prague, right? Oh, and don't look at me that way, Daidouji-san. I know things. I do have the magic, remember?"
"Having magic doesn't give you the privilege to use my phone to call my mother! What are you intending anyway?"
"I need to tell her about this incident,"
"What?! No, no, Hiiragizawa-san… she doesn't need to know!" Tomoyo complained as trying to get her phone back. But Eriol quickly evaded her grasp.
"Of course she has the right to know. She's your mother,"
"And that gives you the right to call her? Who are you –her son?!"
"This is about her daughter, she needs to know," he insisted.
"You're exaggerating thing! Come on! My mother is busy! She doesn't need to worry about such trivial thing! You return that phone back at me at once!"
He avoided her hand again as giving her his usual venom-sweet smile. Second later, he spoke again, "Ah, good afternoon, Daidouji-sama. This is Hiiragizawa Eriol,"
Tomoyo could only groan as she stared in annoyed fashion to the certain guy. Eriol didn't waste the time to immediately explain the incident.
And as what she expected, less than a minute later, Eriol would say:
"Your mother wants to talk to you,"
Sighing, Tomoyo took the offered cell phone and put it next to her ear, preparing to experience her mother's wrath.
"What did you think you were doing, young lady?! Throwing yourself into a pit of trouble that way?!"
"I'm sorry, Mother. And I didn't mean to –"
"Of course you didn't mean to! But that doesn't change the fact that you are still a reckless lady! I thought that I could leave you with the responsibility of taking care of your own self! But I was wrong!"
Tomoyo took a deep breath. Oh, how torn could she be? At one hand, she was really grateful for Hiiragizawa's heroic save, but in the other hand, he was also responsible in making her treated like a 6-year-old child.
"Mother, I'm sorry. And I promise that I will take a better care of myself. You don't have to worry and you can continue your work. Because really, this is nothing big –"
"Nothing big?! You're almost raped! Thank goodness Hiiragizawa was there to save you!"
"I know, but you really shouldn't worry. I will be more careful. You just –"
"I want to talk to him,"
"Mother, I –"
"Tomoyo, I want to talk to him," Sonomi said with giving stressing in each word.
Defeated, the amethyst-eyes then handed the phone back to Eriol. "Now she wants to talk with you,"
Eriol calmly took the phone and began to talk to Sonomi. Tomoyo couldn't quite hear what they were talking about. She could only hear Eriol's reply such as 'No, not a problem' or 'I agree' or 'Really, it's not a problem'.
And moments later, he gave the phone back to her. "She wants to talk to you again,"
The mischievous glint on his sapphire eyes weren't unnoticed, but Tomoyo decided to pay attention to her mother's words first.
"Yes, Mother?"
"Tomoyo… your action had been very careless. And you make me very worried here,"
"I know, and I'm sorry. But you really don't need to –"
"And I can not work well if my daughter's safety isn't assured,"
"I will be more careful, I will –"
"So, to ensure your safety, I have asked Hiiragizawa to stay in our house to protect you,"
"– be just alri –WHAT?!"
"I said, I had asked Hiiragizawa to stay in our house to protect you. And he has agreed,"
Tomoyo immediately looked at him.
Oh, and that devilish smirk intact on his face…
Damn it.
"But I don't agree," Tomoyo insisted. "Why did you ask him to stay in our house? To protect me? The bodyguards are more than enough –"
"The bodyguards can't do much! It's actually your fault then, to refuse being accompanied by your bodyguards ever since you were Junior High –"
"Fine, I agree to let those bodyguards around me again, to ensure my safety. You don't need to worry,"
"No, I only want him to do the job protecting you. He's the only one I can depend on,"
"Mother! That's illogical! You're just…fooled by his seemingly good persona!"
"Tomoyo, he saved you!"
"I know, and I'm truly grateful! It's just that you can't let a guy stay with me! What would the neighbors think?!"
"Just tell them that Eriol is your fiancée or something,"
"Even if he's my fiancée, he still doesn't have the right to stay in the house. AND he's not my fiancée! So there's no legitimate –"
"I don't care. He's the one I can trust about your safety, and he will stay in our house until I return. And you know I don't give any options here, Tomoyo,"
"But Mother –"
Click.
Her mother had just hung up on her.
…
…
"You planned this, didn't you?" Tomoyo asked the bespectacled guy.
To this, the guy only smiled. "But of course, the part when you were almost being sexually assaulted was never part of my plan. The idea has just popped in after I saved you,"
"So you called my mother in purpose? To make her order you to stay with me?"
To see how his smile remained made her groan in frustration.
"It is for a good purpose then," he replied. "I will protect you, remember?"
"And I thought I made it clear to you that you are the only one I should be careful at,"
"Oh, Love… Don't be so mean. We'll be living together from now on, after all…"
And he smirked.
She cracked a nervous smile.
God, help her.
: : To Be Continued : :
A/n : Since I'm not making any meaningful progress with my next ET stories, I will have to delay the updates of this story. So now, it's official that it will not updated weekly, but two-weekly instead. I'm sorry if it takes too long for updates, but I insist on myself to immediately present you guys my newest ET project right after I finish this one, and I'm trying to buy myself time. I hope you can understand. ^-^