Chapter 2

"Man, I'm beat."

"You're so weak, Yuta-kun. Are you a man or what." Mika grinned and elbowed the blonde nerd playfully.

"Stop that. It hurts." Yuta glared at her. "I'm sorry I'm not a macho man like you are."

"What did you just say?"

Tomoyo chuckled from between the two as they walked back to the classroom. If there was something she picked up from spending a week with Yuta and Mika, it's that despite having a peculiar love-hate relationship, they truly cared about each other. They were childhood friends after all. Looking at the two, they seemed like polar opposites. Mika was tall and athletic with long straight black hair, while the blonde Yuta was slightly taller but lanky and reserved.

They were passing by the music room when Tomoyo stopped dead on her tracks. She stared at the grand piano in the middle of the open rom, unblinking. It was happening again. In her eyes, she could see the shadow of a person sitting in front of the piano, hands moved gracefully along the keys. Very faintly, she could hear the memory of a gentle melody in the background.

"It's very nice to meet you all." A figure standing in front was speaking.

"-The bear is given to a special person for you."

"I can play it as long as it's you singing..." another figure behind a piano.

"I am Clow Reed.-" Now there were 3 figures floating in the sky.

"No!"

"TOMOYO-CHAN!" A voice that sounded like Sakura's rang in her ears.

"TOMOYO-CHAN!"

"TOMOYO-CHAN!"

Tomoyo snapped out of her reverie to see the worried faces of Mika and Yuta. She felt lightheaded. She looked at the piano again to see the shadowy figure gone.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Mika said silently. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tomoyo rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think maybe I stayed up too late last night. Got carried away catching up with my friends in Japan."

"You scared us for a while back there. We were calling out to you but you weren't responding." Yuta said.

"Yeah, just spaced out is all. Shall we go? I think class is about to start."

Tomoyo was taking down notes during lecture when something happened. When she looked in front of class, she saw two teachers. She blinked several times and panicked when her vision starting showing doubles of everything. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Her head started to get dizzy.

"No. Not now please.' Tomoyo pleaded silently, struggling to check how long it was before class finished. She didn't want to make a scene. Slowly lying her head on the table, she wrote down whatever she could make sense from the lecture. She prayed she wouldn't get called out.

As soon as the bell rang, Tomoyo started to pack her things. Hiiragizawa-sensei was still speaking, but she couldn't understand it. Whatever it was, Tomoyo would just have to ask Yuta or Mika later on. She needed to go home right away.

"Oh and Miss Daidouji, please remain in class. I need to speak with you. Class dismissed."

Tomoyo froze.Her head was still throbbing and if she didn't go home soon, she knew she would probably lose consciousness for real. 'Or maybe I should run for the clinic?'

Tomoyo heard someone call her name and thought she saw Mika and Yuta at the door. The figure that seemed to be Mika was calling to her about something, but she couldn't hear nor understand what it was so she just nodded and waved back. Her two friends waved at her before they left.

'I don't understand why this is happening to me again. The medicine should have gotten rid of it…wait. It was my medicine this morning. I forgot to take it!'

Tomoyo cursed under her breath and stood up shakily. When she looked in front of their classroom, she saw the blurry figure of Eriol sitting behind the desk presumably scanning their papers. Tomoyo dragged her feet to the front, fully intent on cutting the conversation short.

"Yes, sensei?" she asked carefully, hoping he wouldn't notice the slight shakiness in her voice.

"So we're back to sensei again?"

"Uhm... was there anything you needed?" Tomoyo ignored his question. "If you don't mind, I actually-"

Eriol sighed and stood up from his seat.

"No more games, Tomoyo. Seriously now."

"Excuse me?" Tomoyo was taken aback. She could barely keep conscious.

"You can stop pretending now. It's just the two of us." It sounded as if he was pleading, but it made no sense to her at all. Her head felt like it was splitting open. "It's been such a long time since we last talked, what do you say we catch up over some tea at my place? Suppi and Nakuru would be more than pleased to see you."

Tomoyo felt the world spin around her before she lost consciousness.

It took a while before Eriol noticed all the signs. Her eyes looked dazed, her breath heavy, and her hands were gripping her books so tight her knuckles were white. He should have noticed earlier that she was shaking from where she stood.

He was just about to ask if she was okay when her eyes closed, her things falling to the ground. Eriol immediately reached forward and caught her in his arms just before she hit the floor.

"Tomoyo! Tomoyo!" He shook her. He quickly glanced around the empty room and pressed his fingers on Tomoyo's forehead, sending magic to his fingertips. He took a sigh of relief. She was just unconscious. He had to bring her to the infirmary and fast.

Eriol gazed at the sleeping figure of Tomoyo on the bed. His immediate reaction was panic when she lost consciousness, then frustration from not knowing what was happening. While the nurse was attending to her, he took a call to Tomoeda and demanded to know what was going on with Tomoyo. Sakura was hesitant at first but eventually let him in on the details. Eriol told her what had happened and Sakura advised him not to mention anything to Tomoyo when she wakes up. From their experience, forcing her to remember only made things worse. Also, she insisted Tomoyo to call her as soon as she got home. Sakura was really worried.

When Eriol went back, the doctor was sitting by Tomoyo's bed.

Flashback

"It's okay." The doctor said when he entered. "She's going to be okay now. She just forgot to drink her medicine this morning."

At first, Eriol looked puzzled. "Sorry?"

"It's fine. I know all about Ms. Daidouji's...case. The school principal told us about it. All the necessary people had to be informed you see. Their family doctor is a close friend of mine, so I have been tasked to care of her medical needs while she is here. In any case, she's doing better now. Just needs a bit of rest." The doctor smiled. "You're a friend of hers I assume?"

"Yes, we're old friends." Eriol replied. It was the truth.

"Then can I rely on you to look out for her in school? I'm not always around you see. I do some shifts at the hospital as well." He handed Eriol a name card. "I need someone in school who can contact me in times of emergency."

"I understand."

The doctor stood up to leave. "I'd better be going then. I'll ring Mrs. Daidouji and tell her not to worry. I'll leave Tomoyo to you. She'll wake up in a few minutes."

"Thank you again, doctor."

"It's Doctor Yuri. Please just call me Yuri; I'm not that much older than you, Mr. teacher." Yuri gave him a sly wink."

Eriol stuttered.

"I-I'm Eriol Hiiragizawa, it was nice meeting you."

End Flashback

Eriol wasn't sure what the wink was for, Yuri seemed to have misinterpreted something. He sat down on the chair by the bed, feeling worn out. It was a tough morning.

He watched Tomoyo's gentle breathing, his own chest tightening. Somehow, the idea of Tomoyo forgetting about him sent a pang of disappointment to his heart. He wanted more than anything to help her but he didn't know how to. They had kept constant communication over the years but she never told him. And he knew from Sakura that their magic wouldn't work. It was so frustrating.

Eriol reached out and pulled a stubborn curl from her cheek. Despite everything, she was still the same old Tomoyo he knew and cared about. Very quietly, he pressed his lips on her forehead and whispered, "It's going to be alright, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo stirred and Eriol made a gesture to leave. He felt something warm pull on his hand.

"Please don't go, Eriol." She murmured in her sleep.

Eriol sat back down. He felt defeated. He knew it was her unconscious mind talking, she didn't remember him anymore. He gathered her hand between his and sighed. "You know I'll never leave you, Tomoyo."

Several minutes passed and Tomoyo stirred again, this time slowly opening her eyes.

"Daidouji." Eriol said gently. "How are you feeling now?"

Tomoyo looked puzzled for a moment. She looked beside her and saw Eriol. And then she studied her surroundings, wondering where she was. She pulled her hand from between Eriol's, not really noticing.

"Sensei. Where am I?"

"You're in the school infirmary. You fainted a while ago in the classroom."

"Ah, yes... You asked me to stay behind. What was it about again? I can't quire remember."

"It's fine. It wasn't anything important."

"H—how did I get here?"

"I carried you here."

Tomoyo's eyes widened and she sat up abruptly.

"I am so SO sorry, sensei!" She clutched her throbbing head.

"Hey, just take it easy. The doctor said you need to rest today."

Tomoyo sat on the bed for a couple more minutes.

"I sincerely apologize for what happened, sensei." Tomoyo started. "Also, thank you so much for helping me. I hope I didn't give you any trouble..."

"It's no problem. That's what fr-" Eriol hesitated. "Your teachers are for. We look out for our students."

"Mmm..." She looked thoughtful.

"I'll get you some water."

Tomoyo looked at the clock and frowned. She missed her second class. She shifted her legs off the bed, feeling them slightly numb still. She shook her legs and feet a few times to wake them up.

"You sure you don't want to just go home? You've been excused for the rest of the day." Eriol appeared, glass in hand.

"I don't like skipping classes to be honest." She finished the drink in a few gulps.

Eriol offered his arm to her as she climbed down. Tomoyo looked up at her teacher and gave a weak smile. Eriol put his other hand on her other arm to steady her as she stood up. His face was dangerously close to her ear and the soft smell of lilacs entered his senses. He inhaled sharply.

"So gentlemanly of you." Tomoyo said, amused.

"Naturally." He bowed slightly. "I left all your things on the chair. I hope I didn't miss anything."

"Yep, that's all of it. Oh well. Second period should have finished 5 minutes ago." She stretched up, accidentally showing the soft skin of her stomach. Eriol stared.

"I'm off now." Tomoyo looked at Eriol one last time and bowed. "Thank you so much, sensei. I'll see you around."

"See you."

Eriol removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration evident on his face. This wasn't good.

Tomoyo's heart felt warm and tingly as she thought of Eriol carrying her from class all the way to the infirmary. It was one whole building away.

When she finally caught up with her two friends, Mika answered her wave with a grin and accusing look.

"You!" Mika pointed at her.

"Me?" Tomoyo gave her a confused look.

"That was such a sly move what you did back there!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just ignore her, Daidouji-san. She's being childish." Yuta murmured, munching on his burger.

"Yes, I am being an envious child to be more accurate!" Mika leaned forward and raised her brows suggestively. "So, how does it feel to be in the arms of the school's hottest teacher?"

"What..."

"I saw him rushing out from our classroom, carrying you up in his arms. If I were to be honest, I'd say it was really sweet of him. He had a worried look on his face, you know. He didn't even hear us calling him."

Tomoyo blushed.

"I don't know what you're talking about. That was not a 'sly move'. I was really out that time!" She insisted.

Mika burst out laughing.

"We know. We know. We followed him, naturally. We bullied the school nurse into telling us if you were okay. I was just pulling your leg."

Mika took her hands in hers.

"We're happy it was nothing bad, Tomoyo-chan. We were really worried because you'd been acting funny since this morning. Still though, being in sensei's arms...how I wish."

"Well, if you really want to know how it was like..." Tomoyo gave her a mischievous look.

"Nooo! I don't wanna hear it." Mika pulled her tongue out and pretended to cover her ears.

"Sensei had really strong arms and a very toned chest. He held me gently but firmly, and I could smell his intoxicating perfume." Tomoyo said in a slightly louder voice near Mika's ears, which were covered by her hands. "He was really, really sexy."

She noticed too late that Yuta was kicking her from under the table, and that he was staring intently at something above her head. She looked behind her slowly, coming face to face with a black shirt. Her heart sank. Her eyes moved up to meet Eriol's amused eyes. She didn't know for how long her teacher had been standing there or how much he'd heard from what she just said.

"G-good morning, sensei." Tomoyo greeted him and smiled nervously, her cheeks red as a cherry.

Eriol chuckled and leaned down to drop several notebooks on their table. Tomoyo knew it was hers.

"You left them in the infirmary. Also- " Eriol gave her a devilish smile. "I'm very flattered, Daidouji. You're not too bad yourself." Tomoyo could almost feel the heated gaze directed at the back of her head.

"Wah—Wait—I was just joking. I was teasing Mika she—" Tomoyo stammered, she looked to Mika for help and the latter gave her a scary look. It said: 'Don't you dare.'

"I was joking." She repeated, putting emphasis on the last word.

"Of course you were."

Eriol merely laughed and left.

Tomoyo stared at his retreating figure, dreading the looks on the faces of her friends. She turned around and pretended like nothing happened. Mika's face was white and her mouth was open. Yuta on the other hand, bit his lip and was also red all over his face to prevent from laughing.

"15 minutes before till next class. Let's finish our food." Tomoyo said, her cheeks still red.

She got no response except Yuta's gleeful laugh that echoed across the hall.

From the entrance, Eriol leaned on the wall with his arms folded. He looked at Tomoyo from afar and smiled fondly before turning around to leave.

+++ END CHAPTER +++