Here's the next chapter folks. I am really sorry that it took much longer than I liked, but it could not be helped. For the same reason, I am very grateful to those of you who are still keeping up with the story. I also understand if some of you grew tired of waiting for my chapter updates and felt like dropping it or have dropped it somewhere along the way. But I can assure everyone that I will complete the story.
Andrena Bui and James Birdsong - thanks for your kind reviews.
Enjoy the chapter, and hope you like someone's special appearance.
"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura smiled as she opened the door of her house for her friend who had just arrived. This was the day that her brother and her best-friend intended to travel through time to meet Clow Reed so that they could be with the men that they loved. "Guess what, you have a surprise visitor," she informed.
"A visitor?" Tomoyo stepped into the living room. She could already see the back of Yue's silver head as he sat on the couch. Someone else was sitting on the other side; an elegantly dressed young man with jet black hair and violet eyes. "Kaito-san," Tomoyo's voice betrayed her astonishment.
"Good evening Daidouji-san. I trust you are faring well," the visitor greeted her pleasantly.
"I am very well, thank you," Tomoyo returned the greeting with a bow. "Where's Akiho-chan?" she looked around in the hopes of seeing her dear friend.
"Akiho-san's health has been less than perfect lately. I persuaded her to stay back. But I am here on her behalf. She has been extremely worried about you since the day she heard about the quest you have set your heart on," the man, now in his thirties, told her. "Will you sit with me for a while so that I can explain, Daidouji-san?" Yuna D. Kaito asked.
Tomoyo seated herself on the couch next to the moon guardian. Sakura brought a tray carrying steaming cups of tea from the kitchen, and joined them, plopping down on the sofa next to their visitor. "Tea for everyone," she announced.
"Since the day Akiho-san heard of the plan you are intending to pursue, she has been asking me if it is in my power to do anything to help. The mission of time travel that you wish to undertake is objectively dangerous for someone like you who has no magical powers," Yuna said.
"Yue-san and others have told me so before. I have to do it regardless," Tomoyo said with a brave smile. She believed Kaito-san. If there was an authority on time related magics in the world, she knew that it was this man, whose magical abilities surpassed Sakura-chan and even Eriol-kun. But what choice did she have? Beside her, Yue sat, frozen like an ice statue.
"I am not here to deter you. That's not the objective of my visit. Rather, I am here to assist you," the magician said in response.
"Can you do something to make sure that Tomoyo-chan would be safe?" Sakura questioned.
Kaito gave her his formal smile and nodded. Then he turned again to Tomoyo. "Going to the past would not actually be a problem. It is the path back that is more difficult. It is something like going with the flow of the current when you go to the past versus against it when you return. It might drift your soul away from its course," he explained.
"That is the part that also concerns me, but Daidouji-san won't even listen," Yue muttered.
"Touya onii-san will be there with me. It will be alright," Tomoyo said.
"It's not that simple. Since you would not be having a physical entity, he cannot just grab your hand and drag you back home. There's not much he can do to stop your soul from losing its way back," Yuna told her.
"Do you suggest any modification to the plan?" Sakura asked.
"Precisely, Kinomoto-san," Kaito said. "Tell me Daidouji-san, if you find yourselves lost in a physical terrain, what are some things that might help you to find your way back?" he asked Tomoyo.
Tomoyo thought for a moment. "A map," she said. "Or a compass maybe" she added on second thought.
"You are right. Now hold out your hand," Yuna said.
Tomoyo did as she was told. The sorcerer reached for something in his pocket, and placed it in her hand. Tomoyo felt a cold, smooth metallic surface resting against her skin. "I won't be able to give you a map that describes the time dimension, but here's a compass to lead you back home," he said. When he removed his hand, Tomoyo saw that she was holding a beautiful pocket watch made of gold. Kaito-san's magical watch. "Take this with you. When your soul leaves your body, it will disappear physically, and accompany you on the journey," he said.
"Arigatou, Kaito-san. Your help means a lot to me. But I can't take this with me. If something happens to me, it will be gone forever, right?" Tomoyo said, knowing the importance of the object to the magician very well. It was the primary magical artifact that Kaito-san used to cast his magic spells. Without it, he would be crippled as a magician. It was indeed surprising that he was willing to hand over something so important to her, but then, knowing the man's absolute devotion to Akiho, perhaps it was not that strange.
Yuna D. Kaito leaned back against the sofa, a mild expression of vexation crossing his handsome countenance for a moment. "Akiho-san certainly thought that her friend's life is worth much more than this magical object," he said, brushing back a strand of dark hair that had fallen on his forehead. "What use would my magic be if it cannot protect that poor girl from being struck by grief that she does not deserve, even after all that she had to endure," he muttered in a softer voice, his eyes gazing down, his fingers curling into a tight fist.
The realization suddenly overwhelmed Tomoyo. Kaito-san went through the trouble of coming all the way to another country because he wanted to protect not her specifically, but Akiho-chan, the person most important to him. She knew about the darkness that veiled these two people's past, and the psychological abuse Akiho-chan had been subjected to as a child. If something happened to her on this mission, that innocent girl would be sad, and she had no right to stop Kaito-san from using his power to ensure her continued happiness. "I will take it," Tomoyo wrapped her fingers around the object in her hand.
The older man smiled softly. His eyes lingered briefly on her hand and on the bandage wrapped around it for a moment, but he chose not to comment on it. "I have to caution you that its power is limited. While it can reduce the risk of your soul losing its path on the way back, it can do so only for a limited amount of time," he said instead.
"What does that mean Kaito-san? What am I supposed to do?" Tomoyo asked him.
"The time on the watch is exactly 12:00 right now. When you start your journey, it will automatically start moving in the reverse direction. That means, you have exactly until it resets itself to 12:00 again to return," the dark haired man explained. "It has absorbed my power, but there is a limit to how much it can absorb. When it resets itself, it would be drained of the power and thus become useless until it takes in more power from me or another source," he added.
"Ah, I see. It functions like the battery on an electronic device. But 12 hours is a long time, so it should be fine," Tomoyo said.
"Your first analogy is precise. However, you are mistaken about the second part," Yuna said calmly.
"Nani?" Sakura who was listening attentively, exclaimed.
"While traveling through the time dimension, it does not progress linearly, as in this world," Yue was the one that clarified for them. "How much time this magical watch would grant you would be anyone's guess," he elaborated.
"That's right. It depends on what type of force fields you will encounter on the way there. That's why caution and haste would still be your biggest ally, Daidouji-san," Yuna told her.
"Wakatta," Tomoyo nodded. "I am sure it will help me," she gave him a soft smile.
"I shall stay during the process if you don't mind. It is an interesting occurrence which I would like to observe," Kaito said.
"Mochiron desu," Sakura responded. "Dine with us before that. We will head out after dinner," she smiled, despite her nervousness. The doorbell sounded at that point, and Sakura went to answer it. Touya's voice could be heard from the door.
"Yue-san, her physical body also needs to be guarded during the period of time her soul does not inhabit it, Have you considered that aspect?" Yunaleaned forward, focusing his eyes on the moon guardian.
Yue nodded his head after a few moments of silence. "I intend to use my barrier for the purpose," he stated.
"That should be sufficient," Yuna responded.
As Touya had returned, Sakura ushered everyone to the dining room, except Yue, for obvious reasons. Over dinner, Sakura introduced the powerful magician who was visiting them to her brother, and briefed him on the plan. Touya did not speak much, but his face relaxed a bit on hearing that Tomoyo was getting another source of magical power to support their mission. As far as Sakura and Tomoyo were concerned, the calm presence of the powerful sorcerer amidst them greatly boosted their morale.
After dinner, the small group headed out towards their destination, which was the sacred cherry tree at the Tsukimine shrine that held the opening of the portal that would transport them to another time. When they reached the main street, they were joined by Syaoran, who was also heading there. Sakura immediately rushed over to him, and started talking excitedly, telling him about Kaito-san's unexpected visit. Syaoran greeted the older man politely before continuing to walk with Sakura. So, the group fell into walking in pairs on the narrow sidewalk. Sakura and Syaoran leading the way, followed by Touya and Yuna, and Tomoyo and Yue being at the tail end.
Walking beside the moon guardian, Tomoyo felt a vague sense of unease. Yue-san had not spoken much since that evening, and she wondered what kind of state his mind was in. She looked up at the bare branches of the cherry trees that hung over the sidewalk walking on. "No blossoms yet. I hope they appear soon," she said, trying to chase away the feeling from her mind.
"Let's see them together when they appear," Yue said, very quietly.
"What's this? Is our reticent Yue-san tacitly trying to ask me out on a date?" Tomoyo smiled, and nudged him lightly with her arm, lowering her voice further to avoid the ears of the two older men walking ahead of her. She knew what he was doing, giving her all the reasons to come back to him. They both understood that.
"Give it whatever name that suits your fancy. I don't care as long as I have you by my side," Yue said.
Tomoyo gulped. And what if you don't? Despite all her bold words, and the help she was getting from all her friends, Tomoyo could not help but acknowledge that there was a non-zero probability that her soul may not be able to find its path back to her body. What would her poor mother do in that case? What would Yue-san do? Tomoyo shook her head vigorously, once again trying to dispel the thought. Focus Tomoyo, there is a non-zero probability of any human just dying from any random freak accident on any given day. This is not any different. She told herself.
"I wonder if we will meet Clow-san, and what sort of person he would be like," Tomoyo said quickly to change her train of thoughts. "Yue-san, do you have anything that you would like me to tell Clow-san when I see him?" she asked.
Yue stopped walking. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared hard at his companion, who turned pale under his gaze. Tomoyo instantly regretted her question. "Forgive me, it is not my place to ask," she told him, taking a step forward.
"Actually, I do have something to tell my former master," Yue's voice made her turn back to look at him. "Tell him that even someone like me has a soul, and it now lies beyond the control of his magic; it is finally free," Yue said slowly, tilting his face upwards to look at the fragments of the sky through the bare branches, allowing the silver moonlight to caress his pale features, highlighting his ethereal beauty.
"Yue-san," Tomoyo's breath hitched in her throat, as blue eyes shifted back to land on her face.
"Don't seem so shocked. I just want him to know that his assumptions were wrong back then," he said. It seemed that the two had an argument which Yue-san would not elaborate any further than this. It pained Tomoyo to think that it still hurt him after so much time had passed. "Let's not fall behind," Yue walked the few steps between them, and caught her hand lightly.
The vague feeling of longing intensified in Tomoyo's aching chest at his touch. Lately, she had been having a strange yearning to be close to the moon guardian frequently, to hold him and be held by him. She thought that confessing her feelings to him would quell those thoughts, and yet they refused to be repressed. And after that night, she may not even get a chance to physically hold him again. She wanted to be in her beloved's arms one last time, before she had her soul separated from her body, but being in the proximity of so many people since they met that evening had made it impossible thus far. At that moment, however, the others were not in sight, as the four other people had already rounded the corner of the street that Tomoyo and Yue were then approaching. It could very well be her last chance. Tomoyo stopped walking.
"What now?" Yue asked as he felt his arm getting stretched due to his hand still holding Tomoyo's who had come to a halt. Tomoyo silently approached him, and leaned against his chest. She felt the pace of his heart quicken beneath the fabric of his shirt, as he held his breath for a few seconds. But after the brief moment of indecision, she felt his lean arms around her.
Tomoyo was half expecting Yue to make a snarky comment or two about her clinginess. Instead, the hand that came to rest on her head tousled her hair just a very little bit. "Feeling scared?" Yue-san asked, bringing his lips next to her ears.
Tomoyo shook her head against his chest. "Not even a little," she voiced her reply. "You?" she said after a pause.
"Does it matter?" Yue responded, a soft sigh leaving his mouth. It did not, so Tomoyo remained quiet as a mouse in his arms. "I wish you weren't so…," another sigh followed before Yue completed the sentence. "Intrepid," he muttered.
Yuna D. Kaito glanced back at the path behind them as he walked with the taller man next to him. "I don't see Daidouji-san and Yue-san anymore," he pointed out.
"They will catch up with us, when they are ready to," Touya said simply.
"But Kinomoto-san, they were right behind us," he stopped speaking as Touya gave him a meaningful look. "Oh, I see," Yuna rubbed the back of his neck in mild embarrassment, realizing too late that he was unable to pick up on the cue.
Touya looked the other way, and suppressed a smirk. He did not know this man very well, except that Sakura's dear friend Shinomoto Akiho was attached to this person, who was also a famed magician, and in return the man would do almost any dangerous thing for the girl. He was several years older than all of them, and seemed to be approaching his mid thirties. One would think that such a person would be wiser, right? Well, apparently, he was just as much of an idiot as the rest.
Speaking of idiots, Touya vaguely wondered what Tomoyo and Yue were doing. Considering Yue's uptightness, and both Tomoyo and Yue's sense of decorum, probably they were holding hands and talking. Touya felt a longing to do the same with Yukito, which he repressed with a sigh.
A while later, the group assembled at the base of the cherry tree situated within the compound of Tsukimine shrine. Many years ago, the tree's spiritual energy had allowed Sakura to travel to the past and meet Clow Reed. Now, she hoped that it would help her brother and best friend too. Syaoran was just about to begin his spell to separate Tomoyo's soul from her body when she stopped him.
"Wait, Syaoran-kun. Do you remember what we did when I used the Return card to travel to Clow Reed's time?" she asked.
"Well yes?," the young man answered unsure of the purpose of the question. Tomoyo smiled. She remembered too.
"At that time, I didn't even know what you were to me," Sakura continued in an emotional voice. "Yet, somehow, I felt that I had to return to you, no matter what it takes. So, I made you a pinky promise," she recollected with a soft smile.
"Sakura, no one has the patience for your sappy story," Touya huffed.
"Shut up, meanie," Sakura scowled and made a gesture of punching her big brother with her fist. "Actually, you are the only one who's impatient here. As I was saying," she spoke even louder, "you and Tomoyo-chan should make the same promise to Yukito-san and Yue-san," she said assertively.
"One would only expect such an useless idea from an idiot like you," Touya tried to dismiss his younger sister. But Yue had already started transforming, and Yukito appeared a moment later. "You transformed for this silly idea?" Touya said, trying to hide the happiness he felt from seeing his Yuki once again before he departed for his quest. Yuna turned his face sideways and smiled at the antics of the younger people.
"There's no harm in it, right Toya?" Before the young man who was addressed so fondly could protest, Yukito was looking up at him with those amber colored bunny rabbit eyes of his that cause Touya's heartbeat to speed up even after so many years.
"You know that I will always be with you. You don't need this kid's ritual to reassure yourself. Hey!" As he spoke, Yukito had already lifted his hand by the wrist and intertwined their little fingers.
"Yes, I do believe in you. Forever," Yukito locked his eyes with the man he loved for a moment, as they read the message in each other's eyes.
When I return from this mission Yuki, you will be mine, just mine.
I don't have to make you wait any longer Toya. That alone makes me so happy.
Yukito stepped back from Touya and transformed again, this time the moon guardian taking on his more ethereal appearance, donning his white robes, and complete with the impressive pair of wings. Tomoyo stepped forward and took Yue's hand with her still injured right hand, interconnecting their little fingers as the pair before them had done. Unlike his usual self and unlike Touya, Yue did not try to protest.
"I cannot wait to be by your side again Yue-san, so please wait for me," Tomoyo said.
"I will. Return safely," Yue said simply.
"Unromantic and boring," Keroberos stuck his tongue out from his perch on Sakura's shoulder. Tomoyo felt Yue's fingers brush lightly against the fabric of the cloth that kept her wound wrapped. "Just get this done already so that I can go home and sleep," he added.
When Syaoran completed the magic spell on Tomoyo, her eyes turned glassy, and at the same moment, Yuna's pocket watch that she firmly held in her hand disappeared. Her body swayed to the side, about to fall from her kneeling position on the ground. Yue knelt beside her, gently easing down the upper part of her body on his lap, as he activated his magical barrier.
"It has started," Yuna remarked.
"Tomoyo is with me," Touya told everyone. "We are going now," Of course, no one else could really see Tomoyo's soul, since it was a power that was unique to Touya, and Touya only. But Syaoran, Sakura and Keroberos waved anyway.
Touya placed his hand on the hardened bark of the cherry tree, silently asking for permission to enter. Tomoyo or rather her soul trailed behind him. She was somewhat relieved to find that her soul still retained the illusion of her body rather than being some shapeless entity. The tree glowed with a golden light, and in the next moment, everything went pitch black.
"Touya onii-san," Tomoyo called out in alarm.
"I am right here," she heard him speak. At the next moment it seemed that someone had flicked a switch on, and suddenly they were surrounded by millions of tiny stars, washing everything in a heavenly glow.
"Kinomoto-san, Daidouji-san, pardon me for this slight inconvenience." they turned around at the sound of someone's voice that resonated around them. A man was approaching them. As he got closer, Tomoyo thought that the man looked a lot like Fujitaka-san in his younger years, only somewhat quirky, with an even quirkier smile on his face.
"So, you must be the mastermind behind all these," Touya faced the man. "Our whole lives are in jeopardy right now because of you and your stupid plans, minor inconvenience indeed," he rebuked brazenly.
"I understand your dissatisfaction, Kinomoto-san," the apparition of the man continued to speak pleasantly. "But please believe me that I did not intend for all these to happen. Yukito was only meant to be a temporary facade for Yue until he was ready to emerge," he said.
"Yuki is as real as I am. Our feelings are real, he doesn't deserve this," Touya gritted his teeth.
"Considering the purpose of his creation, it is nothing short of a wonder that Yukito's heart fell for his best friend. Even more wondrous is the fact that Yue is drawn to you, Daidouji-san," the apparition of Clow Reed turned towards Tomoyo. "Someone so utterly devoid of magical powers, and yet Yue would give everything he has just to protect you. Most astounding," he remarked.
"I respectfully disagree," Tomoyo spoke. "Not everything is dictated by magic, Clow-san. Or maybe not the form of magic that you have practiced and lived by," Tomoyo said firmly. "Yue-san actually wanted me to tell you that his soul is free now and not controlled by your magic anymore. It seemed that earlier you did not even believe that it was possible that someone created from magic would have a soul," Tomoyo told him.
"Soul? I never found any evidence that beings created from magic have them. I guess I did not know my own creations. Or perhaps, I do not understand my own power," Clow reflected. "All my earlier actions were in the interest of Yue, to ensure that he continued to exist and continued to have the magic he needed for sustenance. For that purpose, I figured that it was best to have his heart tied to that of his master's. But I knew Yue would not allow anyone else into his heart so easily. That's why I schemed to place Yukito and Sakura next to each other. It seemed only natural that the feelings of the Yukito's heart would eventually find its way into Yue's too, and their mutual feelings for Sakura would cause Yue and his facade to fuse into a single entity - into the most perfect man that has Yue's grace, and Yukito's gentleness, a man that Sakura-san could love and cherish," Clow smiled.
"That's the most disgusting plan that I have ever heard of," Touya lunged at Clow, reaching for his collar. "My sister was just a fifth grader when this mayhem started. How could you expect that she would just give her heart to Yue, when was not even mature enough to understand her own feelings, you perverted freak," he yelled, trying to shake Clow Reed violently by the collar of his robe, but failing to displace a single strand of the dark hair that fell on the man's face.
"Touya onii-san," Tomoyo called him apprehensively.
"Have you really not noticed that I have already left my mortal body at this moment of time?" The black canvas of the sky dotted with stars disappeared from their view, and in the next moment, they were standing amidst a wintry landscape, with leafless branches weighed down by snow, and the ground covered in white. "Unfortunately Touya-kun, you cannot beat up a dead man," he smiled, unperturbed by Touya's outrage.
"You must be feeling so lucky to get away without consequences," Touya dropped his hands to his sides and breathed heavily.
"Who said I got away?" Clow Reed said. "Touya-kun, the cards and Yue awakened several years earlier than I anticipated since Keroberos fell asleep on his job, and failed to keep the cards sealed. I did not expect your sister and Yue to meet until much later. But I apologize regardless," he placed his hand on his chest, and gave a small bow. "You see, no magician can perfectly predict the future. We can see several possibilities, some more likely than others. We have to base our plans and decisions on that," he tried to explain.
"So, you are telling us you had no idea that all these would have happened?" Tomoyo asked.
"Let me try to explain. When we try to see the future we see a series of images. The more likely the event is, the brighter its image will be. When I saw a really bright image, I thought it was just perfect for my plan. My plans were already in motion when I actually cared to inspect the other images more closely. I saw Sakura blush at Yukito in one of them, but instead of the woman that she was supposed to be as per the brightest image that I had seen, I was surprised to find that the image was that of an elementary school going girl. Still, I thought my plan had a chance. Then I saw Yukito stealing these fond glances at the boy who was supposed to be nothing more than his best friend, and soon I saw that same boy returning those glances. They were faint, but they were there, and at that point I began to doubt my own plans. There were other images of course, even fainter, but I did see Yue spending more and more time with Sakura's best friend. Of course, I have to remind you that it did not make much sense to act upon these seemingly unlikely events happening," Clow Reed paused. "You see, Tomoyo-san, the future that we see is not deterministic, it is a combination -,"
"Of different possibilities," Tomoyo beat Clow Reed to the words. He smiled, adjusting the glasses on his nose. Not that they needed adjustment though, considering that it was just Clow Reed's soul that took this illusory form to communicate with them, Tomoyo thought. "You cannot exactly know the future until you observe it happening. Just because something is less likely, it is never guaranteed that it won't happen," she added.
"So, we all were Schrödinger's cats in your little experiment," Touya scowled. Even in such a difficult situation, the analogy made Tomoyo smile.
"Pardon? What cats?" Clow Reed looked confused.
"Never mind," Touya made a vague gesture with his hand, not really feeling motivated to explain quantum physics to an ancient magician.
"Clow-san," Tomoyo spoke, directly addressing the magician. "My time is limited, and I have promised Yue-san to return," Tomoyo glanced at the golden pocket watch held in her hand. It's minute's hand was advancing in the reverse direction, as Kaito-san had told. "I am not here to judge you for those plans, or to evaluate their justification. I am sure you had your reasons. After all, all of us are actually selfish, just in different ways. I cannot really judge you when I am here for my own selfish reasons too. And that selfish reason is Yue-san's happiness, just as Touya onii-san is here to ask for the same for Yukito-san," Tomoyo said.
"That's right. Yuki may just be a facade to you, but he is everything to me. As long as I can see him smile everyday with that goofy expression, I will be the happiest person in the world. I don't need a perfect man," Touya sat down on the beams of a wooden fence beside them. "I am not going anywhere till you give me his happiness."
"Ah, but as your companion proclaimed herself, her time is quite limited here," the amused expression was still plastered on Clow Reed's face.
"I know that I have no powers like you or Sakura-chan, but Yue-san cares for me nevertheless. That alone gave me the power to come here. My love for him is stronger than any magic, even yours. My friend told me that, and I believe in it. I don't care what happens to me, I will not leave until you agree to help Yue-san and Tsukishiro-san," Tomoyo met Clow Reed's eyes with a steady gaze.
"My my, what a headstrong young lady. I think I am beginning to understand why Yue took an interest in you," Clow looked amused.
"You cannot dissuade me with such words, Clow-san," Tomoyo exclaimed. "Tell me, if Sakura-chan was the person beside Yue-san in your brightest visions of the future, why did you show me those dreams? It was you behind those dreams, I am sure. What were you trying to tell such an ordinary girl with no magic such as myself?" she demanded to know.
Clow looked caught off guard for a moment. "I,-. Well, I saw some signs that Yue might want to erase his own existence. That's why I tried to warn you to prevent that from happening to the best of my ability, because you appeared so often beside him in those hazy images. You know, just as a backup plan," Clow told her.
"She's nobody's backup plan, you callous fool," Touya hissed. "She's the one who stopped Yue from disappearing," he told him.
Clow Reed looked away. It appeared that a flash of pain crossed his facial features. "Tell me what you would like me to do," he said in a more serious voice.
"Separate Yukito from Yue. They are two separate individuals who do not deserve to be tangled together. Give them the lives that they have always deserved to live, but could not, because of your ridiculous decision to have them co-exist," Touya said firmly.
"Truly Clow-san, Tsukishiro-san is always the happiest with Touya onii-san. If they could not be with each other in this life, people will stop believing in love," Tomoyo's voice trembled. "And I will never let Yue-san feel alone for as long as I live," she reached out for Clow Reed's hand, and pressed firmly. "I promise you," she said.
"Very well. I shall give you all a chance. Before leaving this mortal world behind, I happened to make something with the last of my powers which might be useful to you," the illusion of Clow Reed turned around and started walking. "Follow me."
The apparition led them through a gated area of the wooden fence into what seemed like a private burial ground, with several headstones jutting out of the ground. Tomoyo and Touya looked at each other in confusion. Clow Reed finally stopped before a distant grave. "What you seek is right there," he lifted his hand to point towards the gravestone.
Someone lay at the base of the grave, resting against the flat horizontal slab of the tombstone. The white attire of the person merged with the snowy landscape making it harder to detect them from a distance. As Tomoyo got closer, she caught sight of the long strands of silver hair that had captured her fancy so often back in her own time. "Yue-san," she gasped as she reached the person lying curled up on the ground.
"This must be Clow Reed's grave," Touya muttered as he came and stood beside Tomoyo. "What have you hidden here, old man?" He turned his head to address the apparition of the magician who had guided them here, but there was no sign of Clow Reed. They were left standing in a deserted grave, with no one in sight but the moon guardian, who appeared to be asleep on a tombstone, and the snow covering everything in its white sadness.
"Damn it," Touya folded his fist and punched his own hand. "He tricked us," he said angrily.
"We just have to find what he intended us to find, onii-san," Tomoyo said, without taking her eyes off Yue. The familiar pain was building up in her chest once again.
Touya sighed and went to the headstone to inspect it. He brushed off the powdery mass of snow from its base and inspected the writings. "It's that old geezer's grave indeed," he remarked.
"Don't be disrespectful, we are at his grave," Tomoyo said softly.
"Well, he did not care to give us the solution, did he? He is still playing his stupid game with us," Touya said as he moved to inspect the back of the tombstone. Yue continued to lie still, completely oblivious of the presence of the time travelers near him. Tomoyo thought that he was under some sort of magic spell. Not that he could see her anyway even if he were awake, considering that she had left behind her physical body in her own time.
"Tomoyo, look, there's something here," her cousin called her. She walked around the grave to where her companion was hunched on the ground. "Look at these five blocks. Each is marked with its own symbol. We might be onto something," he told her.
"That's interesting, because no one normally inscribes anything at the back of their headstone," Tomoyo knelt beside Touya, inspecting the five square blocks that were slightly raised above the rest of the flat surface. She looked up after a moment. "They are the symbols for the five elements used in magic," she informed.
"Five elements, huh?" Touya questioned.
"Earth, water, fire, air and void - the five bases of the cosmos," Tomoyo said, pointing out each symbol as she spoke. "Yue-san showed them to me once from a book he was reading at the library. That's how I know," she told him.
"Tell me Tomoyo, should there be an order of the elements?" Touya questioned, fingers on his chin.
"I think it is the order in which I mentioned. They don't appear in that order here though," Tomoyo replied.
"I am sure there's something in this headstone. Something like a hidden compartment. Ah, you can actually press these inwards," Touya pushed the block marked with the symbol of water inside to demonstrate his point. Tomoyo extended her hand and tried to press the next block, but of course nothing happened.
"Oh, I am just a soul now," she looked down at her hands sadly. "Can't touch anything physically."
"And you don't have to be much longer. Let's get whatever Clow wants us to find and return," Touya said resolutely. "So, these are some sort of buttons. We need to press them in the correct order to open the hidden compartment," he added.
"Let's try the normal order then - earth, water, fire, air, void," Tomoyo pointed at the corresponding symbols once again as Touya pressed the stone blocks one after the another. They held their breath for a couple of moments, but nothing happened.
"The code is something else," Tomoyo sighed.
"It will take too much time to try out every possible combination without any clue. For all we know the code may be longer than five elements if we consider repetitions!" Touya groaned. "I feel like just breaking this entire damn thing," he punched the tombstone, ignoring the bruise that immediately appeared on his knuckles.
"Onii-san, please calm down," Tomoyo tried to reach out to him, but once again, it was meaningless.
"As if you have all the time left in the world to do that," Touya replied frustrated. Tomoyo took out the magical watch Kaito-san had given her from her pocket and looked at it. Touya onii-san was right. The hands of the watch had advanced steadily, and she was left with only five hours out of the twelve that the watch was supposed to give her to complete her mission.
"We might not have enough time after all," Tomoyo bit her bottom lip, and looked down.
Touya walked over to the spot where Yue lay on the ground. He grabbed his shoulder and shook vigorously. "Hey Yue, did your dead master tell you something about the code for this damn thing?" he shouted in his ears. "You want to keep sleeping peacefully while the existence of your Tomoyo fades away from our world? Unless that is what you want, why don't you wake up and tell us how to open this blasted headstone?" Touya grabbed the sleeping moon guardian's collar and shook some more, but Yue showed no signs of waking up.
"Onii-san, Yue-san's is under some sort of magical spell. He might be in too much in grief to wake up after Clow-san passed away," Tomoyo said.
"I understood that," Tomoyo flinched at the expression of pain and despair on her cousin's normally determined face. "Then try to wake up your handsome prince with a kiss or something. Knowing Clow Reed, he might have planned for exactly that sort of silly and mawkish thing," Tomoyo saw Touya rub his eyes with the back of his hands as he left Yue and stood up.
"In my current form he won't even feel my touch," Tomoyo sat down beside Yue, feeling tired and hopeless at last. "Perhaps, Clow-san was right after all. Perhaps, I am not the right one for him," the tears finally fell from her eyes.
"Don't make me laugh. That guy himself had no idea about the future, as he himself admitted," Touya went back to the back of the headstone. Tomoyo heard him pressing the stone blocks again.
"Are you really going to try all possible combinations?" she asked.
"This thing is protected by strong magic, so it cannot be broken down. Since your Yue-san has chosen to be a sleeping beauty at this point instead of cooperating with us, what other choice do I have?" Touya said bitterly.
Tomoyo tried to wrap her arms around Yue's sleeping form and pull herself closer to him. Of course, she did not really have arms to wrap around anyway, but just the illusion of them. There was an indescribable expression of pain that was etched on the young man's beautiful face which pierced her heart once again. Yue-san, I think I can understand your sorrow now, even if it is just a little . Yue-san, I am so close to you, and yet you are not looking at me, not speaking to me, not scolding me either. Tomoyo thought as she rested her face on Yue's shoulder and closed her eyes. Look, my lips are so close to your ears. I bet it would make you all flustered back in our own time. I suppose you don't know me yet at this time. Will you forgive me if I fail to keep the promise that I made to you by failing to return? There's so many things that I wanted to tell you. Was it foolish of me to think that there were so many things that we could have done together? Tomoyo tried to wipe away some of the tears that were flowing constantly from her eyes, only to be reminded that those tears were also an illusion like the rest of her form. That did not make the pain she felt any more bearable though. Yue-san, I actually want to give you that really silly fairy-tale kiss. Touya Onii-san just called it mawkish, and I am sure you will ridicule me too. But I just realized that's what I would like to do if I get back my mortal form. Is it too late for that?
Back in the present time, Yue watched with a feeling of fear and concern as the tears flowed freely from the closed eyes of the unconscious girl who he held in his arms, her head resting on his lap. He carefully ran his finger along the wet trail on her cheek. Her tears were hot, contrasting against the coldness of her skin. "Tomoyo," her first name came out of his lips in a whisper, even though his mind had already started screaming that name over and over again. He felt someone's hand reaching out for his shoulder.
Yuna D. Kaito knelt beside the moon guardian, and placed his hand on his shoulder, quietly observing his face. The expression of fear on Yue's face was oddly familiar to him - the fear of losing one's most important person. For years, Yuna had lived through that fear. "She must be in a lot of pain," he quietly said. There was not much time left before his protective magic ran out, Yuna could sense it, but he chose not to bring up that point.
Sakura, Keroberos and Syaoran quickly came over. "Keroberos, you don't think that Clow Reed would do something to hurt her, would he?" Yue looked to the sun guardian with apprehensive eyes.
"I don't think Clow would harm your favorite person, as eccentric as he might have been," Keroberos tried to reassure her. "But Yue, the last time I saw Tomoyo cry like this, it was because of you," Kero raised a paw towards him. "Maybe, your past self is saying something mean to her right now," he contemplated.
"Kero-chan, this isn't funny," Sakura yelled and slumped against Syaoran's shoulder. She had started to cry herself. "Tomoyo-chan, onii-chan, please come back," she said in a muffled voice. Syaoran held her protectively, trying his best to hide his own feeling of dread.
"Call her Yue-san," Yuna said softly applying a small pressure on Yue's shoulder with his hand.
"Does it even have a point now?" Yue's voice was skeptical. "She's in trouble isn't it? Apparently everyone but me thought it was a good idea to let her do this," he said in an accusatory tone.
"Yue-san, Daidouji-san was the one who wanted this and had chosen to do this," the sorcerer replied. He understood Yue's mental state, and decided to look past the bitterness of his words. "Her tears are proof that her soul is still linked to her body. As long as we can see her tears flowing, we have hope. So, please call her Yue-san, and your voice might just be able to reach her soul and bring her back to us," Yuna D. Kaito explained.
"Yue-san, remember what I said? Love begins where magic ends. Daidouji-san believed me, and I want you to believe it with her. The love that you two share is stronger than the magical forces she might be fighting against now. So, please believe it and listen to Kaito-san," Syaoran said gently, extending his hand to touch Yue's arm briefly.
Yue looked at the friendly faces of the people surrounding him. Fine, I have nothing to lose anyway, for without you, Tomoyo, I am a ruined man. He gently lifted her body to position her face next to his own, and brought his lips to her ears. "Daidouji-san," he said firmly.
"Call her by her first name, Yue-san. I bet she'll be so surprised; and happy," Sakura said in a voice that was broken from crying.
What do you think about the chapter? Anything you liked or disliked? If you can leave a review to let me know, it will be very helpful to write the next (hopefully quicker).
Let me share another good news (?). Clear card anime is set to have a second season which will conclude the arc. Hope the Akiho-Kaito situation gets resolved there, and the guy do not turn out to be absolutely evil (since I just had him help along here, hehe).
