At the end of the day.
The sun was already setting behind the tall buildings, throwing long shadows in the quiet suburban streets when a black minivan stopped in front of the main gate. The driver opened the trunk at the same time as the back door was opened by a man of black hair with glasses who helped a woman of long, black hair to descend after him. Nakuru came out from the driver's side and went to pick up the basket and thermal bag from the trunk. Eriol went to open the door and waited until Tomoyo had indicated to Spinel he could come out from the passenger's side and into the house, then went to help Nakuru with the things. She still had to get the car into the garage after it was empty. After Eriol saw her go, he went into the house and found Tomoyo and Spinel still in the entrance hall looking at the luggage that had been left there after Meilin arrived hours before.
When Nakuru entered some minutes later, they were getting the luggage up to Meilin's room and she exclaimed:
"Meilin is here! I want to see her, it's been so long." And with this, she headed towards the stairs.
"She's not here right now, Nakuru. She must've left with Ryusuke after arriving." Tomoyo said.
Nakuru stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Oh, I didn't think of that. So what time will she be back?"
"I don't know, but it shouldn't be long now, it's getting late. Can you take this big suitcase to her room?"
"Yes! Sorry, Tomoyo, I forgot!" Nakuru went quickly to get the suitcase Tomoyo was trying to lift and carried it upstairs.
Some twenty minutes later, the front door opened again and this time it was Meilin who came in. She went straight into the front room without looking at the entrance hall as she passed it or the fact that her bags weren't there anymore. She was still fuming at her own stupidity. When she'd got into the bus, she had asked for the street she wanted to go and it was alright, the bus went by that street. What she didn't remember was to ask if it the street was actually in the district she wanted to go to. So, after an hour's journey, she arrived at Harrow, with no clue as to where she was or where she had to go and even more, after spending what felt like another hour asking around, she finally found out that she was in the wrong Spencer Road. The one she was supposed to be looking for was in Clapham, about fifteen minutes from where she originally was, not in Harrow, which was over an hour away from the place she now had to return to and it was already getting late. It was an afternoon wasted in nothing. She felt so stupid. Of course, she had only arrived at the country three months before, but after all that Ryusuke had taught her, she now felt like a silly child.
She was still thinking about all this when the door opened and Nakuru entered screaming.
"Meilin! Welcome home! It's so good to have you back!" She said all this running to hug her tightly.
"Hi, Nakuru! It's good to be back." Her voice sounded stifled by the choking embrace.
"Nakuru, let her breath, please. Can't you ever behave normally at all?" Spinel had arrived after hearing Nakuru's exclamation from the other room. Tomoyo and Eriol had heard her too and were entering the room as well.
"Welcome back, Meilin. We took your bags into your room." Tomoyo greeted her when Nakuru finally let her go, smiling widely.
"Oh! Thank you very much, I forgot all about them. You shouldn't have bothered, they are too heavy." The memory of her forgotten luggage came back to her now that she mentioned it.
"It was no problem."
"Never mind that, you probably had more important things on your mind. You went out with Ryusuke and forgot everything else, of course. A nice stroll arm in arm with your loved one on a quiet day is so romantic. It's a good thing we left you alone."
Ever since the engagement announcement, Nakuru was full of ideas of romance and kept on daydreaming of plans for the couple. In fact, she hadn't been given much time to plan yet, because the moment the talks for wedding arrangement had started, they had to fly to Japan and leave everything on hold until the return of the bride, and now she felt like starting immediately with everything. Spinel just sighed with resignation at her extended antics. Just as long as she let him out of it, let her keep on with her crazy plans.
"Eh... Yes, of course. I had other things in my mind."
"Speaking of that, where is Ryusuke? Isn't he staying for dinner?" She looked around for him.
"He was called from his office and had to go. He'll be here for dinner."
"Did something happen?" Eriol asked.
"I don't know. He received a phone call and left saying it was urgent. Just like that." Now that she remembered what had happened she felt suddenly down but she shook that out so the others wouldn't see it.
"Well, at least he first brought you back. And he'll be back shortly."
"Yes," she lied. "Sorry for making you take my things." She changed the subject back quickly.
"Don't worry about it. This is your time and I'll help you in anything you need. Leave everything to me, I'll make sure everything is splendid for your very special day." She took Meilin's hands in her own and then left the room, humming.
"Was she like this when you married Eriol?" She asked Tomoyo when Nakuru was gone and Eriol apologised to go to his studio with Spinel.
"Worse. She was so excited she wanted to marry us herself. She even looked into some courses to become a pastor and make it official." Both women burst out laughing at the thought of this. "Did you enjoy your trip?" Tomoyo asked as soon as she could stop laughing.
"It was nice. I just love that little baby. But, you know, I had to come back, I couldn't stay away any longer." Well, the laugh at least improved her mood.
"And now you have a wedding to plan. We can start arranging everything from tomorrow, but first I have to go and set up dinner."
"Dinner! I almost forget it! I promised Ryusuke I'd make him a special new meal for when he returned. Sakura taught me some good new recipes." Meilin started and jumped up from where she was sitting.
"I'll help you, I think I know most of the things she knows." Tomoyo offered.
"No, thank you. I want to make it on my own and give him my own food."
"That's nice. I can help you with the recipe if you forget something in that case. Let's go to the kitchen, I have to make food for my own man."
With this, the two women set out for the kitchen.
They were halfway through dinner when the bell rang and Nakuru went to open the door for Ryusuke, who just then got in. He greeted everyone and apologised for the lateness while Meilin went to get his food and he devoured it as soon as it was set in front of him.
"Meilin, this is delicious! Seconds, please." He said, raising his plate.
"I knew you'd like it." Meilin said, as she served him more. She hadn't needed any help preparing it but, as Tomoyo had predicted, she had needed help in remembering the steps.
By the time he finished his third helping, they had all been waiting for some minutes to get started at the desert. Nakuru set out to serve it.
"I'm sorry for leaving you today, Meilin. I'll make it up to you." Ryusuke said while Nakuru was passing through the places placing the dishes.
"It's ok, I know it was important."
"But I still feel bad about leaving you alone all the afternoon. Did you do something?"
"I just stayed reading." She was looking at her plate when she said this.
Nakuru opened her mouth at the same time as Tomoyo put her hand on her wrist and pressed her fingers on it. Nakuru looked at her inquiringly and Tomoyo made a small shake with her head. Nakuru closed her mouth and went over to serve the next plate without speaking. Eriol glanced at Tomoyo and exchanged an imperceptible nod.
"Did something new happen?" Eriol changed the subject.
"New body. This time in Surrey. We could confirm it was a local woman. Her neighbours hadn't seen her since the previous morning and they all said she was in very good spirits and really energetic when they last saw her. No signs of anyone suspicious in the area again. Now it begins all the paperwork for the new investigation." He was already loosing his appetite. "Eriol, can I come and chat with you tomorrow? Today I'm too tired."
"Sure. Anytime you can is fine."
"Then I'll let you know before coming." He got up.
"Are you leaving already?" Meilin asked astonished.
"Yes, I'm exhausted and I have a weird feeling. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. How about tomorrow?" He said, yawning widely.
"I can't. I'll be out all day looking for decorators and florists." She sounded depressed. "And I'll probably be out all week. This wedding business is more troublesome than its worth."
"What?" He could barely hear her through his tired mind.
"I'm also tired. I'll get you to the door and then go to bed myself."
With this, Ryusuke said goodbye to his hosts and went to the door with Meilin for a more private goodbye. When they left, Eriol made Nakuru and Spinel clear the table and sat back on his chair. His wife waited for him to speak.
"Will you find out what she's been doing?" He asked once the door closed behind the guardians.
"I'll talk to her once Ryusuke is gone." She got up. "I guess our peace is over now." She said sadly.
"We already knew it would come."
"Yes, but it's too soon." She burst out, saddened.
She stood by his side, her hand on the back of his chair, thinking for a moment. "What do you think? Before or after?"
"I don't know. I don't know which is worse."
"Never mind." She brushed the idea away, resigned. "Like Sakura says, 'everything will be alright'." Tomoyo tried to smile.
"I wonder if she even believes in it this time." He spoke softly. "I'll do what I can." He finished, looking up at his wife.
"I know you will. I just wish there was somet--" Eriol raised his hand to silence her and they both looked at the door. Footsteps were approaching and then walked by toward the stairs.
"I think it's time to go." She gave a quick kiss to her husband and left the room following the steps.
Eriol remained sitting a little longer, thinking. He had done everything he knew but to no avail. He jogged his memory with everything he could think of but it still eluded him. What was the use of having so many memories if you couldn't find the one you were looking for? A head full of memories is not the most convenient thing to have sometimes. He didn't know why or how, but he knew it was all related. How else could you explain that those events had such a familiar feeling to him? Like a dêja vú, only stronger, more defined. He hadn't seen anything like it in his lifetime. But if it hadn't been in his, then... Still nothing.
Just like Ryusuke had guessed, he was worried, but not for the reason Ryusuke believed. He was worried because if no one had the answer, then how could you solve it? And the only thing he knew was that someone had the answer but that someone wasn't showing up to help. 'Or hinder.' He thought. He frowned. That's the first time that thought crossed his mind. 'Only a troublemaker.' Perhaps that was needed here. 'Disasters wherever he goes.' Now that pointed to the one he was thinking about. 'Better off without him.' Couldn't contradict that. 'But he's needed.' Wait, who was he thinking about then? Nothing answered that. It was another dead end.
He rose from his chair, frustrated, and headed to his studio for some final arrangements before going to bed.
A soft knock sounded on the door and after Meilin said "Come in", Tomoyo entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"I knew you'd come soon." She said in the middle of unpacking one of the suitcases.
"Well, you didn't make an effort to hide the lie." Tomoyo told her smiling and reached to help her unpack.
"Yes, it was stupid of me, just like everything I do." She flung some trousers to her bed. "I think I'm still angry and I wanted someone to know it." And with this, she told her of all that had happened that day without waiting for her to ask. Tomoyo listened to her in silence until she was over speaking.
"I wasted my time. I did everything wrong and now I have nothing to show for my pains." They were sitting on her bed by now and Meilin had reached the end of her tale.
"Why did you go looking for a killer? That's the job of the police. What were you trying to achieve?" Tomoyo asked, concerned.
"I wanted to help Ryusuke. I wanted to show him I can be of assistance to him, not just sit home and wait for him to come back. I mean, he said I could make a good detective because I can tell things. I wanted to prove that I'm useful."
"But what if you had been right? What would've happened if you had found the killer? Have you thought of that?"
"If he was human, I can deal with him. That's why I wanted to go to the place he mentioned the copycat attacked. It's not like I'd face the man outright, but I could come back and hand him the information and he'd be proud of me."
"Or it'd make him completely mad. I think Ryusuke is right, I think you should stay out of this business. Even if you are careful, you could end up in so much trouble. You could be killed." Tomoyo was saying as kindly as possible.
"You didn't see his face when he spoke of what he'd seen. I didn't notice when I first saw him but when he talked about it, his face changed. He is more troubled than he wants to let out and I can tell just by looking at him and I don't like it." She said with feeling. "I want to help him and make him smile like before, as if nothing was ever bad."
"Ok." Tomoyo said after listening to her. "If you are so decided on this, then I'll help. I'll go with you." She stated.
"What are you talking about?" Meilin was shocked by her words.
"I can't let you do this alone. If we go together to investigate, it will seem as a normal girls outing and Ryusuke won't be suspicious. We can take the limousine and the bodyguards to be safe and we can get to many more places like that." Tomoyo's eyes were gleaming as she made plans for their investigating duo. "I'm sure I can get intel on the cases from my friends and we can use that for a guide to know where is best to start."
"But what about your company? Don't you have to work? What will Eriol say?" She asked all this out of concern for her friend but was secretly eager to start on Tomoyo's plan.
"I can take a leave and hide the reason under the pretext of helping you on your wedding arrangements. We can use the times we go out to both get you set up and find out as much as we can about this case. Don't worry about Eriol, I'll talk to him. I know he won't oppose and we can also use his knowledge to help us out and keep Ryusuke from finding out."
"The plan sounds great. When can we start? I hope Eriol will accept." Meilin was eager to start already, her frustration forgotten and new schemes forming in her mind.
"First, I'll talk to Eriol about it. I'll talk him over into the convenience of the plan, don't worry. I'll tell you what happened tomorrow morning."
"Tomoyo, thank you. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to support me." Meilin said gratefully.
"That's what friends are for, after all." She took Meilin's hands in hers and looked at her smiling. "We can start everything tomorrow morning. We might even be able to solve this case before you walk down the isle."
Tomoyo got up from the bed and waved her friend good night, promising to let her know in the morning.