A/N: I have a crazy updating spree because my dad brought his laptop with him and this chapter had been in my email since forever. hehe Thank you for all who reviewed. I promised Property of Eriol that I will dedicate this chapter to her. She said I shouldn't because people will think she's a saint. LOL Special thanks to cheng and michibun for inspiring me. Love you, guys!
Act 18, Winter
The joke was really on them. All this time they were in the same prefecture, in the same town, thinking they would never see each other again after he came off of that train, and then Sakura Kinomoto, who could have gone some other town library that fateful day, also had to be doctor Tōya Kinomoto's little sister. The former heiress never made the connection between their last names because she never thought they could ever be related. That, or she may have forgotten the doctor's name altogether. She only met the physician once anyway, some few months ago in an incident that involved concussions and sermons.
The panorama changed drastically from the forced season decorations on the grey edifices to a secluded estate in the top of the hill. The family house was an hour drive from downtown Hakata where she currently resided, Tomoyo noted mentally while she watched the looming trees that resembled multiple archways pass by.
She didn't want to think it was coincidence. Eriol must really be destined to find her soon enough even without depending on his instructions for her. It was a peculiar notion that she couldn't accept because she didn't believe in it.
"Young Master," a silver-haired man in a casual haori and hakama greeted them when they arrived.
"Tadaima."
There was an undeniably pleased note in Eriol's deep voice, something that probably didn't happen a lot because the man with golden brown eyes gaped as if he couldn't believe what he just heard.
"Okaerinasai," he genially responded with a bow when he recovered.
"Aa...Yukito-san, I've brought a guest with me. This is Tomoyo Daidōji."
It was the girl's turn to make a respectful bow.
"Hajimemashite."
"She'll be staying here indefinitely so I would appreciate it if the guest room is prepared right away."
"I'm terribly sorry for the trouble," Tomoyo apologized, blushing in shame for this arrangement. It wasn't necessary but Eriol had insisted she stayed with them after seeing her uncomfortable living conditions. Her apartment was small that it was barely tolerable for one person. She had a make-shift futon and no furniture, not even a low dining table, and the radiator just had to refuse to work when she needed it to. The senpai didn't know what to make of her experience these few weeks, his surprise evidently written on his face as he surveyed her room. Tomoyo inwardly winced at the thought the he might probably be thinking that this was just the perfect retribution for an heiress who wanted her selfish freedom. This was exactly the consequence that her mother was talking about if she refused to return to Osaka. Her nights had been usually cold and she barely had anything to sustain herself everyday. She had become too thin as well.
She briefly wondered if Tōya would notice how unhealthy she looked now when they would meet again.
"Oh, please, don't be. It'll be my pleasure to be of service. Welcome to the Amamiya house."
Eriol made a coughing noise, and Yukito was quick to ask if his master was alright.
"Don't worry. I never felt any better." A graceful smile enhanced his expression.
The servant, though a little hesitant at first, finally excused himself before he readily gathered her things that mostly consisted of a few clothes.
"Sakura-chan is going to be stuck in Tokyo until tomorrow so we'll probably see her in two days if she could escape her manager." The bespectacled pianist winked good-naturedly.
She knew it was belated to feel any embarrassment now after she practically threw herself to him in public while she cried. The senpai had placed a comforting hand at the back of her head and hadn't moved until she had exhausted herself from weeping.
All these thoughts made her flush anyway. How awkward she felt now that everything was back to normal.
"Daidōji-san? Is there something wrong?"
Tomoyo had frozen in her tracks just after he winked at her, a pretty blush tainting her porcelain cheeks.
That had been so out of character of him to do, but Yamazaki's antics were probably rubbing in on him now, he supposed.
Great. Shamelessly flirt with her and then drive her away.
When did he start having a mocking conscience? He knew he had asked her a question, but it easily drifted away from his thoughts. Those pale contacts she wore that afternoon were finally gone. Only shining amethyst eyes were gazing at his sapphire ones now, and it was strangely comforting.
"I'm sorry. I always seem to forget to promptly thank you."
Did she really need to thank him? It was his fault that she had to go through all this because it was his idea that she run to Fukuoka, moreover he had to be too weak to leave the hospital, too, and delay everything. Tomoyo Daidōji would probably have done better if she headed to Hiroshima and not have lived pathetically in that poor excuse of a living space as she hoped that she be saved from this fate.
Did she even have enough to eat everyday? The mere thought of it filled him with annoyance and shame.
"I don't know how or when I will be able to repay you for helping me, but I assure you that I will," she declared, unyielding determination reflecting in her eyes. "And if there is any favor, anything that I may be able to do at all, please tell me."
The young woman must have experienced quite an ordeal but here she was, bowing before him in pure humility and sincerity as if she hadn't been abandoned.
"Stop it, please. I should be the one saying it, Daidōji-san."
Maybe it was really unnecessary that he involved himself with the Daidōji heiress' business. The sensible part of him never failed to remind him over and over again, but right that moment when she broke down under the snowing skies he was overcome by a strong desire to protect her from her fears. How dangerous was her mother, he didn't have an answer to that, and he could only imagine how scared and paranoid her daughter would always be with her, knowing how she didn't hesitate to hurt her before.
There was no trace of those tears in her face anymore but her small figure and tired eyes mirrored her frailty.
"Forgive me for not coming to you sooner just as I had promised. Something could have happened while I was not there and—"
A small hand instantly calmed that building storm in his chest as it rested softly on his arm. Tomoyo had moved sometime between his speech and reflection, stopping him in time before he voiced out all his frustrations and horrors.
"Those days are gone now. There's no use for regrets," she wisely told him, a small smile weaved in her lips as she looked up at him. "That is why we are given the present to make up for the past, to start all over again, right?"
Maybe he survived the coma and recovered from it so that he could find her again.
Maybe this time he wouldn't have to completely abandon music.
Maybe this girl was right.
Eriol nodded before he realized that Tomoyo had removed her hand from his arm and had turned her gaze toward the wide window panels. There was not much to see with the darkness outside, and the viciously howling wind was barely audible.
"Do you think it will snow again tomorrow?" Her query sounded rhetorical and he would never know what she was really thinking.
Maybe he would always be lured to her vulnerability and her secrets like this.
"Do you want it to snow?" Eriol asked back, curious of her reply.
There was no need for words because her brighter smile was enough for an answer.
A/N: It's called Amamiya house because...if Eriol and Sakura were to be cousins, then the ancestral home should be named Amamiya. LOL If you guys watched the anime, Sakura's mom was Amamiya before she married Fujitaka. :D
Quick notes:
haori - traditional coat worn over the kimono.
hakama - a type of pants.
tadaima - "I'm home." (I had this translated before but you probably have forgotten about it)
okaerinasai - "Welcome home."
hajimemashite - "Pleased to meet you." or "How do you do?"
