A/N: Hahahahahahahaha dang it. This is it. I've reached my limit and the writer's block has caught up with me and my gazillion schoolwork. :( I thank apple and cheng for being the quickest to review in chapter 21 again. They inspired me, along with Property of Eriol, to post another update in less than 12 hours. :) Please be patient with me in the next few weeks because with midterms coming, there would be lesser opportunity to even visit fanficdotnet. huhu I hope you all understand. I suddenly hate school now. TAT


Act 22, Winter

Wearing very elaborate kimonos was not at all novel to Tomoyo. She had gone to formal functions with Sonomi ever since she was old enough to comprehend the basic concepts of their textile business. As an heiress it was indispensable that she learned everything at an early age, but she hadn't paid too much attention to her lessons or hadn't exhibited a special fascination in fabrics except in designing. As expected, her mother never considered her talent flattering nor beneficial. Nothing was enough for the Daidōji CEO, and just like she always did before, she had now resulted to another desperate action to get what she wanted.

The former heiress expertly secured her purple obi in place. It was a deep hue that brought out the color of her eyes, and the rest of the dress was midnight black that complimented her alabaster complexion. The outer fabric that was decked with sparse silver-lined floral prints in olive green and fuchsia along with the crimson inner kimono were all made of fine silk.

How ironic that it should come from Daidōji Textiles.

How can I ever escape from you, Okaasama?

"You are so beautiful, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura marveled at her friend's appearance in the full length mirror.

Tomoyo shuffled a bit before staring at her reflection. She had seen this face a million times before but tonight she looked every bit like the Daidōji heiress she was months ago. Her make-up was light and natural; her hair was coiffed with an opalescent butterfly pin with her graceful neck exposed completely; and her bangs were swept in one side, making her look a little more softer than usual.

"Hontō desu ka."

"I never lie."

Her lips shimmered as she brightly smiled to Tomoyo.

Sakura wasn't bad herself. Her own kimono was made of silk and had the color of jade that shone a different shade of green whenever she moved. Her intricate obi was gold and an emerald dragon was embroidered tastefully in the front. Her stance was almost aristocratic but it would be attributed to her line of work, and probably to how she was brought up.

"Aren't we a little too overdressed for dinner? Do we really need to do this?"

"Of course, Tomoyo-chan! But we never overdress in this occasion. It's like cosplay, but only better."

Cosplay?

"Are you ready? I still need to find Nakuru-nee. I seem to have lost her. The guests are going to be here anytime soon."

"I will be in a bit. You may go without me."

Sakura ran off to the receiving area and left Tomoyo to stare at herself in the antique full-length mirror again.

A sigh left her breath and a small frown was fixed on her striking countenance.

How could I feel so fake in this face?

She didn't feel like herself at all tonight, and no amount of encouragement from Sakura could ever change her mind about herself.

After a few seconds of staring blankly at the space between her ear and shoulder in the mirror she finally decided to follow her energetic friend.

Act happy! At least do it for Sakura-chan! Her mind thickly commanded just as she was passing by the dimmer rooms along the hallway with muted lights.

"No, this is just wrong."

Tomoyo thought she just imagined a woman's voice but there was no mistaking the rustling sounds from inside of that room.

Akizuki-san?

Her tall silhouette was easy to make out through the gap of the shoji screens. The lights from outside the house pronounced the shadows, then suddenly another figure fluidly joined hers, one of a taller and masculine form.

"What is, koishii?"

His voice, though hushed, was husky and familiar in her ears.

Nakuru was pulled towards the shadow closer that they were embracing.

"What if someone walks in on us and—"

The nurse was silenced just as the silhouettes were intimately joined when the taller form unexpectedly leaned in. It was a private moment that she shouldn't have witnessed at all.

Tomoyo felt all blood leave her body only to gather in her head. She tried to will her feet to move but they wouldn't cooperate with her.

"Sakura-chan is probably wondering where I disappeared to." Nakuru had a breathy element in her voice after her lover released her.

"Nobody cares about the kaijuu."

The shadows became one figure again. She gasped as her eyes widened a fraction more.

Kinomoto-sensei!

All blood left her body completely now.

I can't believe I am eavesdropping them!

"Pray tell what is so interesting in there?"

The feathery caress of a voice against her ear made her jump, and she paled even more at the sight of him casually standing behind her.

"Hiiragizawa-san!" Her hiss was fortunately just a whisper, but her horror and embarrassment that she was caught listening in could never be consoled.

Upon seeing her guilty look the azure-eyed young man realized what she had just seen and then dragged her away from his cousin's door immediately.

"You didn't see anything." It was not simply a statement but an order.

"What?" She didn't know why she could barely catch up on his speech, mind suddenly hazy and confused once more.

"They think nobody knows about their secret," he went on, finally stopping at the entryway to the receiving area.

So he also knows.

"They've been friends for years. Why keep a relationship they have now a secret?"

"I don't know." His eyebrows were in a knot, and the traditional haori he was wearing was in slight disarray. Instinctively, the young woman's hands reached for his sleeves and meticulously smoothed the creases away. Eriol tensed and could only gape at her, unsure of what inspired her to fuss. "But I know that their secret is not ours to tell." He was almost just breathing out the words, simply hypnotized of something the former heiresswas completely unaware of.

Tomoyo nodded in understanding yet couldn't help but blush again. She couldn't get Nakuru and Tōya's moving shadows out of her head even if she tried. Was it momentary perverseness that prompted her to eavesdrop, she would never want to know. She was going to be embarrassed of this memory forever.

"Daidōji-san."

"Yes?" She hadn't realized until then that her thoughts had effortlessly drifted back to the young doctor and his comely nurse, and hadn't also realized that Eriol wasn't wearing his glasses tonight. The heiress knew she was shamelessly staring, but her head refused to turn away.

He had the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen.

The air was different again just like it had been in the piano room two days ago.

"You are very beautiful today."

Her face was red for a completely different reason now, heart beating madly against her chest. The senpai just complimented her, and she didn't know what to say or how to react to it, but she knew that she could believe his words more than she could with Sakura's.

"Aa...thank you. Today's the party, and I didn't want to embarrass my hosts." She meant to say that the dress and the make-up did the trick for her but before she could even speak another word, the sides of Eriol's elegant lips tugged upwards.

The young man held his graceful hand out for her to take.

You are a fake, remember? You are not a sophisticated doll but a broken one.

Just that one time she denied her mocking thoughts of the satisfaction of disappointing her.

Tomoyo Daidōji took his invitation, but grasped Eriol Hiiragizawa's warm hand too tightly as if it were her only lifeline.


A/N: Aha! Did you see that coming? LOL I bet you guys hadn't expected Nakuru and Tōya to be in that sort of relationship. And if you did, you are smart! Hahahahahahaha I'm going crazy. I really didn't sign up for all the schoolwork that came along with this course. I hate myself. T_T


Quick notes:

obi - the wide belt that secures the kimono in place.

koishii - endearment for a lover (i.e. darling, sweetheart, etc.).