Part Thirteen
I am so awake. I’m not supposed to wake up this quickly. But I did. Just snapped awake. And bounced out of bed. I have more energy than I know what to do with. Maybe I’ll go make breakfast. No one else seems awake. I can see the sun rising, though. I like sunrises. They’re pretty.
Good God, I sound like Nakuru.
Breakfast. Right. Eggs. Bacon. Is there any pancake mix? Have to dive into the back of the pantry . . . no. Maybe I’ll make some from scratch. That way they’ll take longer and everyone else will be up when they’re ready. Need a recipe. I have one somewhere. I think the recipe box is stashed somewhere, though. And I don’t know where. I could go buy pancake mix, but I think if they woke up and found that I was gone, someone would most certainly throw a fit. No pancakes. French toast? That’s very quick, though.
It’s really too early for breakfast. It’ll be at least a couple hours before anyone else is up. Have to find a way to vent off all this energy. What am I going to do with it anyhow?
Maybe I’ll clean. The house could definitely use a dusting.
Wait! What about Yue? I passed out before I knew whether or not they brought him back here safely. So I pound up the stairs and peek into his room. He’s there! He looks alive! That’s good! And his wing looks straight, too, even better! And oh God, he’s not wearing a shirt! I mean, I can’t see much past his wings, but he’s only wearing pajama pants and they’re loose and really cute on him and oh God . . .
I think I told him I loved him.
Oh God.
Back downstairs! Maybe I should run laps. Must find something to do with all this excess magic. The problem is, since the pendant overflowed, is that none of it is technically mine yet. Which means I need to put it all back in the pendant so I can filter. But that doesn’t make sense, because it all feels like mine.
Oh, wait, I know! It all did go through the pendant. And since it went through, it got filtered in the process. Okay. It’s too much, though. I swear, the reason Clow did half of this was because he had too much magic. It’s no fun. (Actually, I think he was kind of a crackpot, but that’s besides the point.) Okay. Extra magic. What to do with extra magic?
Touya! He lost all, or at least most, of his magic. I think some of it was returned when Yue and Yukito split up, but it was still very nice of him, so he can have some. He probably won’t object. Maybe Yukito wants some, too. You know what I should do? I should make pendants for Yue and Nakuru, so if anything ever happens again like what happened to Yue, they’ll have magic to draw on while their Master changes the Cards.
I should stop talking to myself, is what I should do.
I could go weed the garden. But that involves going outside. Maybe if I left a note? Nah, I think Nakuru would still manage to panic.
How do I get pendants to put magic into for Nakuru and Yue? How did the bitch get hold of this one? Too many questions, and my brain feels like its tying itself in knots just for something to do. Oh God, what to do about Yue?
I’m going to die in seventy or eighty years, and I don’t know if I’m getting reincarnated or not, which means that I’ll leave him and his abandonment complex will get even worse than it already is. And then the next Mistress, or maybe Sakura-san, will just have to kill him for his own good because he’ll be so miserable! He’ll be all messed up and it’ll all be my fault!
Maybe I should just stay away now. They’ve been here almost a week; they have to go back soon because Sakura-san and Touya’s vacations will be over. Maybe if I just don’t say anything, it’ll be okay!
I’ll just have to avoid him, because I’ll feel terrible if I see him. But he’ll be laid up for a few days, so it’ll be easy. And it’s all for his good in the long run, right? And I can live without him, right? If it’s what’s good for him, right?
Right?
****
Usually I’m the first one up, but I hear movement in the kitchen. And if I’m not the first one up, it’s almost always To-ya that’s ahead of me. But he’s still sound asleep next to me. This makes me curious. So I get out of bed (being careful not to wake To-ya, because it’s not even seven in the morning yet, and he’s very cranky if you wake him up before he wants to be woken, and even though I think he’s cute when he’s cranky, it gets on everyone else’s nerves) and go downstairs.
“Morning!” Eriol-kun is standing on the counter, scrubbing at the cabinets. “You want breakfast? I could make breakfast. I didn’t want to make it yet because no one was up. Oh, and do you want any magic? I’ve got lots to spare now and it’s kind of driving me crazy, so please say yes. Really.”
I blink at him. It’s about all I can muster.
Eriol-kun hops down off the counter. “I had to resort to cleaning. Look at this place, it’s starting to sparkle. I’ll have to move to another room, and if I use the vacuum, someone will kill me. I thought maybe I could weed the garden, but then I figured people might panic if I wasn’t in the house when they woke up. So now that you’re up do you think maybe I could go weed the garden? Do you want some coffee? I made some on reflex but then I realized I shouldn’t drink any of it because as you can see I’ve got quite enough energy of myself. If I had coffee I think I would just explode. Poof, dead.”
I interrupt him, because I don’t think he’s ever going to wind down if I don’t. “Eriol-kun, are you okay?”
“No, not at all.” He shakes his head rapidly. “I have more energy than I know what to do with. It’s all the overflow from the pendant. Because the pendant is full I don’t have any place to put it. I mean, Bitch Girl, she got it all gradually so she could manage it but I had it all dumped into my system at once and it’s like somebody, I don’t know, with a caffeine intraveneous or something. Do I sound stressed?”
“Just hyper,” I say.
“Oh. Right. Garden. Breakfast. Do you want breakfast? Did I already ask you that?”
“Eriol-kun,” I say firmly, going for a coffee mug. “Go run some laps around the house. I’ll make my own breakfast.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me? I think you’re trying to get rid of me, maybe it’s just because I’m so hyper but -- ”
“Lots of laps,” I say firmly, and propel him out of the kitchen. I can hear him talking to himself as he goes. He sounds like Akizuki.
Everyone else gets up a couple hours later and I make breakfast. Akizuki-san came down shrieking that Eriol was gone. I sent her out to the garden to keep him company. She’s pretty hyper herself. Must be because she got recharged when Eriol-kun did.
“I’m going to take Yue some tea,” I say. “If any major disasters happen, come get me.”
Yue is awake when I get upstairs. “It’s so loud down there,” he says.
“Yeah. It happens when we’re all in the same place at the same time.” I sit on the edge of the bed and very carefully help him sit up. “How’s your wing?”
“Only painful, rather than flamingly so.” Yue accepts the tea and starts to sip it. “What was Akizuki shrieking about?”
“Eriol-kun got up before her and she didn’t know where he was. Actually I think he might have gotten up before sunrise. But he’s just outside weeding the garden or running laps or something. Soon he’ll start painting the house, I think.”
A very small smile tugs at Yue’s lips. “So he’s okay?” He’s trying to sound completely indifferent. It’s kind of funny.
“Yeah, he’s fine. He’s got more magic than he knows what to do with. I think he was trying to give some of it to me, but he was talking so fast that it was hard to tell. I’m hoping he’ll wear himself down some by lunchtime and we can have a reasonable discussion about it.”
“Ah,” Yue says, very noncommittally.
“He was very concerned about you, you know,” I say, also trying to sound very noncommittal.
“I’m sure he was,” Yue says, not changing his expression in the slightest.
“So what happened while you were gone that we don’t know about?” I ask, grinning.
“A lot,” Yue says.
“Such as . . .?” He’s not getting away with this.
“He said he loved me.”
I blink at him.
“Then he got really mad at himself for saying it.” Yue pauses. “That can’t be good.”
“He’s probably just worried,” I say, finally managing to react, though I’m kind of boggled at this new information. Then again, it is what I was hoping for. Well, the first part is, anyway. “I’ll ask him about it, once he’s a little less . . . exuberant.”
“No, don’t ask him about it!” Yue looks horrified.
“Why not?” I blink at him.
“Because . . . it’s embarrassing,” Yue tries.
I have a feeling he’d be flapping his arms at me if it wouldn’t be painful. “Why?”
“You don’t ask someone to ask someone else about whether or not they love you,” Yue says, sounding dignified. “If Eriol wants to say something, he will, and if he doesn’t, I don’t want anyone else prying it out of him!”
He has a point there. All right, I won’t say anything.
Yet.
Yue says he wants to go back to sleep, so I help him lie down again and pull the blankets up. Apparently he kicked the blankets off last night in his sleep. Then I go downstairs. To-ya is doing the breakfast dishes.
Akizuki flounces in and starts tugging on my shirt sleeve. “Save me!”
I blink at her. I’ve been doing a lot of blinking today. “From what?”
“Eriol’s . . . spastic!” she proclaims, sounding on the verge of tears. “He’s talking faster than me! It’s not right! It’s . . . it’s . . . scary!”
To-ya and I look at her. Then at each other. Then we both burst out laughing.
“I hate you!” Akizuki says tearfully, and flounces back out.
It’s going to be an interesting day.
****
Since I’m still unfortunately incapacitated, the others drag Eriol up to my room to discuss what he’s going to do about the magic. It’s actually fairly amusing watching him bounce around the room like that. Sakura keeps trying to get him into a chair, but he’s up and moving again three seconds later. Akizuki keeps threatening to tie him down, which I personally find hilarious. Pot, meet kettle.
“So,” Touya interrupts, looking as if a migraine is coming on, “Eriol, do you know enough about this magic know to give some of this extra energy away? Before we’re forced to sedate you, I mean.”
“No offense,” Yukito adds quickly, giving Touya a look that borders on being dirty.
“None taken,” Eriol says cheerfully, bobbing up and down in his chair. “I don’t think sedation would really work, actually. I mean, I’m so energized that -- ”
“Do you know or don’t you?” Syaoran interrupts him. He never liked Eriol anyway, but he is smiling a bit. He apparently finds this all very funny.
“Rightright. Topic. That we’re on. Yes, I know how to do it. Well enough, anyway, I mean, a lot would probably be lost in the transfer because I’m not very good at it yet but I don’t think it really matters since I’ve got quite a bit to spare and why are you all laughing?”
The reason we’re all laughing, even me, is because Akizuki is standing behind him making little chattery motions with her hands. Every now and then one chattering hand tried to eat the other one. All without Eriol being aware. Akizuki can be quite amusing when she puts her mind to it.
I think I’m starting to warm up to her since she came to rescue me.
Well . . . bah.
“Anyway,” Yukito says brightly, ignoring the fact that most of us are still laughing, “who are you going to give the magic to?”
“Himitsu!” Eriol declares, with a grin wide enough to swallow Japan. That makes me very nervous indeed. “But I need another pendant.”
We all blink at him. “You do?” Spinel asks, sounding suspicious. “What for?”
“That’s a secret too,” Eriol said.
“Pendants like that are going to be hard to come by,” Syaoran said. “Why do you think that she wanted it back so badly?”
Eriol waves his hand impatiently. “Oh come on, if we could make a body for Yue, we can make a pendant.”
We blink at him. Again. He’s got a rather good point.
“Right!” Sakura says cheerfully. “We can do that then! And then we’ll distribute the magic and you’ll stop frightening us!”
Eriol sweatdrops. “Ano . . .”
“Whoops,” Sakura says. “Sorry! We’re glad to see you all better, but . . . you’re hyper and it’s weird.”
“I’ll back her up on that,” Akizuki pipes up.
Eriol pouts, which is also pretty funny. “Let’s just go make the pendant,” he says.
Sakura grins. “Ooookaaay!”
****
Eriol is a little sneak. Actually, no, let me amend that. He’s a big sneak. He waltzes off, not telling anyone what he’s doing with any of the magic, and an hour later I feel like, as he put it, I’m on a caffeine and speed high at the time.
“To-ya?” Yuki asks, looking at my most likely very shocked face. “Are you all right?”
“I’m completely fine,” I say, though I think my voice is wobbling. “Eriol just gave me some of his magic. Without warning me.”
“Oh,” Yuki says. “Yeah, I figured he was going to do that. Are you back to where you were before you gave your magic to Yue?”
“I think I’m somewhat beyond that,” I say. “I mean, I doubt I’d be on level with Sakura or the Brat, but I have more than I started with.” I give him a look. “You’re glowing.”
“Yeah,” Yuki says with a grin. “Eriol gave me some too. Not a lot.”
“You’re purple.” I ponder this for a moment. “I sound like a gibbering idiot.”
“It’s okay,” Yuki replies. “It’s kinda cute. Wanna go see what he did with the rest of it?”
“Yeah, sure.” I put my arm around his waist and we wander off to find Eriol. We walk into the living room in time to see Akizuki let out a whoop of joy, throw her arms around Eriol, and then bounce off in a different direction.
“What was that about?” Yuki asks.
Eriol turns to us, looking much more like himself than he did a few hours ago. For one things, his hands aren’t shaking anymore. And his hair has settled. “I used the two pendants as storage containers,” he explains, his voice now in the proper octave. “One for Nakuru and one for Yue, so what happened to Yue doesn’t happen again. There’s enough magic in them that they ought to be able to draw off them basically as long as they need to.”
“Oh,” I say. My fuzzy brain can’t manage much more than that, so Yuki takes over.
“That was nice of you. Given it to Yue yet?” There’s a rather odd note in Yuki’s voice. Mental note: ask Yuki about Yue and Eriol.
“Uh, no, not yet.” Eriol shifts, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “I was going to let Sakura-san do it. I mean, he’s her guardian, after all.”
Yuki gives Eriol a stern look. “Why are you avoiding him?”
Eriol turns extremely pale. “Uhhh . . . gotta go bye!”
Apparently the hyper factor hasn’t worn off yet. Eriol is out of the room in a flash, before either Yuki or I can stop him.
I look at Yuki. “What the hell?”
Yuki looks around to make sure no one else has entered the room, then says, “Apparently while the bitch lady had them, Eriol told Yue that he loved him. And now must regret doing so, if his reaction is any indication.”
“Ahhh,” I say, trying to sound wise. “Should I break his kneecaps?”
“Um, no.” Yuki gives me a funny look. I guess I really must be overprotective. “I think once he’s calmed down a little, he’ll realize it’s a good thing and get over himself. That’s why I’m not going to say anything. But he’d better treat that damn pendant like an engagement ring, or I’m going to break his kneecaps.”
See? This is why I love this man.
****
“So so so? I want details! Give me details!”
Eriol, that fink, is just giving me a blank look. Men. “Details of what?”
I groan. “Don’t tell me that you were locked away with Yue in a tiny little room with only one blanket and barely any food for almost two days and NOTHING HAPPENED?!”
Eriol keeps giving me the blank look, but this time I can tell it’s feigned. Oooooh, he makes me so mad sometimes. “What were you expecting to happen?”
“Well, confessions of love to start with.”
Ooh! He flinched! I got it I got it!!
“Aha! Success!” I immediately take this opportunity to start poking Eriol repeatedly in the ribs. “C’mooonnn, tell tell tell tell!! I won’t tell anyone else, I promise!”
He gives me a suspicious look. “If you keep yelling, everyone else will know soon anyway.”
Now it’s my turn for the carefully feigned blank look. “So? What do you care if everyone knows? You love him, don’t you?”
Eriol groans. “Nakuru . . .”
“It isn’t like any of us care,” I say with a shrug. “And it isn’t like Yue’s spoken for, either. Jeez, Eriol, I’d think that if I can get over myself and be happy for you, that everyone else could.”
Now he looks faintly uncomfortable. “It’s not that,” he says. “It’s just that I’m going to die in seventy years or so, and I don’t want to leave Yue alone.”
Oh, for Pete’s sake. “Eriol, you are such an idiot.”
He gives me a look. One of those ‘you’re-treading-on-thin-ice’ looks. You know, the kind I learned to ignore a long time ago. As much as he might mean it, he’d never actually follow through on any threats. He likes me too much.
“Come on,” I say. “You got reincarnated once, just because you wanted to. I’m sure you could manage it again.”
“That’s not technically true,” Eriol said. “Clow got reincarnated. Into two separate bodies. And that was more like his memories being passed down than any sort of reincarnation. Clow never loved Yue.”
“Oh . . . poo!” I exclaim. “You and Sakura-chan are two of the most powerful magicians on earth! I’m sure, between the two of you, that you could figure something out!” I give him a look. “You’re just afraid to admit that you love Yue.”
He immediately turns red, which is my clue that I’m one hundred percent right. Go me. “It’s really none of your business,” he says stiffly. I’m definitely right. And he’s definitely an idiot.
“That’s not really true,” I say. “Because I want you to be happy, right? And if you’re with Yue, then you’ll be happy. So that sort of makes it my business.”
“You don’t even like Yue.”
I grin. “Of course I like Yue. If I didn’t like him, I probably would’ve actually tried to kill him by now. I just like to play with him.”
“You did try to kill him.”
“Well, not really,” I say. “I tried to cause circumstances that would end his existence, but that was only because I wanted Touya, and because I was trying to help you.” I think about this for a second. “And besides, that’s totally not the point. If I can get over myself, so can you.”
“I’m not having this discussion anymore,” he says, standing up.
I smile sweetly. “Fine. I’ll go discuss it with someone else.”
He stops. “You will not.”
“Oh come on,” I wheedle. I can’t disobey a direct order, but I can wheedle. I’m very good at it. “I’m sure Tsukishirou-kun and Touya-kun both know already anyway. Yue probably told them.”
He just gives me a look. “You won’t speak to anyone about this. Do you understand?”
Well, bah on him. “Haaaii,” I say sullenly, wondering if writing notes counts as speaking.
“And no notes. Or sign language.”
He really knows me too well.
“Or miming.”
Damn.
****
You know, a lot of people consider me to be pretty dense and ditzy, and I’ll admit that a lot of the times they’re right. But sometimes I just let them think that. I mean, okay, so it took Syaoran-kun and I like a year to figure out that we were in love, but I’m really only dense when it’s matters involving me.
Which means that despite what Eriol-kun thinks, I’m not silly enough to give his pendant to Yue for him.
Of course, I can’t let him know I’m on to him. It would ruin my whole image. So I just smile sweetly. “But Eriol-kun, I think you should give it to him. I mean, it was your idea, and you made it, with the magic that you had. So it really wouldn’t be right for me to give it to him.”
Eriol looks rather put out. “He’s your guardian,” he protests.
“You already said that,” I point out cheerfully. “So he’s my guardian, sure. But he’s your boyfriend.”
I take a few seconds to enjoy the totally poleaxed look on Eriol’s face before giving him a hug and walking away.
****
The most annoying thing about having a broken wing, by far, is that I can’t retract them anymore. It makes me so much taller. I have trouble fitting through doorways and things like that. And sitting down is pretty difficult too. I’m sitting in chairs backwards. At least I’m up and about now; Touya and Yukito bound the winds to my back so I can move around without injuring myself further.
Still, I’m spending a lot of time in bed, mostly because it’s the most comfortable place to be. I’m well-supplied with books. I’m a little alarmed by the fact that it’s been three days now and I’ve still barely seen hide or hair of Eriol, and he never comes into the room if no one else is there.
Normally, I would assume (as Sakura and Yukito keep telling me) that he’s being a ‘stupid guy’. However, we have to leave for Japan tomorrow, or the others won’t be able to go back to school when their vacation is over. At least I’ll be able to retract my wings tomorrow.
I wish Eriol was coming back to Japan with us. But I suppose it was stupid of me to assume that he would be. His life is here, after all. I guess I’m not important enough to disrupt that.
“Ano . . . Yue?”
Oh God. He’s in the room. “Nani?” Now that I think about it, I’m a little irritated with him. Sure, just tell me you love me and then snub me for three days. Maybe he is being a stupid guy.
“I have to give you something.”
He’s staring at the floor as if there’s something truly fascinating on his shoes. I remember that pose. It’s actually what I used to do to avoid looking at Eriol. Well, isn’t that just wonderful. Maybe I’ll kill him. “What?”
“Here.” He hands me a pendant. It’s a chunk of clear crystal, but it glows faintly blue. I know what it is; I heard Akizuki crowing about hers. I didn’t know he had made me one, however. “I figured that . . . you know, I didn’t want you to ever get in that sort of trouble again,” he mutters, looking anywhere but at me. “I mean, next time there might not be someone like Touya around to help you.”
“Thanks.” I accept the pendant and put it on. It’s very pretty, even if it’s definitely girly. Maybe I’ll slide it under my shirt when he’s gone.
“So, uh, you guys are leaving tomorrow?” Eriol asks.
“Yeah.” I give him a look that implies he’d better get his rear in gear. “You could come with us,” I suggest. “Your vacation wasn’t over yet.”
“Aa,” he says, sounding extremely uncomfortable. “But, you know . . . it didn’t go so well, and I think maybe I should just stay here . . .”
I’m going to kill him. Stupid guy.
“Of course you do.” That’s all I say. That’s all I really can say, without sounding like I’m whiny or an idiot.
“I should go,” Eriol mumbles, and backs out of the room.
“Right.” I wait for Eriol to leave, then throw my book at the door. A childish fit of anger, but it makes me feel slightly better. It would have made me feel even better if I’d gotten to throw it at him, but I don’t think he would have appreciated that. Right. I’m not going to cry. Not over stupid Eriol.
Nobody had better come in here right now.
Of course, Yukito walks in the door twenty seconds later. “You okay?” he asks. I don’t want to know how he knows what just happened. He was probably listening in, given his propensity to meddle in my affairs.
“Absolutely fine,” I snarl.
“Want me to kill him for you?” he offers.
I consider that for a few minutes. “Would it make me a bad person if I said yes?”
“Nah,” Yukito says. “To-ya and I will do it for you.”
“You know, never mind,” I say with a sigh. “We’re leaving tomorrow. It doesn’t really matter. After this I probably won’t see him again.”
Yukito looks decidedly put out by this statement. “But -- ”
“You can’t make him love me, Yukito,” I say. “And even if you could, and did . . . it wouldn’t mean anything.”
Yukito sits on the bed and gives me a very careful hug. “I guess you’re right,” he says. “But I’m still going to kill him.”
I smile a bit at that. “Yeah, okay.”
****
I have rarely been so angry in my entire life. Well, no, let me rephrase. I’ve rarely been so angry at someone that I cared about. Don’t get me wrong, I like Eriol-kun a lot.
And I’m going to kill him. Slowly and painfully.
However, I know myself very well, and I know that if he looks anything even resembling miserable, I’ll probably just end up giving him hugs too. So I’ll have To-ya do it instead.
Of course, he’s all too eager. He took on fixing Yue as a sort of personal crusade, and he’s very annoyed that Eriol messed it up so badly.
I mean, really. Why did the little twit have to go and tell Yue that he loved him if he didn’t plan on doing anything about it?
So I tell To-ya what happened, watch him rant for a while, and then followed him with a grin as he tracks down Eriol. It doesn’t take very long. He’s moping in his study, where he usually mopes. Fortunately, To-ya is immune to moping power.
“All right, you brat, what did you think you were doing?” he asks, looking very much like he’s about to pick Eriol up by the front of his shirt and toss him out the window, which would be difficult, since Eriol is at least as tall as he is.
“At which point?” Eriol asks, not even looking up from his book. Rather bad move on his part. To-ya doesn’t like to feel like he’s being ignored.
“Oh, that tiny little point where you jilted Yue,” To-ya says, sounding extremely irate.
Eriol sighs and closes his book. “I can’t just waltz off with Yue into the sunset and live happily ever after, you know,” he says. “He’s immortal, I’m not. I didn’t figure it would help his abandonment complex to live seventy happy years with him and then die.”
“So instead,” To-ya says, “you’re dumping him now, when his abandonment complex is already at its worst, so you can be miserable for seventy years. Bravo, Eriol.”
Eriol glares at us both. “I shouldn’t have told him that I loved him. It was a mistake.”
“Telling him was a mistake?” To-ya asks. “Or loving him is the mistake?”
“Both,” Eriol says, and looks away.
Okay, I think To-ya’s going to hit him. To-ya doesn’t usually resort to physical violence. Bloodshed is never good. Maybe I should stop him. On the other hand, it would be so satisfying.
No, we must be mature. I catch To-ya’s fist in midflight. “Let it go,” I say. “You can’t break his face. He’s obviously just an idiot and doesn’t deserve Yue anyway.”
The look on his face as I say that reassures me that it was worth at least ten punches.
“C’mon.” I take To-ya’s hand and walk out of the room. Maybe Eriol will come to his senses before tomorrow. And if he doesn’t, I hold to my statement that he doesn’t deserve him.
****
Leavetaking is rather less than joyous. I never found out the exact circumstances of what happened between Hiiragizawa-kun and Yue, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. Yue is moping with force I’ve never seen before. Hiiragizawa-kun keeps shuffling his feet and looking anywhere but at us. Yukito-san and Touya-san keep sending angry glances his way; they’re obviously not very pleased with him.
Sakura-chan and Akizuki-san are bounding around with energy, trying to keep the rest of us cheerful, but it isn’t having much effect. Sakura-chan keeps giving Yue hugs. Akizuki-san keeps giving Hiiragizawa-kun dirty looks.
Syaoran and I just sit by the sidelines and wonder what on earth is actually going on. Spinel Sun and Kero-chan seem oblivious, although Spinel Sun probably isn’t and Kero-chan probably is.
Boarding call is given. Sakura-chan gives Hiiragizawa-kun a hug and, from the looks of it, hisses something in his ear. He looks a little startled, then backs away nervously. Remind me later to ask what she said. The rest of us say goodbye and get onto the plane. Yue walked away without saying goodbye to any of them.
“What did you say to Hiiragizawa?” Syaoran asks as we get onto the plane.
“Oh, I just let him know that he always has a place to stay with us when he visits!” Sakura-chan says cheerfully. “And then I told him that he’d better come and visit again soon or I’d send Kero-chan to come live with them, and he’d be sure to bring lots of sweets for Spinel Sun.”
We all stop and look at her.
“What?” she asks innocently. “I can threaten with the best of them when I put my mind to it.”
It’s going to be a long plane ride.
****
Chapter Fourteen
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