Part Six
Eriol got us tickets in first class, which is good because it means we have a lot more leg room. Eriol has pretty long legs these days, since he got his growth spurt, and I guess I do too. Suppi is pretending very hard to be a stuffed doll, and is sitting in Eriol’s lap. It’s pretty cute, but not anywhere near as cute as him going big and letting Eriol snuggle with him. That’s just on my list of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I keep a list; it’s in a little notepad in my bag right now. Ways I Can Tell Eriol and Suppi Care. And also ways to blackmail them with this choice information.
Anyhoo, Eriol apologized a whole bunch for getting us tickets in first class when the others are all in coach, but they were okay with it so it’s all good. Really Eriol looks pretty awful. I can tell it’s bad because it’s seeping over to me now. I feel pretty zoned. I guess the Shield Card kept enough magic for both of us, or else I’d be dead and that would be really unpleasant, providing that anything was anything.
This is pretty unpleasant, too, though. I feel kinda flighty. Suppi said I was always flighty, which really wasn’t very nice of him.
Anyway, so, we’re on the plane, speaking of flighty. We made it to the airport okay, even though Eriol spent the entire time sort of drooping between Touya-kun and Yue. They couldn’t really carry him, because, well, we’d probably sorta get in trouble for that. I didn’t feel real well, either, so Tsukishirou-kun was helping me. Poooooor Li-kun had to haul half the luggage, and he was kinda mad about it until Sakura-chan made some kissy faces at him. Then he was so busy blushing that he forgot everything he was carrying. She’s got him so wrapped around her little finger, it’s great.
If only I could get Touya-kun like that . . . then again, watching him and Tsukishirou-kun is so funny that sometimes I’m not even jealous! Which is weird, because Touya-kun is soooooo handsome . . .
Okay, hold on a second while I swoon.
So anyway, we’re on the plane now, and the waitress -- oops, I mean stewardess -- is bringing drinks around. So I nudge Eriol, who’s looking, well, slightly less than good. I want him to be better, because it’s awful that he’s so sick, but that’s what we’re going to England for, right? I like Japan better, because it’s awfully rainy and foggy in England. Also, England has no Touya-kun, which is a distinct disadvantage.
Eriol wakes up enough to get some tea and drink it before falling asleep again. He’s been so sleepy lately; I haven’t been able to pull any of my pranks or anything. This vacation has really not been any fun at all.
“How are you two doing?” Sakura-chan leans over my seat and peers at Eriol, as if inspecting him.
“We’re okay,” I answer, trying to sound cheerful. I know I don’t sound anything like my normal self, and that kind of annoys me. “I got Eriol to drink some tea and he fell asleep again. How much longer?”
Sakura-chan checks her watch. “Six hours or so,” she says. “They ought to be bringing us dinner soon. Try to get some sleep after that, okay?”
She’s . . . mothering me. It’s very strange. “I guess I’ll try,” I say, then add with a smirk, “if Touya-kun comes and gives me a good night kiss!”
“Hoe . . .” Sakura-chan sweatdrops.
I just grin. I wonder if she’ll be able to get him to do it.
****
Kaho is waiting for us at the airport. I don’t remember Hiiragizawa calling her, but she might have just known when to come. Kaho was always . . . very prepared that way.
Looking at her, I notice that a) she’s still beautiful and, thankfully, b) I still have no interest in speaking to her ever again.
And as if Yuki knows exactly what I’m thinking (and he probably does), he looks over at me, grins, and takes my hand. See? He’s much better than Kaho.
Regardless. Yue and I are again half-carrying Hiiragizawa, and Akizuki is again leaning on Yuki. Kaho apparently decides to wait for explanations until we get to the house.
I can just see Yue going nostalgic and mopey the minute we get there. Great. I’ll have to deal with that later. Hiiragizawa is immediately put to bed, as is Akizuki. Spinel volunteers to help explain while Tomoyo stays with them.
Kaho, naturally, takes all of the explanation with her perfectly calm demeanor that drives us all insane. I wonder if she saw all of this coming. I wouldn’t put it past her, but I would be rather irritated. She volunteers to make the appropriate phone calls to Hiiragizawa’s family, which we’re grateful for as she speaks the best English.
“But Eriol-kun can’t go anywhere,” Sakura says anxiously. “So they’ll have to come here.”
Kaho just smiles. “I’ll take care of it.”
Spinel goes upstairs to stay with the other two, and Tomoyo comes down a minute later. “What are we doing about dinner?” The Brat asks.
Sakura looks around, looking a little helpless. “Who speaks the best English?”
Yuki and I both speak it pretty well, since we’re the oldest. Tomoyo volunteers that she’s passable at it. The Brat attests that he had enough trouble learning Japanese, thanks, and so he only speaks bits and pieces. Yue speaks it fluently, as he lived here before. Kero announces that he speaks perfect English, and Sakura gives him a funny look. “You don’t count; you can’t order for me at a restaurant,” she says. Apparently her English isn’t really up to par either.
“Why don’t we just order out?” Yuki suggests.
“But I wanna see the sights . . .” Sakura says.
“Tomorrow, kaijuu,” I reply. “After that long on a plane, all I want is food, a shower, and bed.”
She sticks her tongue out at me. “Well, I wanna see sights!”
How can anyone be that cheerful after being on a plane for so long? It’s not human.
Tomoyo and the Brat, naturally, agree with anything that comes out of Sakura’s mouth, including seeing the sights. Kaho offers to take them around after dinner, which I can’t say I like the sound of, but I suppose she is trustworthy even if I don’t particularly like her myself.
I suppose that’s all right then. Maybe Yuki and I can talk Yue out of his blue funk.
***
“So.” To-ya gets the conversation started, putting a plate of food down in front of Yue, where Yue stares at it. “Why are you moping?”
“I never mope.” Yue picks at his food.
“Give me a break. You spend ninety percent of your time moping.”
“If I spend ninety percent of my time doing it, it’s my normal state of being. So you can’t really call it moping, now can you.”
Touya closes his eyes for a long second. I can practically feel his frustration.
Yue takes a sip of his tea. I suppose that’s progress, in an odd sort of way.
“Fine. Why is your normal state of being comparable to everyone else’s definition of moping?”
Probably because he’s depressed. Not sure I should point that out in front of Yue, though.
“Why am I moping now? Because I’m back here, where I was created, where I was happy, with Clow, who I was happy with, and now I have somebody who’s just enough like Clow to make me depressed, yet isn’t really Clow at all and therefore doesn’t really care that much. And I’m unhappy, but that implies that your sister is somehow failing me, which is incorrect.”
I think that’s probably the most words we’ve ever gotten out of him at one sitting. Touya is looking vaguely startled.
“Yue, have you ever thought about therapy?” Touya finally asks. I really hope he’s not serious.
Yue arches an eyebrow at him. “Have you ever thought about the fact that I could destroy you?”
Touya blinks. “Actually, it hadn’t occurred to me, no.”
Yue actually sweatdrops, which I’ve never seen him do before. Then he turns to me, apparently expecting me to knock some sense into my boyfriend. Which I can’t. Touya, I have learned in the past, is positively intractable.
Then I start to laugh. I really can’t help it; I just pictured Yue trying to actually explain all this to a therapist. (And the one in my imagination has a striking resemblance to Freud, and is trying to blame this in Yue’s mother, which is pretty amusing seeing as he doesn’t have one.)
“What’s so funny?” Yue asks, turning his stock glare on me.
“You in therapy,” I say, and continue to snicker.
Touya sighs. “Can we get back to the subject, please?”
“Go ahead.” I manage to stifle my snickers.
“Thank you.” He clears his throat. “So, Yue, your problem is basically that you were madly in love with Clow and now he’s dead and you need to get over it.”
Yue stares at him. How did I manage to fall for someone with so little tact?
Actually, that’s not fair. To-ya can be perfectly tactful when he chooses to be. Obviously, now is not one of those times. Maybe because we seem to have to hit Yue over the head with a lead brick if we want him to understand.
Yue finally speaks again. “How am I supposed to get over him when I don’t have anyone to replace him with?”
“Ever thought about dating?” Touya asks.
“Dating who, someone who’s going to die in fifty years or less?” Yue replies. “Someone who I’ll get to watch grow old while I stay the same age? That’s a brilliant idea, thank you.”
As tempted as I am to say he could date Akizuki, I manage to hold my tongue.
“We need some way to distract you,” I finally say. “For starters, tomorrow you’ll go sight-seeing with us.”
“And after that?” Even Touya looks a little skeptical.
I think. “Any hobbies you’ve been interested in?”
Touya facefaults. Yue just gives me a look.
****
I am swathed in blankets. It’s actually pretty nice, because I’m cold all the time now. Can’t quite generate enough body heat. It’s annoying. I didn’t tell anyone, but Spinel always takes his big form and lets me curl up next to him at night. Either they haven’t noticed or are too polite to say anything. I really hope it’s the former.
So anyway, I’m sitting in my favorite chair with blankets wrapped around me and a mug of hot tea. Kaho has made all the necessary phone calls and comes in to inform me that two people with the disgustingly normal names of Robert and Susan Dawes are here to see me. My mother had the foresight to marry someone with a more interesting last name.
Sakura-san is sitting on the sofa, looking nervous. Yue is next to her, looking . . . indifferent. Typical Yue. Nakuru is draped over another chair, looking exhaustedly artistic. Spinel and Kerberos insisted on being at the meeting, but Sakura-san talked them into hiding under the couch. Hopefully, Spinel will be able to keep Kerberos from speaking up. Li-kun, as usual, is attached to Sakura-san’s hip.
Robert Dawes is an elderly man; I’d guess about seventy or so. Susan is younger, probably in her mid-thirties. Kaho shows them in and gets them some tea.
Robert starts. He’s a very cordial man, asking how on earth such a long-lost relative had existed without his knowledge and who on earth are my parents, anyway?
“Well,” I begin, “do you remember MaryAnn Dawes?”
Robert nods. “She was about the same age as my mother, I recall. Died in a car accident when I was only six. Her husband, too. He was . . . an Oriental man, I recall. Some unpronounceable last name that I don’t remember anymore.”
“Hiiragizawa,” Sakura-san, ever helpful, pipes up. Apparently she understands more English than she speaks. Li-kun, on the other hand, looks lost.
“Yes, that was it.” Robert blinks. “How did you know that?”
“Eheh . . .” Sakura-san sweatdrops, then points at me. “It’s his last name!”
They blink at me. I manage a smile. “Hiiragizawa Eriol, to be precise.”
“Eriol . . . that was their son’s name, I think,” Robert said. “He survived the car crash, but shortly after that he disappeared . . . did the name get passed down to you?”
“In a manner of speaking,” I say. “Actually . . . I’m the original owner of that name, I’m afraid.”
They blink some more. I can tell additional explanation is going to be needed.
They’re skeptical at first, but Yue’s wings and Sakura-san’s cards go a long way to proving my point. I could hear Kerberos under the sofa, but then Sakura-san gave it a sharp kick and he subsided. Once they believe me, I explain our current situation.
“So what can we do to help?” Susan finally asks.
“Well, for starters, do you know who may be doing this?” I refrain from using any of the colorful terms I’d like to use.
“Not offhand,” Robert said. “But we can look into it for you.”
I nod. “Thanks. And do you know the spell that I could use to get the magic out of the pendant?” Why I don’t know this spell personally is beyond me. I know the mechanics of transferring magic, but as much as I tried to explain it to Sakura-san, nothing she did worked. And I’m far too weak to use my own magic on it.
“That ought to be in our library,” Robert says with a nod.
I thank him again. He agrees to come back the next day with the spell and then they leave, looking rather bewildered. I’m not sure I blame them.
Everyone else barges in and we explain what happened to them (and also to Li-kun).
“So can we go see more sights pleeeeeeeeease?” Sakura-san begs.
Kaho apologizes and says she needs to study.
“But I bought that tour-book yesterday,” Sakura-san protests. “Oniichan’ll take us around. Right, Oniichan?”
She’s giving him this adorably . . . feral look. A look that says ‘of course you’ll take us, or I’ll stomp on your feet until you walk with pancakes.’
“I suppose,” Touya-san says, not sounding very enthusiastic. Yukito-san smiles at him and says he’ll go too and of course Yue will join them.
Yue opens his mouth as if to say something, then mumbles for a second and trails into silence.
“Wai!” Sakura-san bounces. Then her face falls abruptly and she looks at me. “But we can’t leave Eriol-kun all alone . . .”
“I’m quite used to being alone,” I say calmly. “I don’t want to make you miss the sights. I’ve seen them all, you know.”
“Oh yeah . . .” She brightens again. “Ne, ne, Spinel, you’ll take care of him, right?”
This is humiliating.
****
Eriol-kun didn’t really want a crowd while his . . . um, I suppose Robert-san would be his great-grand-nephew or something . . . well, whatever. He didn’t want a crowd while Robert-san was doing the spell, but he agreed to let me stay in case something went wrong, and I really hope nothing does. Yue-san insisted on staying, too, and of course Spinel Sun and Akizuki-san are here.
Western magic is kinda different from ours, so I don’t know a lot of what he’s doing. I mean, I have to use spells and batons and cards, and he just kind of sat there with his eyes closed for a while, holding the pendant, and stuff happened!
I’ll have to ask him how it works. Maybe I can shorten my own magical doohickey. Though Tomoyo-chan would be terribly disappointed . . .
Anyways, Eriol-kun is sitting up a little now. And blinking. There’s more color in his face, and he looks way more awake than he’s been. He looks around for a minute, then smiles a little. “Thank you, Robert.”
“Feel any better?” he asks. He’s got a really friendly smile. I like him a lot, for someone I barely know.
Eriol-kun nods. “Much.”
“Do you want anything to eat?” Akizuki-san bounces over to the side of his bed.
“Please,” Eriol-kun replies. “But not soup, okay, Nakuru?”
“’Kay!” She bounds out of the room.
I hand Eriol-kun the mug of tea that we had waiting. “Here.”
“Arigatou.” He takes it and sips absently.
“So what are we going to do?” Yue-san asks.
“About what?” I blink. “Oh, about the . . . and the . . . right. What are we going to do?”
“We’ll have to wait until we can all discuss it together,” Spinel Sun declares. “Right now, Eriol needs to get some sleep.”
Eriol-kun gives him a look. The kind of look that says that he wasn’t about to admit that he needed sleep, but he’s a bit glad Spinel Sun brought it up. With a hint of ‘you’re my pet, not my father.’ It was a pretty complicated look, really.
Akizuki-san comes back in with oatmeal, of all things. Eriol-kun gives it a rather perplexed look, as if it was somehow not what he was expecting, but eats it anyway. I don’t think Akizuki-san knows how to cook many things. At least, not sick-people-things.
Once Eriol-kun is done eating, Spinel Sun shoos us all out of the room so Eriol-kun can sleep, which is pretty funny since Spinel is about the size of a Beanie Baby. We go anyway, since the Beanie Baby can also transform into a huge panther-wolf-butterfly-thing. (I don’t ask. I just leave the room.)
****
Part Seven
CCS Fics