Litanya: Here is another chapter. Anyway, I don't own CCS and I never claim to have owned it either. This chapter is dedicated to all who read this fic, and also to Steph, thank you again for offering, here's the chapter as promised!
Cursed Love
Chapter 6: Eternal Happiness
"Well, let's all just sit around and wait then," Sakura said brightly, giving a bright smile, "And I know just the way to make sure that we're not bored…"
Tomoyo had a bad feeling about Sakura's words. She wanted to make the twins pay for what they had done, but Sakura's grin was just a little too evil.
"And what would that be Sakura-chan?" even Syaoran's voice was cautious. He did not want his fiancée to get too carried away with things. Eriol still had not moved however, and so there was really no safe way to interrupt Sakura from her plan.
"Well… I was just thinking that we could play a game," she was dragging it out for all it was worth. The looks of terror that she was receiving from the twins were very satisfying. She also found the expressions on Tomoyo and Syaorans' faces extremely good too. She was thoroughly enjoying herself.
"What sort of game?" Sintered half-squeaked. It seemed that the twins were not as brave as they had first tried to make themselves out to be.
"Oh, just a game to pass the time, you know, one of those 'lets-punish-the-bad-guy' games," the twins' faces turned even paler as they realised what she meant, "Syaoran-kun, you know what to do!" Syaoran's eyes widened for a second before he nodded. He motioned for two of the Li clan to take the twins away, so Tomoyo and Sakura would not actually have to watch the punishment being given to the twins. It wasn't a physical punishment, nor would it cause pain, but it would be better if the two young women did not see it.
"You enjoyed that didn't you Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked her, noticing that there was still a glint left in her best friend's eye. Sakura just grinned.
"Yes, I did. I detest people that hurt others. The twins are just two of the worst people in the world, in my opinion. I cannot believe that they have never been caught and dealt with before!" she crossed to the door and put her hand on the handle, before turning back to the others, "I'm going to check on them… I know your family Syaoran-kun and they tend to be a little too… sadistic for my tastes, especially when a member of your family has been hurt. I don't like the twins, but I don't want anything too bad to happen to them." She left the room, leaving Syaoran and Tomoyo with the unconscious Eriol.
"She confuses me so much sometimes," Syaoran told Tomoyo confidently, crossing to the window. He would have followed Sakura, but he had a feeling that she had not wanted to be followed. So he waited with Tomoyo instead, waiting for his distant relative to awaken.
"Sakura-chan just cares for people too deeply. She could never intentionally hurt anyone, well, not very badly at least," Tomoyo sighed and sat down next to the table on which Eriol unconscious, "Although sometimes I wish that she would make exceptions. The twins hurt so many people, not just the ones they killed, but also the ones who cared about those people. I mean, take Eriol for example. When his parents were killed, Eriol and Nakuru were both hurt. Then, when Eriol was cursed, Nakuru, Spinal and I were hurt, and because I was, Sakura was upset and so were you, to an extent. I wish that I could hurt them as much as they have hurt the people of the world, but I can't. You can't, Sakura-chan can't. No one can hurt them as much as they have hurt the world because they have caused too much damage. They may be punished, as we are punishing them, but they are going to forget about it eventually, and maybe then they'll revert back to being evil. I just don't want that to happen!" She bit her lip and closed her eyes as her emotions tried to take control of her. She did not want to cry again, especially not in front of Syaoran.
"But Tomoyo-san, everyone deserves a second chance," her eyes flew open as she realised that the deep voice which had spoken did not belong to Syaoran.
"Eriol-kun?" she whispered. He was now sitting up, seemingly completely healthy. She was so caught up in watching Eriol that she did not notice Syaoran sneak quietly out of the room. Eriol smiled at her surprise.
"I woke up about five minutes ago, but you were too involved in your passionate speech to notice. I thought that it was kind of funny," she cheeks turned slightly pink as she realised that she had not been paying attention. She partly blamed Syaoran for not warning her that Eriol was awake.
"I…uh…" she stuttered, not knowing how she was going to get herself out of the hole she had just dug herself in. He just laughed lightly, showing that he was feeling no signs of sickness.
"Don't worry Tomoyo-san, its okay. I'm just glad that you helped me out, otherwise I'd have been dead by now," he yawned and stood, before he pushed his glasses back up his nose until they were sitting correctly.
"Hey, anything for a friend, right?" she knew that they were both feeling uncomfortable, but she did not know how to fix the awkward situation. He just grinned, although Tomoyo realised that it was a bit strained.
"Are Nakuru and Spinal here, or are they still in England?" Tomoyo had forgotten about his guardians. She had been so caught up in getting Eriol back that it had completely slipped her mind that the two guardians would still be worrying over what was happening.
"They are still in England, probably worrying over what is happening to you. Are you sure that you are completely fine now? The twins have cured you from the curse, right?" she could hardly believe that she had not asked that question before. She told her mind that she had been too confused to think before, and therefore she had not asked him if he had been cured.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I cannot feel the suffocating spell anymore, and my breathing is fine now. I'm certain that they cured me."
"That's good. At least now they can enjoy their 'punishment' knowing that they failed in their task too. Isn't it great when the evil people get punished?"
"What exactly is their punishment?" he was curious to know. From what Tomoyo had been saying before he knew that she felt that it was not too harsh, but she had never said what was going to happen to them.
"Well…. The Li Clan have stripped them of their magical powers and then they have to be servants of the family for… a long time. I don't see how that is going to be a suitable punishment," Eriol considered it for a moment.
"No Tomoyo-san that is pretty harsh punishment. The twins have depended on their magical abilities all of their lives and now they have had them stripped away. It is usually the fear of losing one's magical abilities that keep people from turning evil, because we know that if we are ever caught being evil, we will be punished for it. They are now going to have to adjust themselves to the fact that they can no longer use magic and that is going to hurt them deeply, not physically of course, but emotionally. So in a way, it is a terrible punishment," he knew that their powers were only being taken away because of the danger they posed to society, but he felt a little sorry for them anyway. Even though they had almost killed him, he could still sympathise with them.
"I guess… I have never had magic and so I probably cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like for them. To me, having no magical abilities is normal," she admitted, looking at the floor. She did not know what else to say. When she had left him in England she had said some things that she now wished she had never said. It was not that she did not mean them, but more that she hated the awkward situation that they were now in. Eriol was in a similar position. He badly wanted to find out what she had been about to say before she had run out of his apartment, but he knew that he would never get an answer if he pushed her too much.
"They will think that having no magic is normal too, after a few years. They just have to get used to it first," he assured her, not being able to stop himself from staring at her. She noticed that he was looking at her and ignored it, choosing to look at the ground instead of matching his gaze. An extremely uncomfortable silence enclosed the room. They both could not get up the courage to speak about what they called an 'emotional weakness' and as a result, they were both hoping that the other would start up a conversation.
"Hey guys, the twins are now completely harmless!" Sakura popped her head into the room and frowned as she saw that the two supposedly 'best friends' were trying to ignore each other. She also noticed that they had not acknowledged a word that she had said. She bit her lip and crossed her arms. 'If that's the way they want to play it, then they'll never get together! Syaoran-kun and I have to do something about this!' She slipped back out of the room again without attracting the attention of either person in the room. They were too lost in their game of hide-the-emotions that they had never even sensed her presence.
It was an hour later and Tomoyo and Eriol still had not moved. Syaoran and Sakura stood at the door to the room, watching the couple silently. Finally they could not stand it any longer.
"Hiiragizawa, I need to talk to you!" Syaoran suddenly announced and he entered the room and grabbed Eriol by the arm, ignoring the boy's objections to being dragged out of the room. Once the two males had left, Sakura closed the door before siting down next to Tomoyo.
"Tomoyo-chan," the amethyst-eyed girl looked up from the ground which she had been staring at for the past hour and sighed.
"I know what you're going to say Sakura-chan. You want me to sort things out with Eriol-kun, right?"
"No, I want you to cheer up first and foremost. I don't care what you do as long as you stop looking like a rain cloud," she lowered her voice as she saw Tomoyo's cheeks redden, "Look Tomoyo-chan, it's really obvious to me that you really care for Hiiragizawa-kun, but you're not going to get anywhere if you are too scared to talk to him! Remember what you told me when I said that I loved Syaoran-kun? You told me that I should follow my heart because if I did, then eternal happiness would not seem to be far away. And I took your advice and now I can only thank you for it. But you need to take your own advice. I want to make sure that you are happy, just as you did for Syaoran-kun and I. All you need to do is build up the courage and then eternal happiness might not be too far away." Tomoyo stared at her for a moment.
"But what if…?" she never got to ask her question because Sakura just laughed.
"Hiiragizawa-kun obviously cares for you Tomoyo-chan. He would not have sat here for an hour staring at you if he did not care. One of the reasons why you told me to tell Syaoran-kun that I loved him was because he kept on staring at me. It is a universal sign of love, when a person cannot drag their eyes away from someone else. You know that. If you don't have the courage to either ask him or tell him, then you will never be truly happy. I know that you believe in soul mates Tomoyo-chan, and I think that Hiiragizawa-kun is yours," Sakura knew that she was going to have to try hard if she was going to convince Tomoyo to let her emotions out. Tomoyo always had been difficult when it came to feelings.
"I don't know… I am just too confused! I have never been in love with anyone before and so I have no idea what it is like!" Tomoyo exclaimed, Sakura's words finally having an effect on her, "How do you know when you're in love with someone?" Sakura thought about it for a moment.
"When you found out that he was dying, how did you feel?"
"Like my heart had been ripped out and thrown into the deepest ocean in the world, where it was being chewed on by a bunch of angry piranhas," was Tomoyo's prompt reply.
"And what would you have done to make him better?" there was a short silence.
"I would have done anything," Tomoyo finally replied softly, finally realising what Sakura was doing.
"And you don't think that you love him?"
"Okay, okay, I get it. I am in love with him okay?" it was more of a statement than a question, but Sakura understood.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"I'll wait for him to come to me. Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I cannot go and tell him. He's going to have to come and tell me if he cares or not," Sakura groaned mentally.
'Let's just hope that Syaoran-kun is doing a better job of this than I am,' she thought to herself before finally giving up on Tomoyo, 'If he isn't then these two will never be happy.'
Syaoran, meanwhile, had dragged Eriol into a room further down the hallway. The dark-haired boy glared a little at his distant relative after he had finally been released.
"What was all that about Li?" he demanded to know, adjusting his glasses again so that they would not fall off his nose.
"You really care for Daidouji-san, don't you?" Syaoran asked, ignoring Eriol's question.
"Of course, she's my best friend!" he deliberately avoided the real meaning of the question. He was too confused about his feelings to answer the questions of a distant relative he hardly even knew. Syaoran just rolled his eyes.
"Please, spare me the lies Hiiragizawa. If you don't care for Daidouji-san more than that of a best friend, then why did you just spend a little more than an hour staring at her?"
"I wasn't-
"You were. Sakura-chan and I were watching you guys for an hour and you were so caught up in whatever you were thinking that you didn't even notice. Now, do you care for her as more than a friend?" his patience was running very low and he felt as though he did not have the time to let Eriol stall for too long.
"I don't know!"
"Then you'd better find out then, shouldn't you? I swear, if you hurt Daidouji-san I'll hunt you down and do a few 'unpleasant' things to you," he was looking to provoke a certain response from the other male and he almost smirked when the expected outburst came.
"I would never hurt Tomoyo-san! I'd rather die a hundred deaths than do that," Eriol replied passionately before he looked at the ground, a little embarrassed at the emotion that had been present in his outburst.
"Then why don't you just tell her that, you idiot?"
"Because-
"Look, I look at Daidouji-san as being like a sister to me. She is an interfering sister, but a sister all the same. I promised to look after her. If you do not tell her how you really feel, then she will get upset. Daidouji-san will not tell you how she feels about you unless you tell her how you feel about her. I know that she cares about you, I can see it. So what the hell are you waiting for?" Eriol just stared at him for a second, a little shocked, "Well, I said, what are you waiting for?" And Syaoran pointed to the door. Eriol seemed to understand. He bit his lip a little hesitantly, before slowly walking to the door. He knew what he wanted to tell her, but he had no idea of how to go about it. Syaoran just rolled his eyes and pushed Eriol out of the room. "You'll never tell her if you go this slowly. I'm sure that you will know what to say when you see her. Now GO!" Eriol walked down the hall until he reached the room he had been dragged out of. Sakura was just coming out of the room.
"Good luck," she whispered to him as she walked past, knowing, somehow knowing that he was going to get through to Tomoyo. He did not get a chance to reply before she had disappeared. He took a deep breath and entered the room in which Tomoyo was sitting. She had not moved from the chair that she had been sitting on when he had left.
"Hi Tomoyo-san," he began a little awkwardly, still having no idea what to say.
"Hi Eriol-kun. Did you enjoy your chat with Li-kun?" she politely began the conversation, even though her heart was doing back flips in her chest. She was anxious to know what the outcome of the discussion was going to be.
"It was an interesting discussion. He forced me to look at something that I had been trying to hide from for a long time now," he suddenly had an idea of what he could say. She looked up at him and their eyes met. They came to a sub-conscious agreement.
"Oh, and what would that be?" she tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice, but she could not tell if she had succeeded. He didn't seem to notice even if she did sound nervous.
"That I am deeply in love with the person that is my best friend," he said lightly. She was about to say something when the true realisation of what he said hit her. A small smile automatically appeared on her face and her eyes lit up. Eriol did not fail to notice this and he felt as though he was the luckiest guy in the world.
"You love me?" she whispered and she stood up, unconsciously moving closer to him.
"Yes," that simple word filled her heart to the brim with happiness.
"Well… I love you too," by that time she was standing just in front of him. He hesitated for a second before he leant in and kissed her. Sakura and Syaoran snuck into the room and counted the minutes that went by before the kiss was broken.
"God guys, you can hold your breath for a long time," Syaoran said when the kiss finally ended. Both Tomoyo and Eriol jumped and turned red.
"Aww! This is so cute!" Sakura squealed, making Eriol and Tomoyo turn even brighter shades of red.
"We didn't know that you were watching," Tomoyo murmured, feeling comfortable as Eriol's arm wrapped around her waist. The phone rang then, startling everyone in the room. Syaoran crossed to the phone and answered it quietly. He then held the phone out to Tomoyo.
"It's for you… someone from England I think," Tomoyo's eyes widened as she realised who it was. She had forgotten about Nakuru and Spinal.
"Tomoyo-chan, why haven't you called me with the details yet?" Nakuru scolded her as soon as she picked up the phone.
"Err… I'm sorry Nakuru; I had other things on my mind. But Eriol-kun is fine now."
"I'll bet that you had other things on your mind then," Tomoyo's jaw dropped at her comment.
"Excuse me Nakuru!?" The guardian on the other end of the phone laughed.
"I'm sorry Tomoyo-chan, but you and Eriol-sama were extremely obvious. Anyway, I'll leave you now so you can spend time with your lover," and before Tomoyo could say anything, Nakuru hung up, still laughing.
"Is anything wrong Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked, seeing her face.
"No, I'm just planning on mortally embarrassing one of Eriol-kun's guardians when we get back. Who knows, maybe that will calm her down a bit," and they all laughed, all extremely happy with the way that everything had turned out. Eriol was completely healed and both he and Tomoyo had found their true loves. It looked like eternal happiness was not too far away.
THE END!
Litanya: This came out a little later than planned, sorry about that. And I am also sorry for the mind-numbing sap that is in this chapter. I seriously do not know what came over me when I wrote it. Anyway, please drop a review if you feel like it and yeah… I'll probably be back soon with a Digimon fic.