Disclaimer: I don't own CCS nor do I make money out of them. I'm just a poor little girl.
Author's blabbering: This is another one of my zany ideas. The weather here in Japan is making me think of these silly and ridiculous things. Now, I have to take them out of my head again. Anyway, please have mercy on me and don't flame this fic. As I've said, this is one of the zany ideas I have in my head caused by the weather here in Japan. Yes, I know I haven't updated The Testament yet but I will… soon… after I get back from Japan which is… two or three days from now… I'm not sure how long this fic will be, but it won't exceed 5 chapters… I'm not that industrious. So… Let the story begin!
DOUBLE TROUBLE
By: NeptunianQueen
It was another peaceful night in the town of Tomoeda. The moon was full and bright, casting a soft pale light on the slumbering town. The inky blue sky was dotted with stars, their light and sparkle incomparable to the light of the Queen Moon. Crickets chirped, creating music that could rival that of a bird's. It was indeed another peaceful and beautiful night, but no one could appreciate it.
It was already midnight. The whole town was fast asleep, curled under their warm comforters and blankets and drifting into their own dream worlds, dreaming of a wonderful day tomorrow. But not everyone in town was asleep. The manor on top of the hill was still alive. The Hiiragizawa manor.
The people of Tomoeda know that a young boy his guardian and a black cat were the only dwellers inside the large manor. But to a few number of people who know these two people very well, they were more than a high school student and a university undergraduate.
The basement of the manor was converted into a library filled with thick, ancient tomes that probably existed long before Tomoeda became a town in Japan. Two long tables run the length of the room, overflowing with rolls of parchment, scrolls, ink pots and quills, several cards and other articles of magic. There were several silver articles whirring and spinning on the ground, and symbols were etched and engraved in different parts of the room. The entire room was lit by a chandelier, wooden and old, and there were several candelabras placed on strategic points of the chamber. It certainly looked like a magician's atelier.
The young boy with dark hair and equally dark blue bespectacled eyes stood behind one of the table, holding a thick and antediluvian leather-bound book. He wore a dark blue robe pooling around his feet with the symbol of the sun on his back and a large cap that barely touched the floor. On his two sides were two creatures very peculiar to man: a large panther with a blue gem on its neck and a tall fiery red-haired maiden dressed in red and black. Both of them possess butterfly wings, large and intricately designed.
"Master, why are we doing this again?" the woman asked in a bored voice as her master, the young magician, was reading a text on the book. "We've done this a hundred times and you still haven't told us what we're doing."
"Ssh, Ruby Moon," the panther hissed darkly. "The Master needs his concentration."
"Don't shush me, Suppi! I was just asking!" Ruby Moon, as the panther called her, snapped.
"Ruby Moon, please keep quiet. I can't understand what I'm reading," the young Master said quietly, his sapphirine eyes glued on the pages of the tome. The panther threw a haughty, Hah-I-told-you look at the young lady.
Ruby Moon yawned widely behind a hand. "We're standing here for hours," she complained. "And we haven't even succeeded in doing a spell once! Maybe your powers are getting weak, Master Eriol!"
Eriol ignored her and continued reading the book, the glow of the candle making his eyes sparkle even brighter and more mysterious.
"Shut up, Ruby Moon!" the panther once again snapped. "And it's Spinel, not Suppi!"
"But I have to get some sleep! I need my beauty rest for tomorrow. I'll have to show that Yue that I'm as powerful and good-looking as him!"
"I doubt that Yue would even notice you," Spinel drawled lazily.
"We all know that I don't want Yue or that Yukito person to notice me," Ruby Moon argued. "It's Touya-kun I want to impress!"
The cat yawned. "How would you expect someone as laconic and stoic as a three-hundred-year-old rock to even notice you?" he replied matter-of-factly. "Why, Kinomoto-san is even annoyed by your presence and existence in this world."
"No he's not!" the woman cried defiantly. "He's just being shy!"
Spinel snorted. "Shy?" He spoke the word as if it was ridiculous. "Who would be shy in front of you? Not even a mosquito would be shy to nip you."
"Why you—"
"I got it! I finally got it!"
The two guardians turned to their young Master who was now reading the book with his mysterious smile. The smile that scared the hell out of them. The smile that says "There would be serious trouble". Ruby Moon glanced at Spinel who absently took a step away from their laughing Master.
"Master Eriol, what—" Ruby Moon stopped when Eriol summoned his Clow Key and started chanting some spells that was written on the book.
A circle of light appeared on their feet with the symbol of the sun and moon. Spinel was clearly backing away now from their Master who was busy chanting a mantra. They saw the look in his deep blue eyes. The look of determination and willpower. The same look they found during the Card Mistress's test. They couldn't stop him now.
"Release!" the young mage shouted and there was a flash of bright light, swallowing the whole manor.
The two guardians placed a hand on their eyes to protect them from the blinding light. Anybody passing by might've thought that a firecracker exploded inside the manor. But then, everybody was asleep. No one would know that something had happened inside the old house.
When the light was finally gone and everything returned to normal, Ruby Moon pulled her gloved hand away from her ruby red orbs. She blinked for a few times, trying to adjust her sight in the dimmed, candle-lighted room.
When she could finally see clearly, what she saw made her jaw drop. "Uh-oh!"
"Ruby Moon, I think the word 'uh-oh' sums it all up," Spinel remarked as he gazed open-mouthed at his Master. Rather, his Masters.
There were two identical Eriols. Both having dark blue hair. Both with bespectacled blue eyes. Both wearing the same mage's clothes. Both holding a tall golden sun staff… And both staring at each other wordlessly like two idiots.
"I think I'm going to bed," Ruby Moon stated wearily, walking away.
The next morning, Sunday…
"I wonder why Eriol-kun wanted us to go to his house," Sixteen-year-old Sakura said thoughtfully as she, Syaoran and Tomoyo were walking towards the house on the hill. "He called us so early in the morning. I wonder what happened."
"I hope it's not one of his pranks again," Syaoran muttered darkly. "I'm getting sick of being stuck in his maze every time we go there!"
"I hope it nothing serious," Tomoyo said. "He sounded agitated when he called." She was carrying a picnic basket that contains a cake she baked for Nakuru on one arm and a small purse which contains her cell phone and Kero.
Syaoran folded his arms across his chest, his amber eyes blazing. "If he's planning something weird again, I won't hesitate to kill him!"
"You brat!" Kero's head popped out of Tomoyo's purse. "You think you could kill Clow Reed? That's a laugh! You're still a brat even after all these years!"
"What did you say, plushie?" The Li Clan Head growled just as the Beast Guardian flew out of the purse and transformed into his original form: a large yellow cat with wings. "You think you could make me cower with your form?"
Sakura sweatdropped at the two. Every time they would see each other, they'd always end up in an argument and she always has to break them up before they destroy the house. Add Eriol into the scene and you get a ticking time bomb. Sometimes, she wondered how those three got to be connected with each other. Sighing, she pulled Syaoran to her other side so as not to pummel the guardian who might retaliate and get Tomoyo hurt.
"You guys are so energetic today!" Tomoyo remarked cheerfully as they climbed the sloping street. "I'm sure Hiiragizawa-kun would be very glad to see you."
"Yeah, I bet!" the amber-eyed boy said sarcastically.
When they finally reached the wrought iron gates of the manor, Tomoyo frowned in concern. Never, in her entire life, had she seen the Hiiragizawa manor so deathly quiet. Usually, it was bright and full of life since Nakuru often plays in the garden with Spinel. But now…
"Did a meteor just strike the manor?" Syaoran commented dryly as he surveyed the area. "It's so quiet it gives me the creeps."
"Yeah," Kero agreed. "Seeing this place like this makes me want to run away."
A slight cool breeze blew over them and Syaoran and Kero both shivered, reminiscent of the horror movie they watched in Sakura's house some time ago.
"I say we leave," the cute orange plushie said in a low, dark voice. "We might be in terrible danger!"
"What danger are you saying, Kero-chan?" Sakura waved a hand impatiently at him as she pushed open the gate. "There's nothing dangerous in this place. This is Eriol-kun's house."
"And that's what makes it dangerous," Syaoran muttered darkly. Kero nodded in agreement.
But then, since the Card Mistress had already walked inside the yard, there's nothing for them to do but to follow. Tomoyo smiled at them as she followed Syaoran in, closing the gates behind her.
"I don't sense any Clow Cards," Kero stated, looking around.
"Nonsense, Kero-chan!" Sakura chided him. "Why would Eriol-kun send a Clow Card after us?"
"I don't know," Syaoran replied evenly, shrugging his shoulders. "Ask him."
Sakura frowned at the two of them but said nothing. They walked up to the main door and she knocked loudly. Nobody answered.
"Maybe they're all gone!" The Li Clan Head declared, not even trying to hide the delight in his voice. "C'mon, then! Let's go! We wasted our time here just for nothing!"
The emerald-eyed Card Mistress ignored him and knocked again on the door. Again, no one answered. She turned to Tomoyo who was peering at the curtained bay windows. "What do you think, Tomoyo-chan?"
"I'm not sure…" the raven-haired Daidouji heiress replied softly. "There's something wrong. Akizuki-san never draws the curtains. She always lets it open."
"Maybe something is wrong," Sakura said, nodding. "I hope it's nothing bad."
They tried to knock again and after a few minutes, the door opened slightly. Nakuru's head popped out of the small crevice, gaping at them. They stared back at her in confusion. Syaoran stared at her irritably.
"Aren't you going to let us in?" he asked, annoyed.
"Uh, we have a little problem here—"
Tomoyo frowned at her. "Why? What's wrong, Akizuki-san?"
"Well…"
Nakuru stepped away from the door and opened it for them. They three teenagers stepped in curiously, leaving their shoes outside the door and slipping on a pair of slippers. The house looked larger, colder and creepier with the silence. Tomoyo noticed that the usual energetic guardian was silent for a moment.
They took a seat inside the living room. Tomoyo placed her basket down on the center table and looked around.
There was Eriol's "throne of evil" near the fireplace, empty. Usually, when she'd come over for tea or for business, she would find Eriol seated on the red armchair, waiting for her. But this time, he wasn't there. It was obvious that something wrong was happening inside the Hiiragizawa household. There were too many clues: the silence of the place, Nakuru's unusual behavior, empty chair…
"Akizuki-san, what's going on?" she asked politely, now completely worried.
Of course, she would be worried. She is, after all, Eriol's closest friend. Ever since Syaoran came back from Hong Kong and started studying in Tomoeda, she had started hanging out with the reincarnation of Clow Reed, mainly because Syaoran was always with Sakura. And probably because they also belong in several clubs, including the Student Council and the Choir.
"Er…" Nakuru grinned at them almost hesitantly. "I'll just call Master, okay? Just stay here. I'll tell Suppi-chan to come here."
When the moon guardian had left, Syaoran turned to Sakura. "What's up with her?"
The Card Mistress shrugged. "I have no idea…"
"They're acting weird today, aren't they?" Tomoyo commented, folding her hands on her lap. "I wonder what had happened."
They waited for a few minutes with Kero flying around the room as if examining it when Spinel, in his small black cat plushie form, flew inside using his small translucent wings. It then settled on Tomoyo's lap, something that puzzled both Sakura and Syaoran.
"Please do not be surprised at what you would see," the cat said lazily. "My Master was doing some magic again last night and…" Spinel sighed as if already bothered by that 'something' he was trying to say. "You'll just have to see."
"See what?" Sakura inquired.
Her inquiry was soon answered when Eriol walked inside the parlor, his usual mysterious smile on his face… followed by another Eriol wearing the same smile as the first. Then, as if scripted, the three teenagers' and the orange plushie's jaws dropped.
"Hiiragizawa-kun…" Tomoyo said faintly as she stared at the twins.
Suddenly, much to their astonishment and surprise, one of the Eriols, upon hearing Tomoyo's voice, walked over to her and took her hand. The young raven-haired heiress froze on her spot, blinking at the Eriol in front of her. And before the other Eriol could stop him, the Eriol suddenly leaned forward and kissed the poor stunned girl.
Review, review, review... constructive criticisms are most welcome... CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISMS, not flames!