PART I

Card Captor Sakura

Rating: K+

Characters: Tomoyo Daidoji, Eriol Hiiragizawa, Syaoran Li, Sakura Kinomoto, Chiharu Mihara, Rika Sasaki, Naoko Yanagisawa, Yamazaki Takashi

Language: English

Genre: Friendship, Romance

Length: 2,534 words

Duration: 05-24-08 to 05-30-08

Title: Wisdom's Company

As far as Tomoyo Daidoji was concerned, she had three best friends. Each was special and unique with their own role as a special someone in her life.

--

Her first best friend was named Syaoran Li.

To say that Syaoran love Tomoyo was an easily mistaken understatement. It was easily mistaken because Syaoran loved Sakura, even a new born babe could see that. And so here, was the line drawn between his love for Sakura, and his love for Tomoyo. For, in love with Sakura Kinomoto, he was; but, in love with Tomoyo Daidoji, he was not. He cared for Tomoyo like a father cared for his daughter or a brother for his sister. He cared for Sakura like a husband cared for his wife.

If anything preventable had ever happened to Tomoyo, he wasn't quite sure what he would know. Of course, if anything had happened to Sakura, he would be equally pained but Syaoran knew well enough that Sakura could take care of herself, despite her clumsy air headedness. Sakura was most athletic and strategic, not to mention her knack to quickly think up plans to get her out of a jam in a matter of seconds. Plus, Sakura would have the help of the Clow Cards and her magic, whereas Tomoyo had nor physical abilities or magic, although, she happened to be very sneaky at times. He supposed being sneaky was a quality required in the photography or filming industry; nonetheless, she needed his protection more that Sakura did. After all, he owed Tomoyo for giving up Sakura to him.

Not many of Syaoran's classmates understood his compassion for the Daidoji mistress, often accusing him of cheating on Sakura or kissing up to her best friend for points. But neither statement held truth and luckily, Sakura understood his and Tomoyo's relationship. Even so, Syaoran could see where they'd gotten the impression of him cheating on his girlfriend. Syaoran Li could often be seen steering sweet Tomoyo away from danger, while pushing Sakura into it. Don't get the wrong idea; it wasn't like he pushed her into knives or off high elevations, only small things: puddles, lockers and the occasional person. However, he didn't hurt her, never. It was all in fun and games, and often, Sakura would push him back. Only, he would never play such games with Tomoyo, he wouldn't dare. Perhaps that was the reason why his classmates were always making such absurd incriminations. They didn't understand. He couldn't possibly be so immature to someone whom he owed debt. But in the end, he was always a perfect gentleman to both, opening doors, carrying test books, holding umbrellas and always, always remembering his manners.

--

All week, Syaoran had been especially kind towards Tomoyo. Tomoyo clearly knew why but refused to give into his dirty trickery.

Standing outside in the pouring rain, Syaoran waited for the Daidoji daughter to arrive. Sakura would be late as usual so he wouldn't bother waiting for her. She'd get there when she got there, that is, if she wasn't sick or anything. No matter, he wanted to talk to Tomoyo privately to see if he could get her to open up to him.

As Syaoran waited, he listened to the melodic tap of raindrops onto the pavement whilst setting up a game plan in his mind. 'Maybe if I'm really nice to her, she'll tell me herself and I wont have to force it out of her. Gomen, who am I kidding. Tomoyo doesn't give in that easily. I've been on her case all week and barely even gotten her to flinch. If she were going to tell me on her own, she'd have done it by now. For goodness sakes, today is the big day and she is going to talk to me whether she wants to or not!'

A black limousine pulled up in front of him, temporarily interrupting him from his thoughts.

'Show time.'

Syaoran opened the door, greeting Tomoyo and her bodyguard. The wavy-haired girl got out of the vehicle, allowing Syaoran to hold the umbrella overhead and plastered a smile to her face. Through her teeth, she mumbled a faint "I won't tell you Li-kun so give up while you're ahead."

In and identical manner, he whispered back "Oh yes you will!"

Both continued to grin and wave until the bodyguard and the limousine had officially turned the corner of the schools parking lot.

No sooner had the limousine left when the two friends turned to face each other.

"Ogenki desu ka, Tomoyo-san?"

"Perfectly fine Syaoran-kun. You needn't worry about me. But thank you for caring." She answered, turning her back to him and pacing towards the school building, leaving Syaoran to run and catch up with her stride.

Syaoran mumbled an inaudible curse under his breath before darting over to his stubborn friend and offered to take her books. She willingly handed him her things and the pair made small talk on their walk to class.

In the classroom, they set up their desks and began to tidy the room. Tomoyo carefully dusted assorted pots, figurines and books which sat on a wooden bookcase. She quietly sang her song and with a hardly conscious mind, continued to clean.

"A twinkle in the night sky far, far away.

Gold star I gazed upon in my dreams.

On a sleepless evening I sing alone.

Tomorrow I'll sing with you on the wings of a dream."

From across the classroom, where Syaoran was washing the chalk and white boards, he watched his friend with a puzzled expression.

'What is it that she's thinking? Is she thinking of him?' he did his best to read her.

Tomoyo sensed his eyes on her back but thought better than to say anything. When she finished her half of the room, she took a seat at her desk and a couple of minutes later, Syaoran joined her.

Syaoran opened his mouth to speak when Chiharu and Yamazaki stumbled through the door along with Naoko and Rika. Syaoran shut his mouth and Tomoyo was glad to somewhat relieve the tension.

She gracefully stood and sauntered over to meet her friends.

"Ohayo Tomoyo-chan!" Naoko smiled.

"Ohayo Naoko-chan!" nodded Tomoyo.

"How are you today Tomoyo-chan?" asked Rika. "Oh hello there Li-kun," waved Rida, receiving a small "hey," in return.

"So how are you?" Chiharu repeated.

"Yes, especially since today is the day E-"Chiharu whacked Yamazaki in the stomach.

"Oof!"

"Yamazaki-kun!" she shrieked.

Tomoyo's steady smile faltered but upon realizing her mistake, she smiled again.

"No worries Chiharu-chan. It's quite alright. I'm okay. I really appreciate your concern though. Arigato. I think I'll go and prepare my books now," excused Tomoyo.

Her friends grimly nodded and watched her off.

Standing alongside her desk, she placed a hand on its surface to steady herself, taking in a breath before grouping her pens and pencils and beginning to lecture herself.

'Goodness Tomoyo! You almost let that one slip.' She took her seat and remained un-interrupted until Sakura arrived, not long after the warning bell rung.

--

"Tomoyo-chan!"

Her head snapped up at the sound of her name. She raised her head just in time to see Sakura trip over a table leg. Syaoran was at her side in an instant to catch her. Sakura blushed and thanked her boyfriend with a peck on the lips, left in a daze until seeing her best friend. At the sight of Tomoyo, she rushed out of Syaoran's arms and over to Tomoyo, embracing her in a warm hug.

"Ohayo Tomoyo-chan! Why the black jewelry? Are we in mourning? Are you going to be okay today? You could have stayed home. I'm positive that Daidoji-senpai would understand." Sakura whispered.

Tomoyo stood back, looking down at her attire and shook her head. "I'm fine Sakura-chan. Like I told everyone else, don't worry!" she accidentally snapped.

"Are you sure T-"

"Yes Sa-chan!" Tomoyo automatically felt bad for yelling at her best friend but she couldn't help it. Why did people keep worrying about her? Couldn't they see that she was the same as always?

"Oh… okay," Sakura sighed, walking over to Syaoran, seeking comfort.

Syaoran met Tomoyo's eyes and shot a glare, as if to warn her to at least act the lies she told. Ignoring him, she returned to her seat and begged class to begin.

--

Class began shortly after Sakura's entrance. Tomoyo did not take her eyes off of the teacher the whole time, fearing she might look into Sakura's heartbroken eyes and blurt out her feelings.

"Class, it seems that today, we will be getting a new student," Tomoyo's eyes widened. 'Why today?' she asked herself. "His name is Kyo Ishida. Please welcome him."

With that, a boy about the same height as Yamazaki entered, He had shaggy blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. He wore the same uniform as the other students with the exception of his white fisherman's hat. She could already see the girls fauning over him.

"Would you like to tell us a few things about yourself Kyo-shi?" asked the teacher.

"Okay Takenouchi-sensei. I'm Kyo Ishida and I came from Kyoto. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you!"

"Arigato Ishida-san. Now please take your set behind Tomoyo-san."

Tomoyo glanced at the empty seat behind her. 'That's the desk that- No! Stop thinking about it.'

She was so busy with concentrating on not thinking that she failed to hear the teacher tell her to raise her hand so that Kyo could see who Tomoyo-san was. Syaoran noticed his friend's absence and took charge, instructing Kyo to the seat beside him.

"Right here, Ishida-san."

The boy nodded and shuffled down the isles, silently taking his seat.

Takenouchi-sensei continued with her lesson on States of Matter and Tomoyo remained lost in thought.

Amidst her thinking, she felt a timid tap on her shoulder but choosingly ignored it. What had gotten into her? She was the class role model and here she was, ignoring some innocent new kid. Had it been any other day, then she would have gladly showed the boy around the school and most definitely turned around just now.

Guessing that she hadn't felt his previous nudge, he tapped again only a bit harder. Tomoyo spun around, shocking the boy almost out of his seat.

"What?" she whispered harshly.

"Uh… I- I just wanted t- to see i- if you had a pencil I could borrow. Mine broke," he stuttered.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes but before she could spit out a rude remark, Syaoran held out one of his own pencils, handing it to the new student.

"Here, you can use one of mine. Have it if you'd like. But in return, please forgive Tomoyo-san. Today is not a good day. She is usually an extremely kind and well mannered girl." Syaoran stressed.

Kyo nodded, evidently not believing a word Syaoran had said but took the pencil anyways. Tomoyo growled and turned around to face the front of the room.

--

When the lunch bell rang, her classmates certainly wasted no time in swarming the new boy with questions. Tomoyo had hardly even stood before being pummeled back into her desk. She took a breath and did her best to wait out the oncoming crowd. She was ready to stand when she heard a couple classmates say something that instantly stopped her in her tracks.

"So you're the new Eriol-kun, huh?"

"Are you here to replace Eriol-kun?"

"He doesn't look very much like Eriol-san."

"Yes, the complete opposite of Hiiragizawa-san really."

Tomoyo whirled around in her seat at record speed. Her long, raven black hair fanning her head and landing on her shoulders.

"Pardon me?"

The crowd separated a little, just enough to see her victims faces. The students took flight but even so, Tomoyo was not finished yet.

"What did they just say?"

Nobody dared to speak. None of them had ever seen Tomoyo upset, least of all angry. Tomoyo was always the happy, cheery, optimistic one. No one knew this side of her.

Tomoyo raised her voice a level. "What did they just say?"

The new kid, Kyo, didn't see what was going on and believe it to be a mishearing. "They said that I was the new Eriol or something. I don't know what he meant though. Who's Eriol?"

Tomoyo flared, her temperature rising. Syaoran, who had come into the classroom to grab his forgotten lunch and overheard the last part, ran over and grasped her shoulders.

"Come on To-san. I'm sure Kyo-kun didn't mean it. He doesn't know."

"I don't care," Tomoyo resisted stubbornly, pulling out of Syaoran's grip. "He could never replace Eriol-san! Never!"

"I know Tomoyo-san. But he doesn't know any better. He doesn't even know Eriol-kun. Let's go."

Tomoyo wanted to fight back but despite her urge, she turned her back to her classmates and to Sayoran and stormed out of the classroom in a huff. Syaoran followed after apologizing to the group.

Out in the hallways, Tomoyo continued to angrily stomp towards the shoe lockers. Students cleared her way as she walked by, whispering all sorts of things to each other. Sayoran called after her but she ignored him.

"Tomoyo-san! Tomoyo-san wait up!"

"Go away Li-kun!" she growled, letting him catch up with her.

"No. I refuse to. If you're going to be stubborn, I will too. I won't rest until you tell me how you feel. It's not good to keep these things inside." He reasoned.

Tomoyo's anger only increased. "I'm not!" she said, opening up her locker.

"Yes you are Tomoyo-san. I know something is wrong and you just don't want to tell me! Think about this Tomoyo-san. You'd never act like this if you were perfectly fine." He growled, growing impatient.

"Stop acting like you know me so well. You can't read me Sya-san! No one can!" she yelled, turning her back to him.

By now, a group of students had come to the lockers to see what all the chaos and noise was about.

"Yes I can To-san! It's what you and I do; we read each other! No matter how much you wish I can't read you right now, it won't happen. You and I both know you miss him and you won't tell me because you can't stand knowing that I can see everything you're thinking right now." –tears began to well up in her eyes-"I could see your pain when Yamazaki mention that today was the day he left; I could see your pain when you turned around and looked at his empty desk; I could see your pain when a new student came to replace him; and even now, I can see your pain as you're realizing that what I'm saying is true and-"

"Oomph."

Tomoyo turned around and wrapped her arms around his stomach, letting her tears fall freely down her face.

"Why did he have to leave?" she cried.

Syaoran recovered from his shock and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, pressing her head to his chest as tears soaked his uniform. Though the crowd, he saw Sakura smile, causing him to smile back.

A/N: I'm so proud of myself for writing this. It is one of my longer works. I wanted it to be one giant one-shot but I can't seem to work out the other two chapters. If you would like to give me inspiration for her other two friends - Sakura and Eriol - please do. I'll try my best to think something up. I hope I did a good job on this and I hope it's not to OOC. Please review!

PS: I originally spelt Tomoyo's last name 'Daidouji'. But I was on wikipedia, and it said 'Dadoji', so I used that version. But it's to my understanding that both spellings are correct.