Disclaimer: The series Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me.
liz: Hee! I'm definitely not ending my E/S fics after this one. I'm glad you've adored this fic just about as much as I enjoyed writing it. ^___^ Thanks for reviewing!
Syaoran-and-sakura: Hehe. I've updated! Don't worry about Eriol. *grins*
Mindy: I guess fluffiness isn't my thing... and I'm not THAT great of an author. *embarrassed* ^^ I'll be continuing my other E/S fics, and probably will be adding more that I can't even complete in any short while. *laughs* Thanks for reviewing!
glory230: Whoo! I'm glad you think so. Hehe.
Moon Smurf: O_O As always, your reviews are soooo demanding. *grins* Do you think I'd really put S and S together to torture the (very FEW) readers I have??? ^___^ NOT A BAD IDEA!! WHEEEE! Thanks for keeping up w/ this fic for so long! =D
Kousagi-chan: \^o^/ I updated! Please read!
Queen of the Storms: I was told once that I'm the ruler of cliffhangers. I think that's a pretty easily-believed thing by now. Hehehe.
Ryoko the last soul dragon: ... *sweatdrops* That's not the ending. Hehehe. This is the last chapter. S+S and E+T are the main couples that I just can't STAND in the CCS fandom... or in the series itself. (Not that I even SEE E+T in the series.) ^^ You'll approve of the ending, I hope (even if it lacks fluffy-ness).
(anonymous): It's updated! Enjoy, please!
starlight princess: *laughs head off* You're just like Moon Smurf. Do not worry! S+S and E+T KILL me! There's no way that they'd ever... *shudders* ^___^ Thanks for sticking w/ this fic for so long! I'm so happy because of that.
Chapter Eighteen: The Names Which Hold Together
Day 37 - Earth
Sakura sat by the window in her room, staring out off towards the rest of the city that she could see from there. They all returned back home yesterday and Sakura could not help but wonder about Tgaeh's siblings. She never knew them well, but obviously, they were compassionate. That was more than enough of a reason to wish that Tgaeh had never died under Dtarna's hands. Not only for her sake of meeting him, but more especially for his siblings'.
Syaoran stared at the younger brother and sister of Tgaeh's, before he gave his full attention to Brache. The others were tending to each other. Eurena and Natir were outside. Eriol, Tomoyo, Yue, Sharhn, and the rest were in the house. Eriol's wounds were being tended to by Tomoyo, who watched over him with a gentle care. Sakura, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Then, he stated two words that opened up new questions. "You knew."
Brache's tear-filled eyes widened as he jerked his head to look up at Syaoran. "I..." Slowly, he bowed his head back down. The group were residing in Tgaeh's house, chaotic noises filling the air outside. "Yes."
"How?"
Brache smirked, wiping his eyes. "There is so much that I have always known, but his death had always been the clearest in my mind. They say that there are quite a number of people in this world who are born with a dark magic that consume them sooner or later, depending on which path they choose to go. Many stay confused and innocent their entire lives, while others take advantage of those who ARE innocent.
"Finally, there are those who have chosen neither path. They are the rare ones, the ones who see more than what those two groups can ever consider combined. They each have different gifts, not of the petty magic the others believe can help them enormously." He shook his head, the same cynical smile upon his face. Then, he looked back up at Syaoran. "My friend, which path do you think I have chosen?"
Syaoran pursed his lips as he returned the same hard gaze he was receiving. He was the first to turn away, glancing at everybody else. When his eyes rested on Sharhn, Brache had spoken once more. "She, too, has chosen my path. But her gift will not be the same as mine. People of our paths are diverse."
"Then why did Tgaeh-"
"Just a NUMBER of people, friend. Just a number of people. Be grateful that he was not one of the chosen, for those like I, we don't have a pure magic. It's never pure. It will always be connected to the darkness, probably to consume us sooner or later. My sister and I are damned in this world," he murmured with more cynicism, then sniffed a bit. "Yet, this is the purest magic we can accept, which is why we chose this path. Tgaeh, he showed it to us beforehand."
"Are you aware of your parents..."
Brache gave another short nod. "I always knew, but when we first came, Tgaeh and Sharhn could not take such a thing, so their memories were erased. For us, time passes by slowly, and we were always so isolated from everybody else. Besides that, I'm sure that Dtarna made sure no questions were asked after my mother left her side."
"She's been defeated. It's over."
This is where Brache gave a loud and harsh laugh, shaking his heads. "It's never over, friend. Only SHE has been defeated. What makes you think that others will not take her place? She was the safest evil this world has ever had, for she was only and first. The world is not ready for somebody more powerful."
Syaoran reached out and clasped his hand on Brache's shoulder, smiling even after those harsh words. "If evil can learn, what makes you think that those who fight against it can't? They WILL learn."
At that moment, Sakura entered the room and her eyes immediately met with Syaoran's. Brache smiled once more. "Also," he told Syaoran in a voice at a lower level of a sound, "they are not the only ones who need to learn. Sometimes, all we can do is accept what we discover. It usually brings enlightenment, I say." Syaoran glanced at the younger boy once more, then looked back to the girl in front of him. "I do not know what will happen with you, but we all should know what path SHE must take. She loves. She needs to hold onto that." After those words, Syaoran excused himself. All questions for Brache were instantly forgotten as he ran up to her. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck. She took in his familiar scent, something that she was not able to do in over a month.
"Syaoran..." she murmured, backing up slightly to glance at his face. She brought a hand up to stroke his cheek, smiling as she attempted to hold back her tears. "You look... older." To her, being with Syaoran, this was the right choice. It had to be. And not only was it right, but, subconsciously, for her, it was also the most secure.
He chuckled. "Who the hell wouldn't after all of this?"
Sakura nodded her head. "Quite right," she laughed. Unbeknownst to them, Eriol was watching the two, the hurt within showing only in the surface of his eyes.
Yesterday, Kaho and the rest had discovered a spell to drag all five of them back to earth. They left the Shadow World and Lyrra to enter a new era, and Dtarna's life would be left to the people's hands. Brache and Sharhn would be taken care of by Eurena and Natir. Before they left, Sakura had discovered about the prophecy.
Eons past before our savior comes
But when thee does, justice be done
Would that be correct? she wondered. Justice was done, as in the fact that Dtarna was now defeated and she lost the one she truly belonged with because of her actions. But... Tgaeh's death was not justice, if it should be called anything like that at all. Sakura shook her head. The damage had been done, the consequences have been given, and they have returned home. Eriol, to Sakura's sadness, disappeared straight after they returned, along with Kaho, Spinel, and Nakuru. Syaoran went off to tend to his own things, agreeing to meet up with her today. Tomoyo herself went back home, having been unusually silent ever since the battle ended.
Sakura slowly glanced at the clock, when the surprise hit her as she saw the time. Syaoran! I was supposed to meet up with him five minutes ago! She dashed out of her room, grabbing a jacket before she raced out of the house.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 36 - Earth
The sun was gradually moving to set as Sakura ran to the cafe where they had decided to meet up at. She found him waiting outside, and once Syaoran's eyes met with hers as she was only a few feet away, he grabbed her and lifted her into his arms. "Why does it still feel like it's been an eternity within just a day since I saw you, Sakura?" he murmured into her hair.
"I don't know... I feel the same way."
He gave her a quick kiss before pulling her along into the cafe. The two sat down and quickly ordered their specific drinks. Besides that, strangely, very few sentences were exchanged between the two, until finally, the talking stopped altogether. The silence prolonged a bit too lengthy, making the uncomfortable atmosphere more noticeable than it should have been. Syaoran glanced up at Sakura, only to find that she was gazing out the window, her mind having wandered far off towards someplace else. Or someone else, Syaoran realized.
"When I was still in the Shadow World, being held as a slave there," he suddenly started as he gazed out the windows along with her, "about over a week ago, Yue and Tomoyo appeared, saving me from the beatings of a number of soldiers. Ever since then, they've been by my side." He turned and gave her a smile. "I'm grateful to them. How was Eriol?"
She turned her head back to look at Syaoran once he had started to talk, snapping her out of her deep thoughts. At the mention of his name, Sakura could not help but feel the familiar clenching within her insides. "He... really helped me along the way," she said, returning a smile forcefully. "He saved me a few times from a couple things, and we fought together. Once... I thought he had died, but it turns out that he hadn't. All in all, he was a good guide." Suddenly, she noticed that Syaoran was chuckling, shaking his head. "Huh? Syaoran?" she asked, concern in her voice.
He reached over and took one of her hands into his own. "Sakura," he said evenly, "I know you much better than that. We've been together for too long for me to not know you. Heh. You're still so freaking dense."
She frowned, yet inside, the feelings were rising up once more.
"I saw the way you fought when he fell down like that after running in front of the magic to protect you," Syaoran continued in a low voice, staring at her face. "The way you reacted, there's no way that it could have only been for friendship-wise. There was no way anybody could have seen that for anything less than deep concern."
"But Syaoran! I love-"
"It can't be me anymore, Sakura."
Her eyes widened in surprise, sucking a staggering breath at the way his sharp voice interrupted her own.
"When I first confessed my feelings to you, you never even realized I had such emotions for you. In a way, I kind of wonder what would have happened if I had never told you, if you never knew. Would you still have suddenly developed such thoughts for me?" Already, Sakura could feel the surface illusions slipping, leaving. Syaoran peered down at their linked hand, stroking hers in a slow way. "We were wonderful together, I'll admit. I loved you, and I'm pretty sure you felt the same for me. But... we've changed. In the past month, after everything, we've changed." Finally, he looked back straight up into her eyes. "You have his Name," he stated clearly.
The illusions shattered.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 36 - Earth
"Yes," she finally whispered. "I do, did. And I returned it back to him. It belongs to him, and him alone." She took her hand away from Syaoran to bring it up to cover her eyes. "I..."
"This time," Syaoran said, "you discovered your feelings on your own. This time, you should have no doubts. This time, you should NOT have rejected him. You took the safe way out, Sakura, and came back to me."
She took her hand away from her eyes to look at Syaoran. The safe way? she pondered, then slowly nodded her head to herself. In the beginning, it wasn't like that, though, was it? I sincerely came for Syaoran, the one I cared for. Loved, as we would all say. But as time went on, as Eriol and I interacted more, talked more, and I as saw the way he was, we started to discover each other. How could I have rejected him after the way we treated one another? Even after the fact that I held his Name?! It had stopped being only about Syaoran after Eriol was shot down like that. For me... that was when Search-For-Syaoran ended...
And Eriol began...
She slowly turned to glance up at Syaoran. As he had said those words, she could not help but hear a different tone of sorts within as well. There was something that Syaoran had discovered by himself when she was not there, and the regret was as clear as a sunny day. She smirked. "I guess that I'm not the only one, huh? Who took the safe way out?"
Syaoran jerked his head up to look at her, then chuckled once more. "I guess you're not as dense as I had said before."
"What will happen with you?" she asked, ignoring his previous comment. Syaoran shook his head, and Sakura had never seen a more tragic expression on his face. "I've lost; It can't happen between us. It's hard to explain, but I'll just have to do without her."
"I don't understand," she said, reaching to grab his hands to comfort. "Why are you giving up on her already? Is it because she lives in the Shadow World?"
"It has nothing to do with that, Sakura. I just... She doesn't want me anymore, I know. Even after the knowledge of knowing we have each other's Names, she does not want me. In a way, it was because of my actions that led her to what she chose. So now, we'll never have a chance to discover what we could have had. Kind of... my punishment for being so easily placed in a spell, you know?"
"Not... really."
He frowned. "Sakura, we're soooooooooo breaking up."
Her lips moved up to form a knowing smile.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 42 - Earth
Sakura stopped at the edge of a forest near her town, waiting a few moments for something she was supposed to expect. When it never came, she entered. "Eriol!" she shouted. "Where are you? I... We need to talk." She was wearing a loose jacket over a t-shirt and comfortable pants. She clenched her hands into fist when only the rushing sound of a gentle wind answered back. Immediately, she shouted again, calling for him, still walking in.
The process lasted for hours as she never gave up, peering past the trees for a sign. It was almost as if she knew no matter which way she went, he could still hear her. When the sun began to give signs of wanting to set in a hour or two, Sakura finally sat down on a rock to rest. She could feel it. He was here.
"And even once night comes, I'm not going to leave. I'll keep walking, and keep trying to find you until you decide to show up."
Suddenly, she heard a rushing sound of wind and a strong feel of magic alerted her senses. Sakura quickly got up from her seat the second she felt it. He's here. A strong emotion tugged her towards one direction, so she followed her intuitions and ran. She could hear her own quickened breath reach her ears as she zoomed past by so many trees and so many creatures that stared at this lone human in the forest. Sakura ran for as long as she could remember, subconsciously acknowledging that the sun was even beginning to glow dimmer in the horizon.
I'll never give up on you, she whispered in her mind, hoping the words would reach him. Before, you would not give up on me, and now it's my turn to do the same. The leaves above her rustled loudly, almost as if they wanted to respond back to her thoughts. She could feel the magic becoming stronger, wrapping itself around her like hot air on a summer day. It lingered behind, giving her hints as to where she must run towards.
Sakura faintly heard the sound of a bird chirping, its short and clipped sounds reverberating within the walls of her mind. As she ran, she remembered the days they spent in the Shadow World, searching for Syaoran. She remembered him being there, helping her throughout the entire way.
"There is a very magical way to do this..." he whispered. Eriol then stepped back, and let his wand go. It fell to the left side of the road. Eriol smiled satisfyingly. "We go that way," he said in a baby voice, pointing to the left.
"You tried to keep me happy..."
"Wear it again this time, okay? Wear it with no fear, now. It's all going to be all right."
"You still wanted my love for Syaoran to be strong..."
"Yes. You are not perfect. Nobody in this world is perfect, Sakura. And you should know that. I've made mistakes. You've made mistakes."
"You taught me the truth whenever you could."
Finally, her whimpering was heard, and the hand returned to hold onto her own. Sighing, Sakura smiled softly, and stopped shifting around once more. "I'm here, Sakura... I'm here..." she heard, and the voice appeased her as well. This kind of well-being she had never had before; she welcomed and cherished it.
"You watched over me..."
Not knowing how it happened, Eriol found that his lips were on hers. He continued to silently gaze into her eyes, seeing her surprise, when her eyes gradually closed and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Our emotions led us to discover ourselves."
"No! Sakura!" Eriol cried, leaping down the stairs to intercept the magic and Sakura. In midair, he felt the putrid energy stab into his physical body, attacking his limbs as the cackling power ate at him. Flinching and cringing, he fell down to the floor, collapsing.
"You protected me..."
"I love you," he continued to whisper, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I've always loved you, Kaniana." This time, to his happiness, Sakura did not show ire at him when he said her Name. "I loved you since I first saw you. I just didn't know so. And I still love you. Please... Please, Sakura... You know that I would never use your Name. It is yours. I cherish it."
"...your Name. It is yours. I cherish it."
"...yours. I cherish it."
"I cherish it."
"YOU CHERISHED MY NAME!" she shouted, still running into an unknown direction. "QUAN!"
The next second, the forests gave a sudden halt, yet she had continued to run. When she tried to stop, Sakura stumbled onto freshly-cut green grass. Sakura stopped, breathing hard as she looked around. Here, somewhere in the forest, was the exact image of the house which had resided in the town Tomoeda itself before Void had destroyed it. In front of the house was a lawn, with a dirt path leading towards the door. By the side of the lawn was a large, shady tree, and...
Eriol sat by the base of the trunk.
Slowly, Sakura walked up towards him, using up a few minutes to take in the image of him. The shade gave him a calm and inactive sense of emotion. He was wearing his glasses, his eyes on a small bird at the tip of his fingers. The dark-blue silk shirt he donned fell in ripples and he wore black pants to go with his outfit. Suddenly, the bird from his fingers lifted off into flight, stopping abruptly to circle around Sakura a few times before he raced towards the sunset sky. Still, Sakura continued her way towards him.
"Okay," he said aloud once she was about a few yards away. "Who was it that blabbed to you?" She stopped in front of him, still standing. His eyes were now staring towards the forest, away from her. "Does it matter?" she gave a small smile.
"The moment I find out who it is, I'll make sure that person will be gone from my life."
Sakura laughed. "No... No, you won't. You're not harsh like that. Ah... after almost an entire week, I found you."
Yesterday, Sakura was sitting on a swing in the park. She had grown disappointed and aggravated at her failure in finding Eriol. Since Clow Reed's house was already destroyed all those years ago, there was no way that he could have resided there. And to just make sure, she even went to check. Nope. It was now a ramen shop.
So she had walked through the entire Tomoeda in search of him, yet he never came up. She knew he was doing this, yet would not let herself renounce against this unusual tactic he had set against her. It will be another test, one that she will use all her skills to pass.
During that day, when she sat on the swing, she could hear someone walking towards her.
"He won't let me find him. So what are you doing here? I'd think you would be happy about this."
The person sat down next to her. "When we first came back, he created a house in the forests right by this town. It's magically hidden. Those who enter the forest can never hit upon it unless he allows you to. Then, it will appear at the place where it should be. Usually, people swerve around it without even knowing that they did. Go find him there. Shout for him, and demand that he let you enter. Reason with him. Do whatever it is that you need to do."
She stared at the person, then asked a few questions similar to the one she asked before. "Why? Why are you here? Why are you telling me this?"
"We will be leaving in a few days. Please hurry."
Nakuru then got up from her seat on the swing and walked off.
"Answer my questions!" Sakura shouted as she stood up and chased after the guardian.
Nakuru turned around once more to stare into the teenager's eyes. "Being a guardian, I am supposed to watch over my master. During these past days, I have never seen Master so taken over by his emotions. He is conflicting inside; all Spinel and I can do is watch. Kaho would not say anything until today. She told me, 'go get Sakura. She can come.' I've told you the key to the house. You need to reach it yourself."
"Now that you are here, what do you want, Sakura?" Eriol asked her, finally looking up into at her face. She did not sit down next to him, but instead chose to keep standing. "Shouting in the forest like that... you probably woke up a family of sleeping rabbits or squirrels." Her eyes darted down to his hands and saw that they were still bandaged from the wounds he received in stopping Dtarna from her depth of despair. The cloth was wrapped around his palms, leaving his fingers to still freely move about. Her heart reached out to those wounds, yearning that she could heal them instantly. Instead of telling him so, she answered his comment.
"They'll get over it," she said, waving that topic off with those words of her. "Besides, it's good exercise and all, running at full speed and shouting at the top of my lungs. What more can I ask for? Cheerleading would never have been as productive as this."
He smirked. "So you plan on doing this again?"
"Until I've got what I wanted, yes."
"Poor squirrels."
"Eriol-"
"I'm leaving tomorrow. There's absolutely no reason for you to be here today. Whatever it is that you plan to do-"
"Quan." She heard him suck his breath in, averting his gaze away back towards the forest. "After that... incident during the night, I found myself wishing that I killed myself. But I needed to find Syaoran. I needed to get him back, I told myself. What happened between you and me... no. That meant nothing. That was just a night of temporary loss of common sense that I held-"
Those words sparked up a passion to his face. "Lost of common sense?!" Eriol shouted, sitting straight up as he glared at her. What was she doing? Why was she saying all this? Was this what she waited hours for?
She shrugged. "Whatever. Or lust, you know." She could feel his anger building up, his aura radiating with a slow change to a hue of red. "Then, the next night, it got even worse, what with the whole Name concept and all. To know the true Name of the person who you are fated to be with. That's what it is, right? Well, that's a whole lot of bullshit, too, isn't it? I still had Syaoran, so you and I couldn't get together. By the time we met up with Dtarna, I told myself that what happened between us for those past few days was nothing. Syaoran didn't need to know about it and I can pass by my whole life leaving that memory behind me. So today, I came here to break-"
Suddenly, Eriol shot straight up, his eyes with a blazing fury within them. "SHUT UP!" he shouted angrily. "What the hell are you doing, damn it! So you're back with him, what does it matter to me? Why did you come here to tell me that, when you know that it kills me to hear it, especially from you?!" He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a strong embrace. "Damn it... damn it! I never should have let you in," he said, his voice cracking. Eriol continued to whisper those words, never stopping as he held her tightly.
Finally, after he quieted down, as if nothing had happened, Sakura continued her words. "So today, I came here to..."
"Sakura!" Eriol shouted.
"...break ties with those thoughts, because I realized that I was in pushing the truth away from me."
Blinking in confusion, Eriol slowly pulled back to look at her with confusion.
Sakura continued to talk, a small smile now playing on her face. "That time, when you jumped in front of me to take the full attack, I found myself at a loss. Seeing you hurt like that reminded me of the incident in the desert and it tore my control apart. It distressed me so much that my hatred ignited my magic. After the battle, I wanted to go check up on you, but... if I did, then Syaoran would totally leave my mind. He would be gone without a second thought, and I could not do that to him. So instead, Tomoyo tended to you as I worried on the sidelines." She gave a dry laugh, reaching for one of his bandaged hands and holding it gently within her own. She closed her eyes, bringing them to her lips as she whispered softly in a pained tone, "I hated myself for getting you injured like that. It made me wish that you had never jumped in front of me."
"But I wanted to save you. I knew it was something that I needed to do."
"Either way, a part of me fell apart that day when you did... Then, about a week ago, Syaoran and I met up for date after the lack of seeing each other for over a month. By then, I already knew that the way I felt for Syaoran before the Shadow World incident was not as deep as it should have been. Hell, it probably barely qualified for deep at all. I wasn't the only one who saw it, either..."
"Sakura-"
"Syaoran saw it in me," she said, not allowing him to interrupt her. "He saw that I held your Name, and he knew that finally, we weren't going to be together anymore. I think that he, too, had found someone there when we were trying to get to him. But for him, he said he lost her, and he'll never be able to get her back. In a way, we were both idiots, because with the Name concept, we should have chosen what was in front of our eyes. Yet, because of the fear of hurting the other, and a fear of learning to care for someone new, Syaoran and I pushed away and tried to hold onto a love that just wasn't supposed to be anymore. We chose the safe choice, but it could only keep us safe for so long. So during that date, we discussed the whole thing, and Eriol... Syaoran and I broke it off on that same day."
His eyes gaped at her, and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally said something. "What..."
"I couldn't..." she whispered. "I couldn't try to hate you enough to go back to him. I couldn't hate you at all... You're the one I care for, Eriol. You're the one who I willingly bind my Name to. You..." I love YOU...
"But..."
"It's not that you are my second choice, Eriol. It's because we're linked together, you know? Syaoran and I... we've lost each other in this sense since the beginning of this adventure, so there is no reason for him and I to have intimate relations anymore. He's not the one, Eriol. He's-"
"Just shut up," the young wizard murmured as he pulled her close again with to a fierce embrace, then bringing the two of them down to their knees. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders tightly and clutched her with a need that he could not express in words. Sakura, for her part, returned those unspoken emotions. They whispered their Names to each other within their minds, their thoughts. And for as long as they could, the two of them held each other in that quiet sunset time, listening to the other's regulated breaths.
"She told me... that it was only a matter of time," Eriol suddenly said.
Sakura pulled away a slight bit, only enough to see the side of his face. "What?"
"Kaho... she told me that it was only a matter of time for my predicament. You remember how I told you it seemed as if my wisdom was leaving me? Well... that is because that wisdom had never belonged to me in the first place. It belonged to a powerful magician named Clow Reed, and I am only Hiiragizawa Eriol, a teenage boy. This body, this mind, they were never meant to hold such memories and such a... mature mind. She finally told me that I'm just becoming a more... natural me."
"And she couldn't tell you this before?" Sakura asked, scrunching up her nose in the annoyance she felt for Eriol at having to come all this way to discover the truth of something he could have gotten back in England. "Well, if she had told you before, then you probably would have never come here, huh?" she then realized, and smiled happily. "I'm grateful for that, at the very least."
"That's not true... I would've come anyway. You were in trouble and I wanted to help you, unlike that time with Void. This time, I had wanted to be there for you and watch over you in such a way. I..."
Sakura peered into his eyes with a resolution in her expression when a question popped into her mind. "What happens now that-"
"I'm staying. I'll get the papers taken care of right away and move straight back."
They think alike.
"But that's only after you-" he began.
"I'll always be by your side."
They had already resolved to never let this bond be destroyed.
"What if-"
"We always have lifetimes ahead of us, Sakura."
They see the past for what it was. They see the future for what it holds.
"What more can we ask-"
"Let's not; just allow it to unravel, Eriol."
He felt his lips move up into a smile. "Agreed. And I truly..." But he found himself stopping.
He didn't have to say what they both knew, what they both should have understood in the beginning. This link between them that had been created in the Shadow World and survived through the struggles the two had to go through now grew stronger. What HE knew, he should have fought for to the end, never showing he would have conceded at any time. What SHE knew, she should have just listened to and never ignored it, not for anybody else who she was afraid to hurt. Instead, the two did the opposite and had to wait until now to gain what they could have ever since they realized it in the Shadow World.
They held each other, sitting underneath the tree in front of the house. Such care for one another was a new feeling that could be explored even more later on. What they need now was calm and tranquility as they were together. After the adventures, after the hurt, the pain, the separation, the denial, and the final realization, serene stillness was a wonderful thing to have.
What more do they need to ask for? This is what they have always wanted, what most people search for, yet can never find in their lifetime.
"Eriol?"
He looked down at her in his arms.
These... are the Names which hold together.
She closed her eyes and nuzzled his neck. He bent down to kiss her forehead affectionately.
The Names that bind.
=*~*End*~*=
It's over! Oh, man... what fun I had writing this. ^^ The ending was calm. I tend to do that a lot because after torturing characters, it's best to let things gradually cease. I thank everybody who sticked with this fic for so long. It's been about a year and I'm pretty sure there's been a gradual change in my writing, too. Those who support E/S, you've always made my day. ^_____^ Those who reviewed, I read each and every single one of them. If you suggested something to me, I have always taken it into consideration. Those who flamed (which there were barely any, to my surprise. I guess people just didn't feel they should've wasted their time flaming my fic, hehe) were laughed at. Those who kept saying they adored my fic... T_T I love you guys! I'll be continuing Lonely Souls now. I hate that title. *cringes* I was rushing to put up chapter one, so I rushed into an idea for a title. Bleck! Anyway, go check that fic out, please?
Anyway, thank you all for reading and reviewing! (I know I can't stop saying that, but this E/S fandom is so miniscule, so any reader makes me happy. Hehe. Though it's the longtime ones that really make me ecstatic! =D) It's great contentment for me for finishing this story and a bit sad, too, for not having to prioritize it anymore. I LOVED writing this! Oh, well... Eriol/Sakura FOREVER!