Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The True Enchantment ❯ Visits ( Chapter 5 )

The True Enchantment

A CCS fic

By: nikki hiiragizawa <nikki_hiiragizawa@rurouni.com>

Genre: angst/romance/supernatural

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Guess what? I received CCS for Christmas! Nah……it's still not mine….no need to rub it, okay.

Nikki: Another E/T fic, heheh. This is not a Christmas fic, although, it has a Christmas setting in it. Although there's too many CCS fics around, I hope you had time to read mine. Arigatou gozaimasu. Please read and review.

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Chapter 5: Visits

Somewhere at Seijyo High….

"The Day of Judgment has come," Nikki announced. Tomoyo was there, holding her wand. "We must judge you according to your performance today." The red-haired girl signaled to the others, who nodded and arranged their altar. Their altar was in an abandoned room near the back of the school, its eerie atmosphere quite suitable for the ritual.

Tomoyo looked around, digesting everything she could see. A six-pointed star was drawn on the ground, and a single cauldron was on the altar. Two candles illuminated the scene, and all three members held a staff, somewhat like the one Eriol always carries. Behind each of them is a bowl of fire. It's very quiet and the atmosphere was dark. Tomoyo shivered.

"Neophyte, come forward," Keiko said. Tomoyo nervously stepped forward. "Read this aloud and wave your wand, just like what you have learned from your readings."

Tomoyo read the characters on the piece of paper while the three surrounded her. "Now, we want your full concentration, Tomoyo-san," Sayaka calmly said. "We are going to let our power out and then when we say alright, read the incantation aloud." Tomoyo nodded in understanding and the ritual started.

~*~

"Really, Sakura. I think you are hallucinating," Syaoran said as he felt Sakura's forehead to check if she has fever. Sakura shook him off.

"No really! I saw Tomoyo-chan do the wind thing with my own eyes." Syaoran gaped at her determination. It wasn't like Sakura to push through things she wasn't sure of.

"I guess we better go ask your friend then." They started to search for Tomoyo.

~*~

Tomoyo shivered uncontrollably as the three girls lit up the four bowl at each corner of the altar. Sayaka came up, bringing her blue staff with designs that looks like waves, and raising it high in the air she chanted.

River and Oceans

Seas and Springs

Swords of Ice

Come here as I bid thee

Give me the power

Give me the strength

I, the Pillar of Water

Call the dragon at rest.

The bowl of fire behind her swirled and blazed into a large pillar. Tomoyo became a bit scared. The fire, suddenly became blue as water and turned into a dragon-like form , before hardening to ice.

Keiko quickly raised up her red staff with intricate patterns of suns and chanted as Sayaka lowered hers.

Blazing glory

Fires of rage

Swords of flames

Come here to this mage

Give me the power

Give me the strength

I, the Pillar of Fire

Call the phoenix at rest

Like, Sayaka's, Keiko's bowl of fire blazed, but this time, it did not turn to ice. Instead, it turned magnificently into a burning frenzy, illuminating the whole room. The wings of the Phoenix burst out and it suddenly became as calm as a crackling fireplace.

Nikki brought out her staff of yellow with patterns of vines twining all around it and chanted softly, closing her eyes now and then.

Patient Wood

Undying earth

Swords of the vines

Come here and be merged

Give me the power

Give me the strength

I, the Pillar of the Earth

Call the wolf at rest

Nikki's fire turned bright amber, almost blinding Tomoyo. Smaller green fires shot up and entwined themselves on the yellow pillar. After a while, they became calm and disentangled themselves, revealing a wolf - like form perched on the bowl.

Sayaka whispered. "Alright." Tomoyo brought out her green wand, shaking, and slowly chanted her piece.

Whirling winds

Rampaging clouds

Swords of storms

Come here and be found

Give me the power

Give me the strength

I, the Pillar of Wind

Call the griffin at rest.

Tomoyo jumped as she heard the fire behind her whistle and blaze. She turned around to see the inferno turn green and form an eagle with a lion's body. It made a shrilling sound, and Tomoyo drew back, making a giggle erupt from the three girls.

Keiko surprisingly spoke. "We found you."

Sayaka beamed at her. "Yare yare, looks like we have a new sis."

"Now, let's finish this initiation," Nikki interrupted. She raised her wand once more. The words she muttered this time were difficult to understand. Tomoyo strained to her the words but she could not. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. She looked at her new friends, who were staring at her.

"Are you, OK?" Keiko asked, her voice somewhat mocking.

"Ohh, look! She's falling asleep." Sayaka looked at her with apparent curiosity.

"Let's finish this," Nikki smiled.. Those were the last words Tomoyo heard as she blacked out.

~*~

Eriol looked at Kaho and smiled. He finally urged Kaho to go out and go bar-hopping. But still, the red-eyed woman was quiet all the while.

"Is something wrong, Kaho?" he asked uneasily. He reached out for her hand but she moved her pale hand away.

"Maybe I should ask you that question?" Kaho coldly answered.

"What did I do?" Eriol asked, his sapphire eyes probing Kaho's face.

Kaho thought for a while and decided to tell him. "Tell me, why did you come here?" she asked.

Eriol was taken aback. "Well, I came because you told me that you want to get married."

Kaho crossed her arms over her chest. "I did not say anything like that."

Eriol almost dropped his wineglass. He adjusted his glasses. "What did you say?"

Kaho sipped from her glass, eyes still not meeting Eriol's. "I did not call you, really. I was surprised when you appeared here so suddenly. It was alright anyway, but going out with me while you are thinking of somebody else is much too had for me to endure."

It hit Eriol home. "Kaho - I - I was thinking only of you….."

"Really Eriol, let's not play games anymore," Kaho huffily said. "You forgot my favorite gemstone and gave me Tomoyo's favorite one. We kiss, but you didn't seem to concentrate. We go out to dinner and you suddenly zoom out to oblivion and think of something else. You hurry home and call Japan and ask if Tomoyo's okay." She looked at Eriol. "Now tell me you think only of me."

"Amethysts - are - Tomoyo's favorite?" he repeated. "How did you know I call….."

"You are very easy to read." Kaho took off the ring from her finger. "I guess I cannot call this mine. Make up your mind Eriol. You could always go back to her."

"Kaho - I …."

"I cannot accept your love now," Kaho gently said. "You have to think about it first. Decide where your heart really belongs. Then come back if it is me. If you don't come back to me in three days, I will presume you found your love in - somebody else." With that, Mizuki Kaho left Hiiragizawa Eriol.

~*~

Eriol was having a very confusing dream. Before, his dreams contain only the red-haired girl he had always loved. But this time, he dreamt of a solitary plum tree in full bloom, with trees of magnolia surrounding it. Underneath it sat a longhaired girl. She was crying. As Eriol approached her, all he could see was her violet gaze. "Yubikiri!" she shouted at him. As she stood up to face him, he recognized who she was… Daidouji Tomoyo had invaded his dreams as well….

Eriol woke up, sweating. Even in his dreams, he sees Tomoyo. Were Nakuru's words so true? He thought of only one way to find out.

He knew he had sworn to forget this spell a long time ago, but he is going to use it one more time. After that, he swore himself he would never use this again. He cast himself a dream spell. This spell allows his true emotions to show through a dream, giving him a concrete sign of what he is really feeling. He made himself asleep again.

Eriol, the half - reincarnation of Clow, was conscious during his entire dream. In a distance, he could see Kaho's red hair and welcoming smile. Yet not far from her stood a shorter girl with long wavy hair and bright amethyst eyes.

"Who?" Eriol whispered. "Who between them, is the one I really should live with?"

Out of nowhere, a thing came flying towards him. "Is it a bird?" It came closer. "No, it's a plane. Wait a minute, is it…is it…" Eriol's eyes widened in surprise.

~*~

Daidouji Sonomi's sobs were inconsolable. Sakura and Syaoran stood abreast, watching Tomoyo's mom and her bodyguards.

"We're very sorry, Mrs. Daidouji," Sakura finally said. "We could not find Tomoyo anywhere." Sakura herself tried to hold back her tears. Tomoyo's mom doesn't need more flowing tears.

Sonomi dried her dark eyes with a handkerchief and straightened. "I guess I should call the police then." She turned to Sakura. "You should get some rest. I know both of you are very worried……"

"We'll be okay, Mrs. Daidouji," Syaoran said. He and Sakura left the Daidouji residence silently.

~*~

"This is life!" Sayaka exclaimed. They were currently in a bar downtown, called the Witching Hour. Keiko laughed as Nikki smiled at a guy who winked at her.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Keiko asked the Earth Pillar.

"Hmm….I prefer the bespectacled wizard to this guy," Nikki confessed.

Sayaka stopped drinking. "You mean Hiiragizawa?" She let out a giggle. "Honestly, I think the Chinese Li Syaoran is the best." She turned to Keiko. "What about you? Have you found out where that brother of the Clow Mistress studies?"

Keiko let out a huff and replied airily, "For your information, we are already going out." Sayaka's hands flew up to her mouth. "You are dating Kinomoto Touya?!"

"Now, now, Sayaka you don't have to be so excited," Nikki laughed, purple eyes glinting. "In Keiko's vocabulary, dating means going out with the guy whether he likes it or not."

"Well now that you mention it, he is very hard to urge," Keiko replied. "I had to make him do loads of work and then make his friend Yukito sleep so that we could get out together. But he seems to be out of town right now so I can't torture him" Giggles erupted from the trio.

"Well, that Hiiragizawa and Chinese boy are next," Nikki said as she ran her hand on her seatmate's hair. "Somebody will get them for us, right, Madison?"

Tomoyo nodded automatically. Her hair has been cut shoulder - length and her purple eyes covered with black contacts.

"Yeah, give us your friends who gave you trouble," Sayaka giggled.

"As you wish," Tomoyo absently said.

~*~

In London….

"Yue??" Yue smiled and bowed to his former master. "It's jolly great to see you again, Master Clow."

Eriol sat on his bed. This is not a dream. He was wide-awake and it was really Yue who's standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here? Is anything wrong? Where did you learn to use those terms like jolly??"

"Really, Master Clow, living creatures need change." Yue stretched his wings and folded them. "Goodness, if I only knew you were sleeping in the 62nd floor, I should have brought rocket thrusters…"

Eriol gaped. "Yue, could you explain to me this very minute why you are here?"

Yue looked at him with a silvery glare. "Isn't it obvious? Mistress Sakura sent for you."

"And you flew here from Tomoeda?"

Yue laughed as he sat down on one of Eriol's armchairs. "By some miracle, Mistress had convinced Touya-san to a vacation with Yukito in London. I had such fun with him, poor guy."

To Eriol , this was still confusing. "Why did Sakura-chan send for me?"

Yue's jolly nature suddenly turned solemn. "It is about her friend Tomoyo-san."

Eriol's heart skipped a bit when he heard Tomoyo's name. "What about her?"

Yue clasped his hands together. "She's been missing for three days now. Spinel Sun, Ruby Moon, Keroberos, and I had been searching everywhere. We can't find her. Even Sakura cards can't do the work."

"Is that why she sent for me? She needed me to help through my magic?" Yue shook his head.

"No, Mistress thinks you have the strongest connection to Tomoyo-san at the moment, and your presence there might help us find her. Besides, don't you want to see Tomoyo-san?"

Eriol nodded thoughtfully. "I promised I'll take care of her, I failed. But, I'm getting married…"

"To hell with Kaho!" Yue suddenly exclaimed.

"I beg your pardon?"

The silvery-haired guardian merely sighed. "Getting too close to the flying stuffed animal makes me use his language." He turned to Eriol. "I said, you can't marry Kaho."

"Why can't I?" Eriol stood up. "I love her."

"Wanna bet?" Yue smugly smiled. "Do you still dream about her? Long for her? Shiver with excitement whenever you see her or even hear her name? I'd bet no."

Yes, you are right, Eriol told his thoughts. "But…"

"Ah, you're still the same, Master Clow, still hard-headed."

"What do you mean?"

Yue seemed to be losing his patience. "You know we guardians know how you feel or think. Don't you get it? If you don't think about Kaho anymore, or even dream about her…then most possibly you love somebody else!"

"But she was still in my dreams!" Eriol insisted. "I made this spell to give me a sign… to make me realize the true feelings, but the sign did not come…"

His winged creation edged nearer to him. "That is because my beautiful form came to your window. Think about it, Master. I am your sign. And I came here to tell you Tomoyo-san is your destiny."

Eriol simply stared, unable to speak.

"You think about Tomoyo-san. You jump even at the mere mention of her name. You think of her even when you are with Kaho. Aren't those enough evidences that you are in love with Daidouji - san?"

When did my creations learn how to argue with their masters?? Eriol thought. But, he must admit that Yue was perfectly right. He had realized (at last) his true feelings that had been unnoticed. He loved Tomoyo, he just couldn't let his feelings for Kaho be swayed. He'd been blind. And now that Tomoyo's missing, it had been his fault.

"Thank you, Yue. I must not let go Tomoyo go. We must board the next plane to Japan before it's too late. I got to obtain tickets…" Yue held up a ticket. "How did you get that?"

Yue stifled a laugh. "Well, it's nothing. Besides, I want to spend more time with Touya here. Looks like he can't get home that soon."

Eriol chuckled. "You inherited my torturing abilities. But, I must talk to Kaho…" He picked up the phone and dialed, waited, as Yue amusedly watched.