Chapter 2 Hide and Seek

"More letters?"asked Tomoyo as she saw the letter she wrote last night fall from Eriol's textbook.

He smiled."Yeah."He excitedly opened the letter and skimmed it contents.

"So what did she say this time?"she asked,her voice bored.

He handed her the paper.

At the lonely bosom of longing

I lay

Blanketed with the truth that you will never be mine

I lay,and I laid

The lullaby of your voice woke me up and made me look at you

but you are not looking at me

So I lay and I laid

Blanketed with the truth that you will never be mine

At the lonely bosom of longing

I lay


"She's a mental case!"exclaimed Tomoyo.

He again ignored her."It's entitled 'Maru'."

She rolled her eyes."Uh-huh."

Eriol bit the chocolate placed beside the letter."Daidouji-san,why do i have a feeling that you're jealous?"

Tomoyo choked exaggeratedly."Me?I have no reason to do so!"If only Eriol knew!

He shrugged."Daidouji-san,I have this feeling that Hermosa is just somewhere around me-"

Tomoyo choked for real.

"-and I just don't notice her."he finished.

"Actually,you shouldn't ponder on that so much.The answer is really 3 words only."said the girl cooly.

"Which is?"

"Men are dense."

"Daidouji-san,honestly,did you have a traumatic lovelife before?"he asked.

She laughed.

He offered her the chocolate but she politely declined.

"Daidouji-san,I know you might laugh at this but..whenever I read Hermosa's letter,well..I just find myself looking more and more forward to receiving one everyday.She may not be a Dickenson,but.."he balked when he saw Tomoyo looking at him blankly.He laughed,embarassed."I know I sound crazy,but that's the truth."

Tomoyo felt her face slowly heating up.Heavens,Eriol was falling for her practical joke hook,line and sinker too fast!"Um..I thought you don't like girls.."she stammered.

"Whoever said that?"asked the boy,frowning thoughtfully.

"W-Well,you seem so aloof to the girls in school.."

"I just don't like being the center of their attention,most especially of their affection."he explained.

"Eriol Hiragizawa,the paragon of humilty."said Tomoyo sarcastically.

"But that doesn't mean I don't like girls.I like you,Daidouji-san,and you're a girl,are you not?"he continued.

"Er,y-yes."

"I like Sakura too,and Kaho,and Nakuru.."He laughed when he saw the corner of her mouth twitch."Nakuru claims she's a girl!Who are we to question her?"

"You're right."She looked away."Thank you for telling me that,Hiragizawa-kun."

"Daidouji-san,I hope you won't mind if I ask you to call me by my first name.Whenever I hear you call me that,I feel much much older than you."

Her eyebrow raised."Technically you are."

Eriol nodded."Well?"

"Ok,but you must call me Tomoyo too from now on."she told him.

His smile grew."Sure thing,Tomoyo."

"Thanks,Eriol."She began to walk away.

"And uh,Tomoyo?"

She turned around."Hmm?"

"About what I said awhile ago..I meant every word I told you."he said softly.

Her heart skipped a beat,but she ignored it."I know."she said lightly.



That rainy afternoon,Tomoyo,covered with a red raincoat,looked around the empty Hiragizawa frontyard to make sure no one's watching her.She then slowly slipped her cream envelope into the mailbox.When she peered inside the box,she was surprised to see a bouquet of blood-red roses and a peach envelope with the name 'Hermosa' written in blue gothic.

"For me?"said Tomoyo incredulously.She took the flowers into her arms and took in their fragrance.She smiled.No doubt about it:Eriol can make any woman in the world fall in love with im if he only wants to.



Eriol was shivering wet but he didn't feel it.Hidden behind the bush,he was spying on Hermosa.Too bad it rained,for her raincoat covered her face.

Thanks to a little mindwork,he noticed a pattern on how Hermosa manages to slip in her letters in various places without him knowing it.It seemed that Hermosa knew his schedule very well,for she timed his visits when he's supposed to be doing something else.Like right now,he should be in the kitchen cooking food to feed his hungry housemates,but he really wanted to know who Hermosa was.He could already see how Nakuru would react when she finds no food on the table,but he would deal with her wrath later.LA-TER.

A slow grin spread across his face when he saw Hermosa smell the flowers and hug them.He felt like raising his fists up in the air and screaming 'Success!'.

Suddenly she stood up with the gifts and began to walk away.Panicked,Eriol stepped out of the bush."Hermosa,wait!"



Tomoyo was about to go home when she heard someone call from behind.

"Hermosa,wait!"

She gulped.She looked behind her shoulder and saw Eriol running towards her."I'm caught!"she whispered.She quickly ran away,ignoring the slippery road.She must get away from here FAST!

"Does he know it's me?"she asked herself.

"Hermosa,I just want to talk to you!Wait up!"The boy called out again.

"In your dreams!"her mind shouted back.She ran even faster.Suddenly she saw a small woman's store beside the road."Yes!"she ran inside.



"Hermosa!!!"Eriol shouted,throwing the store's door open.

The salesladies and customers,mostly women,looked at him as if he was an ax murder."Uh,did any of you happen to see someone wearing a red raincoat enter this place?"he asked slowly.

"No one dared to speak,but their eyes were wide with fright.

"H-Hey,I won't hurt you.I'm harmless!"He held his hand up in surrender."I'm just looking for someone.."

"What are you doing,Eriol?Robbing a lingerie store?"asked a familiar voice from the corner.

"T-Tomoyo!"Eriol,grateful that he found an ally,quickly went to her."D-Did you see a girl dressed in red coat come in here?"

"Yeah,as a matter of fact,she was holding a basket and she told me she was being chased by a wolf that pretended to be her dear grandma."said Tomoyo.

"No,no!"Eriol held her hands tightly and twirled her around."Tomoyo,Tomoyo!I found her!I saw Hermosa awhile ago!I gave her a gift and she loved it!Tomoyo,I'm so happy!"he said happily.

"Good for you,but Eriol,you really shouldn't be here."Tomoyo gestured to the sign."It's a store that sells Women's undegarments,you know."

He sweatdropped,face burning."I-I'm sorry.I'm on my way out.But are you positive that she didn't come here?I swear I saw her enter this place."said Eriol insistently.

"Who knows!Maybe the wolf caught her and ate her up after all."muttered Tomoyo.

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