"At last,we made it!"cried Chiharu,jumping down from
the bus.
Sakura and the others followed."Thank heavens we
finally made it!My feet are starting to fall
asleep!"exclaimed 10-year-old Sakura Kinomoto.
"Then you have to walk to keep the blood circulating
in your veins.Come on,let's take a walk."invited Eriol
Hiiragizawa,taking her by hand.
"You take your hands off her,Hiiragizawa!"shouted Li
Syaoran angrily.
"Now guys we came here to relax and unwind"Tomoyo
Daidouji gently reminded them.
The class is spending the day in a newly-opened
mini-park for their field trip.
"I will if he lets go of her."said Li,crossing his
arms over his chest.
Eriol smiled."Sakura doesn't have a boyfriend yet so
I don't see what's wrong if she takes a friendly walk
with a friend."
Syaoran reddened.He turned away from them."Friends
don't hold hands like that!"Realizing what he just
said meant,he shook his head."Fine!Do whatever you
want!"
"Hey everyone!It's time for the games!"Rika told the
gang.
"Alright!I'll surely be the over-all winner!"cheered
Sakura.
"In your dreams,Kinomoto!"jeered Li.
Tomoyo turned to the blue-haired boy."Won't you join
us?"
He shook his head."I would like to explore the place
now."
"Ok don't get yourself lost then."she joked.
"Don't worry,Tomoyo!He's a big boy already.He can
take care of himself.He can survive without us."said
Syaoran.
Tomoyo took out her video camera and followed her
classmates."Bye!"
He waved then turned his back.He still has a lot of
things to do.
An hour later..
"Whoa!It's a tie between Sakura and Syaoran!"the
teacher announced.
"Congratulations you guys!You are the fastest sack
racers I've ever seen!"gushed Tomoyo.
"Thanks.The winner should have been only me if I
didn't feel sorry for Sakura and let her catch up with
me."said the boy before taking a big swig of mineral
water.
"Is that so?I think the heat of the sun is doing
some mental hazard in your brain.You're starting to
hallucinate."countered the girl.
"You guys still have the energy to fight after four
consecutive games?You're really something!"an amused
Tomoyo commented.
Both stomachs grumbled.
"All those games made me hungry."He mumbled.
"Last one to the picnic table is a jackal!"yelled
Sakura before dashing.
"Hey!You had a headstart!"
"Stop complaining and just try to outrun me!"
Tomoyo chuckled while watching her two friends
race."Ain't love grand?"She was about to follow her
friends when she remembered Eriol.
"Now where could he be?It's almost time for snacks
and yet he's nowhere in sight.He said he'll just take
a walk."She thought,strolling in the direction of the
woods.
Eriol felt the presence of another being.He quickly
stood up and plastered a smile on his face.
"Eriol!Oh there you are!It's time for snacks."said
Tomoyo cheerfully
"B-But I,uh.."Eriol stopped in mid-sentence.He has
no idea what to say.
"I understand.I can share my packed food with
you."she assured him,thinking he was shy to admit that
he forgot his snack.
He sighed."I'll continue this later."he said to
himself before following her to the eating grounds.
"Sakura,why are you sharing your snack with
Syaoran?"Tomoyo asked,surprised.
"You got it all wrong!I'm the one sharing my food
with her."Li corrected her.
"In case you forgot,my snack is in your lunch
box."reminded Sakura.
Her friend slapped her forehead."I'm really
sorry.It slipped my mind.Would you like to have it
now?"
She shrugged her shoulder."I will get it later."
"Is Syaoran's cooking bad?"asked Eriol.
"I guess he can cook something edible by human
standards."Sakura grudgingly admitted.
Li looked up."Gee thanks."he said,rolling his eyes.
"Here,Eriol."Tomoyo handed him a bowl of
rice,chopsticks and a plate filled with variety of
food.
He hesitated before taking the bowl and eating.He
suddenly felt strangely warm and happy.
"What's the matter?Don't you like my cooking?"asked
the long-haired lass worriedly.
He vehemently shook his head."It's not that.The food
is very delicious but.."This is wrong!He is not
supposed to be affected by human nature like
kindness!But here he is,wolfing down the food as if it
was his last meal and feeling good about it.
Just because of a bowl of food,his wall around his
heart is breaking down!"I musn't..It's wrong."his mind
screamed.
He stood up and handed her an empty bowl."Thank you
very much."He turned to walk away again.
"He's one weird guy."remarked Li.
Tomoyo's forehead creased with worry.
Concentrating,Eriol used his power to awaken the
horse statue.Just as it was about to come alive,he
heard footsteps going his way.He panicked.What if
somebody saw him use his powers?All his plans will be
ruined!
Out of the bushes came Tomoyo."Oh,hi there-"
Eriol gripped her arm tightly."Did you see it?"
"W-What?"
He held her tighter."Tell me the truth.Did you see
it?"
"You're..hurting me.."she whispered softly.
He instantly let go of her."Did you see it?"He asked
for the third time,but his voice is more gentle.
"What are you talking about?Are you.."she
blushed,"..using the bathroom when I arrived?"
Eriol let out a sigh of relief.His secret is safe
for now.He glanced at where he grasped Tomoyo awhile
ago.It was slightly swollen.
He impulsively touched it tenderly."I'm sorry about
awhile ago."
"It's my fault.I shouldn't have followed you."she
replied,her face flushed.
He smiled fondly at her."Why did you follow me
anyway?"
"I..I thought you were poisoned by my cooking and
you ran off to find a place to throw up."explained
Tomoyo,not looking at him.
He laughed.It's really hard not to like this girl!
"So,um since you're ok,I think I can go back to my
friends again-"She barely finished her sentence when
she heard Sakura calling out to her.She bade goodbye
then disappeared.
After she left,his face became seriou again."Now
horse,attack Sakura!"
"Oh come on,give me a break,will you,Tomoyo?It's
field day!"whined Li,looking disdainfully at the
matching chinese costume Tomoyo made for him and
Sakura.The latter wore hers,but the former is
pig-headed.
"Don't be a killjoy!C'mon!This is for my video
collection,'The Cardcaptors on a Field Trip!"said the
dark-haired girl.
"Can't you just tape her alone?"Li asked.
"No!I'll tape you guys together."replied Tomoyo
firmly.
"Aw,alright!Let's get this over with."he slipped on
the costume reluctantly.
"Now guys,smile!"she ordered.
Suddenly a horse galloped towards them.
"T-This can't be!That's the horse statue we saw at
the park's entrance awhile ago!"exclaimed Sakura.
"Then how come it's moving?"asked Li while avoiding
the horse.
Tomoyo got into position to tape everything."This is
so cool!Just as I thought,this video will be one of
the best in my collection!"
Sakura got ready to summon her cards but the horse
attacked her.She quickly jumped out of the way."It's
too fast!"
Syaoran used his wind power but the horse was able
to avoid it.
Meanwhile hidden from sight is Eriol,watching the
battle.Smirking,he lifted a finger towards Sakura.
The horse went full speed,targetting Sakura.The girl
ran away as fast as she could."Help!"
Syaoran positioned himself behind the horse and used
his thunder power,but it only managed to hit the hind
legs of the statue animal.
It wailed in pain and galloped frenziedly to where
Tomoyo is.Eriol saw this and tried to stop the rampage
of the beast to no avail.
"Tomoyo!"cried Li and Sakura at the same time.
The girl braced herself for the pain,but felt only a
slight weight on top of her.she opened her eyes and
saw Eriol's face in pain.He was crouching on all fours
over her,his back being kicked by the stone statue!
"Tomoyo!Eriol!"shouted Sakura.
"I'll try to do something."said Syaoran,running
towards the crazed horse.
On the other hand,eriol is debating whether to use
his magic to stop his creature or to keep his secret
safe by ignoring the pain on his back.He adopted the
second option.
Another mighty kick!Eriol stooped even lower,his
face just inches from Tomoyo's.His knees are
trembling,but when he remembered Tomoyo's kindness
awhile ago,he decided to protect her from harm till
the last ounce of his energy.
But apparently,his body has limitations.His knees
went weak,and he fell down exhausted,yet he is very
aware of his lips kissing the sweetest and softest
thing in the world.
"This is not right,but it's ok."he thought.
He suddenly heard the beast neigh and felt a
tremendous weight on his back disappear.He
automatically fell to his side,panting.
"Eriol,are you alright?"Sakura asked worriedly.
"Kinomoto,do you think a person can feel alright
after his back was kicked by a stone statue 30 seconds
ago?"asked Li sarcastically.He was the one who
destroyed the statue.
"Shall we take him to the hospital then?"she
asked,ignoring his sarcasm.
Eriol stood up,touching his back."No need.I'll be
fine."He then remembered what happened between him and
Tomoyo awhile ago.He turned to her at exactly the same
time she glanced at him.They averted their eyes
quickly.
Fortunately,Sakura and Li are oblivious."How did you
arrive here just in time to save tomoyo?"asked the boy
suddenly,his voice suspicious.
"I..I don't know.I just saw her in trouble and I
tried to rescue her,that's all."Eriol said in reply.
Syaoran still looked skeptical,but he shrugged.
"Good,everyone's happy.Let's all head back to the
main grounds before our teacher sends out a search
party for us."said Sakura.She turned to her best
friend,but Tomoyo motioned her to go ahead of them.She
nodded and dragged Li away.
After they left,Tomoyo turned to her savior."Thank
you very much!"
He smiled then cleared his throat."A-about what
happened a-awhile ago.."
She looked down."The kiss?"
"Er,yes I mean no!I uh,well-"Eriol caught
himself.For the first time in his life,he was
stammering!
"It's ok,I'm not mad."she assured him in an even
voice,but her face was crimson red.
For a few moments,no one spoke.Then all of a
sudden,Tomoyo looked up."Take off your shirt."
Though puzzled,Eriol did as was told.
She pulled out a bottle of painkiller from her purse
and began massaging his back.
Fascinated by the delightful sensation her massage
is bringing,he asked her what she is doing.
"This is my way of showing my gratefulness."she
replied,beaming.
They were unaware that Tomoyo's video camera is
still on,focused at them and is catching every moment!
the end