Chapter 15
Sunday 7:00am Tokyo time
"If only Eriol had looked for the Return Card after he arrived in Japan! It was only a few miles from my mothers house where he came. All that effort, and torment could have been avoided!" It was so frustrating it hurt. Then as she thought some more she realized that it was quite possible that Return hadn't arrived in Japan yet when Eriol was there. "But it's all in the past and doesn't matter anymore. And anyway I will be going back and switching reality to another Timeline so none of this will have happened. And -that- is so strange I can't even imagine it right now. What I need is a bath and a good long sleep...and then some food. Or maybe the food first..."
As she approached her house her tired mind wasn't at all concerned about being seen, so she wound up landing in the back yard in full view of her mother and a maid who were on the terrace. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter. All this is going to be erased anyway." she tiredly thought to herself as she came in for as gentle a landing as she could. She settled to the ground on her hands and knees and then just flopped down on the nice soft grass. After resting for another moment, she remembered to put her wings away and ask the Cards go back to card form. After that she just laid there until she was disturbed by a familiar female voice.
"Are you hurt?"
Tomoyo smiled before she turned her face towards her chief body guard and replied. "No, Aoi. I'm just really really tired."
"Tomoyo-sama! Your mother has been doing everything humanly possible to find you!"
"I'm very sorry, but it was an emergency. I tried to explained that when I called her from Taiwan."
"You went to Taiwan?" Tomoyo just nodded as Aoi helped her up and half carried her to the door where Sonomi was waiting.
"TOMOYO!" she cried out as she rushed to meet her. "Are you injured? What happened? Where have you been?"
"I'm not injured, well, my chin is burned a bit but mainly I am really tired. I'll explain the rest up in my room, please?" Sonomi nodded, looked at her daughters blistered chin, then took Tomoyo's other arm and between the two of them they got the exhausted girl up to her room where Aoi was dismissed.
As soon as the door shut Sonomi took one sniff and started undressing her daughter. "Oh my... You smell!" Tomoyo gave a tired little chuckle before speaking.
"Well, I've been living in these leather clothes for... I don't know...three days?" her tired mind guessed.
"Why? Where were you that you couldn't bath and change?"
"I went to Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong? But it's all destroyed!"
"Yes it is, but I had to go to stop further destruction and then... It is a long story Mom; long and real hard to believe."
"Stop further destruction? Well save it for after you take a shower at least."
"What a wonderful idea. Now if I can just stand by myself. Nope. But maybe if I draw some Earth energy and direct it to my legs... Yes! Now into the shower." She adjusted the water nice and hot, then got in and felt a searing pain. "Right, don't put hot water on a burn. I knew that. Now to carefully wash without hot water on the chin anymore."
When she got out, Sonomi was waiting with several towels, and some burn cream. "It is -so- wonderful to have her back again and not be tormented by all my imaginings of her being killed and worse." Sonomi thought to her self as she helped dry her very tired daughter.
"Now if I can please call the cook before I start?" Tomoyo said as she slipped into a robe. "It seems like a day or so since I ate last."
"Of course!" Sonomi was happy to comply and once her daughter had finished her phone call and she had applied the burn cream, Tomoyo started her story.