If you haven't read Tomoyo's World Part 1, it would be a good idea to do so as it explains how and why Tomoyo gets magic and who Kutong was.
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Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story, with the exception of Kutong, belong to me, they belong to CLAMP. I am just borrowing them for a bit.
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Tomoyo's World - Part 2 - Bitter Turns To Sweet
Chapter 0
Sakura stayed close to Tomoyo and would not let her get up at all that evening. But there were a parade of visitors. Ieran, of course and her daughters, but also many of the others who had been in Ieran's fighting team. They all told her how grateful they were and then asked her questions about her Earth Magic and just how she had brought Syaoran back. She quickly realized that giving out information freely may not be a good idea as it may spread and reach those who would harm Sakura and herself so she said as little as she could.
Tomoyo was surprised to feel sleepy not long after 10pm and in a little while she dozed off. Once Sakura was satisfied that Tomoyo wouldn't soon wake up, she retired to her own room next door.
Tuesday July 25, 7:34am Hong Kong time.
When Tomoyo opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Sakura. "You haven't been there all night have you?" she exclaimed.
"No." Sakura laughed. I went to my room next door and fell asleep not long after you did. I just woke up early and came in to see how you were doing."
"It's rather unusual for her to be up by herself this early. Maybe it was all the excitement yesterday..." Tomoyo wondered.
As they waited for their breakfast Sakura suddenly remembered something. "Your mom called yesterday and I forgot to tell you!"
"That's okay, I was really tired of talking, what with all the visitors I had trying to politely squeeze information out of me. I thought about calling Mom but decided that if she really needed to talk to me, she would call me and she didn't. I guess I'll call her now. "
After just punching a couple of buttons on her little cell she was almost magically connected to her mom's private number at her office. "Hi Mom!" Tomoyo said happily.
"Tomoyo! Did Sakura remember to remind you to call me last night?" Sonomi asked with a smile.
"Of course she did. I just forgot." Tomoyo lied smoothly.
"That's okay." Sonomi replied not believing a word of it. "So how are things between you two?" Sonomi probed hopefully.
"Fine. Same as always." Tomoyo deflated her.
"Oh." She gave a sigh and continued. "So what were you doing that tired you out so much you were sleeping at five last night?"
"Well I spend a lot of time sightseeing in a helicopter with Ieran, then I met a lot of new people and we talked. I'll tell you everything when I get home, okay?" It was obvious to Sonomi that her daughter was evading her questions so she ended the conversation with some small talk. She was confident that Tomoyo would tell her everything when the time was right. She trusted her daughter to have a good reason for not discussing things over the phone.
Later when Ieran asked if it would be acceptable if she had a special dinner for her and Tomoyo that night, Sakura remembered something. "I have tickets for Japan at four this afternoon, and my dad said that I have to be on that plane because my tickets can't be changed."
"Please do not worry about tickets. The Li family will be honored to provide first class seats back to Tokyo any time you wish. Perhaps you could see if it would be acceptable to your father for you to stay an extra day or so?" Sakura felt embarrassed, but was smart enough not to protest.
"Okay. I'll call him and my brother and let them know that I won't be flying home today. I don't think they will mind a day delay as long as I have time to finish my summer break homework."
Sakura did call, left a message on her Dad's voice mail and told her brother that they would be staying longer and that she would let him know when her new flight would arrive.
"But I thought you had a special fare that couldn't be changed?" he asked.
"I did, but the Li family wants me to attend a special dinner tonight and they said they would provide tickets for me to fly later on."
"Why ever would they want a monster to have dinner with them?" he teased.
"I am not a monster." she responded automatically, then continued, "Tomoyo and I did a great service to the Li family and Hong Kong and I guess everybody else as well, so the dinner is especially for us. We are the guests of honor!" She finished proudly.
"But what kind of service could you have done to earn such a thing?" He honestly wanted to know. So Sakura gave him a very short explanation. "Wow! But how could you actually kill someone?!"
"He killed me first!" She snapped back.
"Uh...yeah, I guess. This time travel stuff is really confusing. But anyway I guess your Cards finally came in handy." Then an unpleasant thought came to him. "But once Yuki finds out about this," he continued sadly "I don't expect that Yui will let you go off on your own anymore. And that will stink!" He added with a sigh. "But on the other hand, you did save Yuki's life. So I guess it's okay... But could you not say anything to Yuki about all this stuff?"
"Sakura had to smile at the pleading tone in her bothers voice. I don't know if I should do any favors for someone who calls me a monster."
"Okay! Okay! As long as Yuki doesn't find out, I won't call you a monster."
"Deal!" Sakura grinned.
Not long after she talked with her brother, her dad called back and they talked for over an hour. Sakura mostly listened happily as Fujitaka told her all about what they had found on their dig and how it fitted his theories. Sakura didn't really understand the fine points but she loved hearing her dad talking so happily. She in turn told her dad about the things she and Syaoran had done the previous week as well as how happy she was that Tomoyo had come for a visit. After she hung up she remembered that she hadn't told him about Syaoran asking her to marry him, but since she had said 'no' she decided it wasn't important.
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That evening Tomoyo was picked up at her room by two men with a wheel chair. She insisted that her ankle was much better, but gave in when Sakura pleaded with her. Until they got to the big staircase. "What are you planning to do?' she asked suspiciously.
"Carry Daidouji-sama down." one of the men said as they lifted her, chair and all, and started down.
"No!" she protested, but it didn't stop them at all. She was scared for a moment and then she laughed. "This shouldn't bother me after all the life and death things I've been through lately. And I -can- fly after all. I even jumped out of a helicopter for goodness sakes!" she remembered with some astonishment. "But this -still- feels scary..." she admitted to herself as she clung to the armrests.
Syaoran was the first to greet her at the dining room. "Welcome Daidouji-sama. I owe you my life will be eternally grateful for as long as we both shall live."
"Sounds like a speech someone wrote for him. And he looks more embarrassed than grateful. I wonder why?" No one had informed either Tomoyo or Sakura just how his death was the result of his adolescent overconfidence, and clumsiness. And Syaoran wanted to keep it that way. After a few more words assuring Tomoyo that he was fully recovered, the blushing boy disappeared into the crowd.
The dinner started with a speech by Ieran. "Daidouji-sama and Kinomoto-sama deserve a proper formal dinner with all branches of the family represented, but that would take time and cause more talk. Since we do not know just how far word of the Cards has spread, I think it would be wise to not attract anymore attention to their visit. However I still want to honor them as best we can.
Kinomoto-sama has done the world a great service by using her immense power to destroy the evil one, and for that I hold her in the highest regard.
But I must give even greater honor to Daidouji-sama, who even though new to Magic, showed immense courage and astonishing power in saving all of Hong Kong. And then if that wasn't enough, she brought my son back from the dead! But of far greater importance, she was responsible for saving the life of Kinomoto-sama and preventing her Cards from being used by the evil one. For these deeds the whole world owes these two humble teen aged girls eternal thanks! They have earned a place among the greatest Mages of all time. The Li family at least will never forget their debt."
Then Ieran turned to the guests of honor. "If either of you ever need any help or any material goods that we can provide, we will not hesitate to provide you with whatever we possibly can."