Shining Stars, Moon Dusts, and Magic

CHAPTER 3: Moon

"Well then, let me prove it to you, Daidouji-san."

******

White.

The ceiling in her bedroom was white and unchanging. Nevertheless, it seemed entertaining enough, given that she was staring at it for over an hour and a half. It was empty. So was she.

Ignore and forget.

Those things – she buried them forcefully into the depths of her memory, into the hollowed forgotten space in her heart. It was way better than to deal with it.

'You're a coward, Daidouji-san...' she could hear him say in her head. Coward – yes, she was.

******

She was always early. She had to. She was responsible enough to come early and start and fix things like what a proper Vice would do.

A sound of metal echoed through the empty corridor as Tomoyo opened her shoe locker. Shoes in her hand, she was ready to drop them and leave when she sighted a yellow and square note, taped on the metal flap of her locker.

Written in roman letters, it said: 'Love is a funny thing.'

'Love letter? Another suitor?' She wondered. Didn't her announcement of not taking any suitor (with applied Daidouji threat) enough to make everyone run off and just leave her and her love life alone? 'Oh, this one's crazy...' She rolled her eyes and roughly pulled the note. With precision, she tore it apart, crumpled and threw it gracefully into the nearby trash bin.

******

Tomoyo opened the door to the student council. There, at his desk, was Hiiragizawa. He was earlier than usual. "Your early," she greeted.

He peered from the paper he was reading. "I am always early. You are just earlier." He paused and released a tiny smile, "I beat you this time."

Tomoyo quirked an eyebrow and settled her bag on her desk, "Oh, is this competition I am hearing?"

He shrugged, "Depends on you." He smiled again; this time, wider. This reminded her of that one afternoon and recalled the contact of his lips on her forehead –

Ignore and forget.

He waited.

Tomoyo remained silent. She turned to the papers on her desk. Music Festival. Damn Tomoeda and its festivities! She sighed and sat on the chair. She stretched out her fingers and started to work on the waiting computer.

Suddenly, Hiiragizawa spoke, "Someone left you a rose."

Quite not getting, Tomoyo turned her head back to him. "What?"

Hiiragizawa just shrugged and pointed something on her desk. She followed the direction and there finally noticed a single rose beside her piled assignment.

Rose. A suitor. Again. She frowned.

"What's wrong?" There came the flat tone of Hiiragizawa.

"Did you see who dropped this here?"

"No."

Her frown deepened. "So, someone was earlier..." She ignored the rose and turned to her monitor once again. "...earlier than you. There, you have competition, Hiiragizawa-kun." She unconsciously added, and had seemly ignored the other possible meaning of her statement that one, outside the two, might take rather than her actual intention.

"It seems so..." Hiiragizawa's tone sounded displeased.

"You should add locks to this room," Tomoyo added as an afterthought.