Behind the Clow Cards: Tomoyo Daidouji's Secret Filming Diary - The Loneliness of the Filming Room — Touya's Warning and the Black-Robed Declaration

The afternoon light was fading behind the heavy blackout curtains. Daidouji Tomoyo sat at her desk in the filming room. On the monitor, a recovery screen for corrupted video data was displayed. The data that had vanished right after she'd filmed Sakura's battle that day. The portion that had captured that small shadow—the one someone had deliberately erased. (I will get it back. No matter what.) Tomoyo tightened her grip on the mouse, just slightly. Her fingertips were trembling, just a little. Not from fear. This was determination. For Sakura's sake, she had to know the truth. The progress bar on the recovery software crept forward. The percentage ticked upward—sixty-seven, sixty-eight. Tomoyo watched the numbers intently. The glow of the screen reflected in her violet eyes. (What if it gets erased again?) The thought crossed her mind. Last time, the data had been corrupted immediately after filming. As if something were interfering with her attempts to record. But this time was different. She'd brought the data back to the filming room and was recovering it here. This room was perfectly soundproofed and light-proofed—hard for outside forces to interfere. Besides, the data had already been erased once. Surely the same trick wouldn't work twice— The recovery completed. Tomoyo immediately played the footage. She checked it frame by frame. Sakura swung the sealing wand. The card was enveloped in light. Cerberus let out a cheer. Ri Shaoran stood watching with his arms crossed. And then— "...Oh my." At the edge of the screen. Deep in the shadows of the trees. That small shadow was definitely there. About the size of a cat. Its outline was blurred, its shape indistinct. But its movements were captured more clearly than before. Tomoyo enlarged that section. The shadow was looking toward Sakura. No—not just looking. It was doing something else entirely. (What is this movement...?) Tomoyo tried overlaying the shadow's movements with Sakura's. When Sakura moved right, the shadow turned right. When Sakura raised her wand, the shadow tilted slightly upward. As if it were recording Sakura's every move, one by one— "...It's like a camera." The words slipped out before she could stop them. (This shadow is filming Sakura. Just like I do.) Something stirred deep in her chest. This wasn't hostility. It wasn't the kind of movement that drained Sakura's magical power. Rather, it was observing Sakura's very existence. Recording it. As if preserving footage to review later. (Who? For what purpose?) Tomoyo advanced the footage further. Then, at a certain moment, the shadow's movement changed. The shadow that had been following Sakura all along suddenly turned in a different direction. Not toward Sakura, not toward Cerberus, not toward Ri Shaoran. Toward something deeper in the frame—into the darkness of the deep woods. "...What's out there?" Tomoyo replayed that instant over and over. Where the shadow had turned. At the screen's resolution, she couldn't tell if there was anything there or not. But the shadow had definitely looked away from Sakura. That was proof that the shadow wasn't always watching only Sakura. (Maybe that shadow... is interested in something other than Sakura, too.) Tomoyo saved that footage as a separate file. Then she opened her desk drawer. Top tier, right corner. From a small drawstring pouch, she took out a half-used eraser. She cupped it gently in her palm. (My treasure. From Sakura.) The feel of the eraser always calmed Tomoyo's heart. That day in third grade, when Sakura transferred in. The smile that had reached out straight to her—someone with no special powers at all. "...I can't afford to lose." Still clutching the eraser, Tomoyo stood up. --- The next day, after school. Tomoyo visited the library at Tomoeda Elementary. The after-school library was quiet, and the afternoon light streaming through the windows softly illuminated the spines of the books on the shelves. The smell of books, and a faint hint of dust. Tomoyo loved this stillness. (Books about magic and folklore... where would they be?) Tomoyo walked slowly between the shelves. This school's library held about eight thousand volumes. Somewhere among them should be books about Tomoeda's history and old legends. "Oh, Daidouji-san. Looking for something?" It was Kobayashi-sensei, the school librarian. A gentle woman in her fifties who always wore a soft smile. Tomoyo gave a slight bow. "Kobayashi-sensei. I wanted to look into some old stories about Tomoeda." "My, that's unusual. A local history assignment?" "Yes, well, something like that." Tomoyo smiled vaguely. She couldn't tell the truth. That she was investigating a mysterious shadow appearing in footage of Sakura's battles—she couldn't possibly say that aloud. Kobayashi-sensei tilted her head thoughtfully, then pointed to a corner of the shelves. "Local history books are on that shelf over there. But, Daidouji-san—" Kobayashi-sensei lowered her voice. "This town has had a lot of strange stories since long ago. What's written in books might not be everything." Tomoyo's heart gave a sharp thump. "Strange stories, you say?" "Yes. For example, the story of the old storehouse at Tsukimine Shrine, or the tale of the child who got lost in Tomoeda Forest. None of them have clear records. But anyone who's lived in this town long enough has had one or two strange experiences." Kobayashi-sensei's words were vague, never quite hitting the core. But that was precisely what caught Tomoyo's attention. (This town has had something since long ago. But it doesn't get recorded.) Tomoyo thanked Kobayashi-sensei and headed toward the local history shelf. She pulled down several books and flipped through them. The history of Tomoeda, the origins of Tsukimine Shrine, the legends of Tomoeda Forest. None of them contained the information she was looking for. (Nothing decisive is written here.) Still, Tomoyo decided to borrow a few books. Perhaps if she took them home and read them carefully, she might find something. --- On the way home from school. Tomoyo walked up the hills of Tomoeda, clutching the borrowed books. Dusk was approaching, and the sky was beginning to stain orange. In this town of steep slopes, the setting sun always looked larger than elsewhere. (No luck today.) Tomoyo sighed inwardly. The books she'd borrowed from the library hadn't yielded anything decisive. Kobayashi-sensei's words had been vague, too. But they seemed to hint at something. (This town has had many strange stories since long ago.) She repeated the words in her mind. Was that shadow connected to something that had been in this town for ages? Or was it something that had only recently appeared? "Hey." A voice came from behind her, sudden and low, slightly irritable. Tomoyo turned to find Kinomoto Touya standing there. His black hair fell carelessly across his forehead, and his sharp dark eyes were fixed on her. He was tall—the kind of person whose mere presence seemed to tighten the air around him. "Oh, Touya-san. Hello." Tomoyo hid her fluster and greeted him in her usual ladylike tone. Touya was Sakura's older brother, a second-year in high school. Blunt and sharp-tongued, but kind underneath—Tomoyo knew that. But his eyes now were far sharper than usual. "You watch Sakura too much." He said it without preamble. "You know something." Tomoyo's heart jumped. (Touya-san... so you noticed after all.) Touya had strong spiritual senses and sharp intuition. He'd long since realized that Sakura was a Cardcaptor. Someone like that couldn't possibly miss that something was off with Tomoyo. "Recording Sakura's gallant figure is my hobby. What could possibly be strange about that?" Tomoyo tried to deflect with her ladylike smile. But Touya's eyes weren't fooled in the slightest. His dark gaze pierced through her as if seeing straight to the bottom of her heart. "Don't play dumb." Touya's voice was low. "You've been alone a lot lately. And even when you're with Sakura, you're somewhere else. You looking into something?" Tomoyo was at a loss for words. Touya's powers of observation were as sharp as ever. That she was investigating the shadow behind Sakura's back. That she was doing research in the library. He'd already seen through all of it. "...It's nothing." Tomoyo looked away. Lying to Touya hurt. But she couldn't tell him the truth. She didn't want to worry Sakura. And the same went for telling Touya. Touya looked down at her in silence for a while. Then he let out a small sigh. "...Fine. I don't know what you're hiding." He started to walk past her. But his feet stopped short. "I'll protect Sakura." Still facing forward, Touya spoke in a low voice. "If something happens, tell me. Don't carry it alone." With just that, Touya walked away. His back was broad, and somehow lonely. Tomoyo stood frozen in place. (Touya-san...) A warmth spread slowly through the center of her chest. Touya's words had been blunt, hardly kind in their phrasing. But she could clearly feel the care for her beneath them. (Don't carry it alone, huh.) She repeated his words in her heart. (Maybe I can tell someone. About this shadow.) For the first time, the impulse struck her. Touya might listen to what she had to say. His desire to protect Sakura must be the same as hers. Perhaps with Touya's help, she could uncover the shadow's true nature. (But...) Tomoyo shook her head. (No. I can't drag Touya-san into this. And it would only worry Sakura.) She chose to carry it alone. Believing that was for Sakura's sake. --- That night. Tomoyo sat in the filming room, reading the local history books she'd borrowed. The tale of the old storehouse at Tsukimine Shrine, the legend of the lost child in Tomoeda Forest. They were interesting stories, but none contained information directly connected to that shadow. (So it's not in these books after all.) Tomoyo closed the book. Her eyes were tired. A glance at the clock showed it was already past ten at night. (I should rest a little.) She slumped forward onto the desk. The cold surface felt good against her tired cheek. Her eyelids slowly lowered. Her consciousness sank into deep darkness. --- When she came to, Tomoyo was standing in a dark space. There was nothing around her. Her sense of up and down was vague, her feet unsteady. She knew it was a dream. But she couldn't wake up. "...You again." A low voice came from somewhere. Tomoyo tried to turn toward it. But her body wouldn't move. She couldn't turn her head, couldn't move a finger. At the edge of her vision, something like black cloth swayed. A robe. A black robe covering the entire body. Beyond the deep hood was darkness itself. The same black-robed figure that had appeared in her dream that day. "The shadow is after you." The voice whispered by her ear. It was cold as ice. "If you don't stop filming, your memories of Sakura will be devoured." Tomoyo's heart pounded violently. (My memories of Sakura... devoured?) She couldn't immediately grasp the meaning of those words. But she understood instinctively that it was something terrible. The memories of days spent with Sakura. The day she'd received that eraser. The day she'd first filmed Sakura's battle. Laughing together, worrying together, walking home side by side. All of it, taken away. "...I refuse." Tomoyo's voice trembled. "I won't give my memories of Sakura to anyone." In the dream, she resisted with all her might. Her body wouldn't move. But her heart would never yield. The black-robed figure looked down at her in silence for a while. Then, slowly, it raised its hand. "Then what will you do to protect those memories?" The question was cold, deep, piercing straight to the bottom of Tomoyo's heart. "Will you stop filming? Or will you lose your memories?" Tomoyo couldn't answer. (Stop filming? There's no way I could do that.) (But l

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Episode 3

Name: Behind the Clow Cards: Tomoyo Daidouji's Secret Filming Diary
Author: Novelia

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