Ichidou: Ray of Hope

Prologue – How It Began

A nineteen year old boy with rich, dark brown hair and intense, glazed over amber eyes sat alone in a ditch, surrounded by the pitch blackness of the night. The ground he was sitting on was soaked in old rainwater that had gathered at the bottom of the ditch, creating thick puddles. The boy's clothes were soaked with mud and water. Though he seemed not to care. He just sat there, a misty look in his dazed amber eyes as he stared off into nothing.

His expression was mostly blank, but at times it would suddenly crease with anger and frustration and his hands would ball up into fists around the moist grass beneath him, as old memories of a girl with gorgeous ebony hair and a smiling face would rupture in his mind. When this would happen, he couldn't help but let bitter thoughts of the girl appear in his mind: Damn her, leaving me alone to rot on this god-forsaken Earth! She can burn in Hell for all I care! Let her burn, dammit!

Suddenly, two brightly lit flashlights were being shone in the boy's face. He winced, his eyes too used to the night, and lifted a hand up to his eyes to shield them from the lights. He could just make out the people; two men, holding the flashlights. He quickly realized who they were.

"Finally," the one man sighed, obviously both exhausted and relieved. "We've been looking for you for a few hours now, kid."

The boy didn't even attempt to respond, and didn't give either man a chance to get down in the ditch with him. He stood up, and grudgingly walked up the slope of the deep ditch's wall.

"Your mother has been worried about you, again," the second man said to the boy as he hurried past them. Looking to the other man beside him, who merely shrugged, he began to follow the boy towards the police cruiser waiting for them. "She'll be glad to know you're safe."

The boy didn't respond again, and, refusing any help what so ever, climbed into the car then slammed the door behind him with more force than need be. He was only half paying attention when the two men climbed into the front of the car, and sighed as he waited for them to drive him back home.

Again.

b.K.d

"Xiao Lang!" A girl in her mid to late twenties practically screamed as she swung the door open and pulled the amber-eyed boy into a tight embrace. She ignored the boy's small grunt of annoyance and the fact that he was refusing to reply, then quickly thanked the two police officers for bringing him home before pulling the boy inside and shutting the door.

Once inside, the woman finally let go of the grasp she held on the boy, but kept a firm grip on his shoulders, and looked him over quickly for any injuries. When she was content with her findings, she sighed and completely pulled away, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

"Xiao Lang," she said seriously. "Do you realize how worried Mother has been? The others are still looking for you."

The boy shrugged, "I honestly didn't really think anyone would notice, Fei Mei. I was only gone for – "

"Over a day! You left before school yesterday and never returned!" She screamed, ignoring his sigh. "How could you possibly think we wouldn't notice or go after you after all that time! Especially when your school called, and said you didn't even show up for classes yesterday or today!"

The boy looked away, hating the fact that he was seeing a small pool of tears brimming in his older sister's eyes. He never was good with tears, especially with the opposite sex, but for whatever reason he was nearly unaffected by them. Besides the fact that he couldn't stand to look at her like that, he choose to shrug it off and ignore it.

He shrugged again, trying not to show any emotion. "Sorry."

His sister opened her mouth to say something, but he wasn't listening. He never listened. He briskly waked past her and made way for the stairs, running up the vast amount of stairs and seeking refuge in his room. He immediately walked over to his bed and took a seat, letting the comforting bed take in his weight with a small bounce. He sighed, shoving his hand through his hair as he leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees, letting his head hang loosely.

There was a sudden small knock at his door, and before he could answer, the door was creaking open and in stepped an elegant woman older than the one before, dressed in an ancient Chinese robe and wearing a solemn frown on her face. She sighed sadly, observing that the boy didn't even take notice to her entering, remembering that there was once a time where he would stand for her and welcome her in formally.

"My son," she started sadly, in a low but almost scary calm voice. "I have been worried." When he didn't answer, her eyes grew with sorrow and she gave a small, almost unnoticeable sigh again, hoping to catch his attention. "When is this going to stop, Xiao Lang? When she comes back? We both know she will not, Xiao Lang. It is, sadly, impossible."

"...I know," he finally answered in a weak voice, still refusing to look up. "I'm not looking for her to come back, Mother. I understand that will never happen."

"She would never want to see you like this," his mother continued. "She loved you, and it would tear her apart seeing you like this."

"Yeah, well...we'll never know what she every wanted, will we?!" He angrily shot to his mother, missing her pained wince.

"Xiao Lang," his mother said in a warning tone. "This must stop, now. All of this; the abrupt running off, being unsociable, your drop in grades, and the drugs. Especially the drugs."

The boy scoffed, "I wasn't smoking anything tonight."

"No," the woman said bitterly, finally losing her control over her emotions as she felt herself slowly becoming more and more angry with her stubborn son. "Not tonight, perhaps."

The boy, his eyes filling with burning rage, shot up and glared at his mother as he felt his legs stand up for him. He felt his hands quickly roll up into tight fists by his sides as his eyes narrowed dangerously on the woman standing only slightly calmly in front of him. "If she hadn't left me – !"

"She never did it to hurt you," his mother stated coldly. "And you know it."

The boy looked as though he was going to say something, his mouth opening slightly as if words were forming on his lips, but he quickly closed his mouth and turned away. His gaze fell to the ground, and once more he refused to look at his mother, much less meet her own demanding gaze.

"Xiao Lang," she began once more, her voice once more filled with calm and worry. "This must stop. I, along with many others, am getting very worried. So," she took a small breath, readying herself for the reaction about to come once the words left her lips, which there would be without any doubt. "So, I am sending you to 'Ichidou'."

The boy jerked his head up, his eyes switching from anger to confusion, then back to anger. The flame of anger grew as he read his mother's face, realizing she was dead serious. "Ray of Hope?" He asked with disgust, translating the word into Chinese. "Isn't that in Japan?!"

"Yes," his mother nodded. "In a small town in the Tokyo district. It is to help kids stabilize themselves, and prepare them for therapy to stop their addictions, whether it be drugs or alcohol. I am sending you for the one month program that will start this weekend."

"You can't do this!" The boy screamed. "That's for people with a problem, and I most certainly do not – !"

"You most certainly do have a problem, my son," the woman said sternly, quickly quieting the boy. "And it worries me even more that you cannot see this. Everyone has noticed the change in you since she passed, Xiao Lang, but it has become too much. Everyone is worried for you."

"But – !"

"You will go," Yelan Li said sternly, her eyes narrowing dangerously on her son and quickly made him shut his mouth again. "And you will take the plane that is leaving for Japan on Friday morning. No excuses."

He glowered at his mother, then spun on his heals and marched into the bathroom. He slammed the door shut with extreme force and locked it, then leaned his back against the wood and slid down it until he was sitting. He grabbed a fistful of hair in each hand and screamed out to no one in particular.

She can burn in Hell, he thought again icily.

Author's Note: This was previously xXxCherryBlossomxXx's story, and I have the honour of taking it over since, sadly, she cannot write it any longer. I hope I can live up my and her readers expectations and hope I won't disappoint you.

Sorry, I basically kept this the same as the original, except that small part at the end. I want to keep all of her original work in this one. This is, after all, her idea and therefore I think it'd be disrespectful not to have her own writing in this. Make sense?

Next chapter will be along shortly ^.^ Please leave a review, especially if you're coming from Raina! And please, again, especially if you're coming over from Raina, put this story on alert.

xox, Riva

Next Time... How does Syaoran take to this alien place called "Ichidou"?