The Average Week
The Average Week
Sunday
9:00 AM
The children, for once, were up before the adults. Chul passed through the living room to the dining room where the rest of the adults were. The children were crowded in front of the two television sets that, nowadays, probably only work because Syaoran was present. Originally, Chul had been a little concerned that forcing Syaoran to input electrical energy and light energy, even when he was not the one using whatever he was running, would drain him, but it became apparent that thunderspeakers are ridiculously powerful in every manner. Syaoran did not even have to think to turn on the television, and in fact could even practice his elemental control while running the lights at night.
He paused halfway across the living room, curious. Syaoran was actually the one holding the controller; the others were all simply watching him play. This was very odd.
" You play videogames?" Chul remarked, catching the attention of everyone except Syaoran. The boy had gotten comfortable enough to act almost like a normal son. The only thing that was not normal is that they have not had a quarrel yet. Chul had a feeling it was more because Syaoran was afraid of shocking him. Electrically. " I didn't know you play videogames."
" Do I look like I'm the type of person who plays videogames?" Syaoran remarked dryly. Indeed, Chul had to admit, Syaoran did not have that kind of personality that would accept something like videogames. " I'm playing because apparently this kind of thing comes with practice or something."
The kids around him laughed. Chul leaned over the couch. " What do you mean?"
" Watch this," One of the boys told him, " He's starting over for the tenth time. This is Super Mario. You should see what he does with Smash."
After the words " Start!" stopped flickering, Mario managed to kill two brown things before missing his landing and falling to his death.
" At least you killed one more than you did last time." A girl nudged Syaoran.
" I've seen six-year-old girls who play better than you." One of the boys laughed.
" How long did that take, 10 seconds?"
" Aw come on, you'll never fit in society if you don't at least know how to play Super Mario."
" And Zelda."
" That's alright." Syaoran quipped, handing the controller over to the boy next to him. " If I can't fit in, I'll just shock whoever makes fun of me. In a friendly way, of course."
Leaving the children to their affairs, Chul joined the other waterspeakers in the dining room.
" Ichiro is arriving in Seoul today at one." Ritsuko told Chul. " He wants to know if it's alright for him to visit us."
" Sure." Chul replied, helping himself to some eggs. " Eriol isn't coming with him?"
" Not that I know of. I don't think Eriol particularly cares about German wizards." Ritsuko shrugged. " Besides, it's their mess. They conjured this blue flamingo, and chased it all the way here. They wanted Ichiro's expertise. Since Ichiro once conjured a new virus five years ago, they expected he could deal with this macroscopic problem."
" Blue flamingo?" Another waterspeaker huffed. " What's wrong with a blue flamingo?"
" They don't want it to breed." Ritsuko replied. " Not to mention, this one squirts out water from its mouth. Actual, blue, water. Kind of like a pokemon."
" I see."
" You have mail, by the way." Ritsuko informed Chul. " Dragon Prince wants you over for dinner on Wednesday, I think. He's still mad that you didn't bring Syaoran over last time."
" Syaoran's terrified of going. Salt content is too high in the sea. He doesn't want to accidentally fry the whole ocean."
" Are you worried though?"
" No. Even if he does spark he'd be able to control even that."
" Well the longer you wait the more impatient the prince will get. Remember, I'm sort of the one dealing with him. And the princess. They're holding a banquet for the East King's youngest daughter's birthday. If you're going to refuse at least give me some means to defend myself. They always kill the messenger."
" We're going, we're going." Chul assured her. " After that game of his, I assume." He cocked an eyebrow at the sudden shouts from the other room.
" Super smash brothers." Ritsuko answered his questioning look. " I've listened to it enough times to hear it like that."
Syaoran walked into the dining room. He looked like he was a bit dizzy.
" We're going to see his Highnesses and her highnesses." Chul told him, handing him his own glass of orange juice."
" What?" Syaoran stared at him. " What highnesses?"
" Dragons. You refused to go last week."
" Oh come on!" Syaoran groaned. " They're the scariest things I've ever seen!"
" Not in their human form!" One of the waterspeakers pointed out.
" They're staying in their human form for our sake too."
" What about the tuna?" Syaoran grumbled. " Or the lobsters? And the snails, they look weird even in 'human form'."
" Are you truly frightened by appearances?" Chul asked.
" No." Syaoran folded his arms unhappily after setting down his orange juice.
" Trust me, they'll be honored to see you." Chul assured him, taking a mouthful of congee.
" They'll be honored to see Chul as well. It's a win win. In fact, if you find them scary, they're ten times more scared of you." Ritsuko grinned at him.
" They can be nice if they have to." Another waterspeaker assured him. " And with elementals…they have to."
" That's reassuring." Syaoran complained dryly, snatching a boiled egg.
" Oh, we have to dress in formal attire." Chul reminded him as he left the dining room.
" Oh come on!"
" Why would you have a problem with that?" Chul cocked an eyebrow. " You always wear that robe of yours when you were capturing cards."
" That robe is convenient." Syaoran turned around and huffed. " It allows for free movement and is very comfortable. Going to a social is not as free and not as comfortable."
Chul inclined his head, conceding to his point. " Well you'll eventually have to deal with them. It's about time you start."
Syaoran gave him a long suffering look. " What if I spark?"
" You won't spark."
" But what if I do?"
" I'll insulate it for you." Chul waved him away.
" When are we going again?" Syaoran worried his lower lip as he asked that.
" Wednesday evening."
" I have homework!"
" Go play your videogame."
" I'm not playing!"
Chul snorted in laughter. " Get out of here." With a purposeful blast of vapor, he pushed Syaoran out.
The waterspeakers chuckled quietly at this evidence of Syaoran mingling successfully in their community. Chul shook his head.
" He's too insecure." Chul muttered. " I wonder why though. From Yue's account, he used to be pretty confident of his abilities."
" He was confident of his abilities to use what he had." Ritsuko replied. " He's not confident of what he has now. It seems every day he comes up with something more outrageous."
Chul recalled a microwave incident, when Syaoran decided it was a good idea to try to broadcast radio songs to everyone, and the radio waves went through the microwave oven while one of the adults was heating leftover soup.
" Ugh." He exhaled.
" Your son." One of the waterspeakers pointed out.
" Yeah." Chul nodded in mock resignation.
oO
10:30 AM
After about an hour of videogames, the group of children headed outside. It was autumn, and the trees were beautifully colored, with vibrant reds and oranges and browns. Syaoran wore a simple white robe for waterspeakers, with his chou wrapped around his waist.
" Argh, I have so much homework to do," Syaoran complained, " I swear if I see another one of those algebra questions I'm going to tear that textbook into pieces."
" That's what you get for getting into an honor's class."
" Wait, you didn't finish it yet?"
" Nope. Procrastinated." Syaoran kicked at a stone. " That, and exploded a microwave."
The children started sniggering.
" I can't believe Abuji is okay with me going to see the Dragon King." Syaoran smacked his forehead into his hand as he walked. " I'll fry everyone, and Nezha's going to kill me, among other things."
" You won't fry everyone," A tall waterspeaker laughed, " You'll be just fine."
Syaoran tossed her a doubtful glance.
" How about we play a little bit of water volleyball?" A teenager suggested.
" Oh come on!" Syaoran complained. " I don't want to be stuck as referee again!"
" You can use your sorcery."
Syaoran rolled his eyes. " It's nowhere as efficient as yours."
" Come on, you'll have to practice sorcery magic too, since you're half sorcerer."
" Ugh!"
Water volleyball was the same as regular volleyball, except for waterspeakers, instead of hitting the ball with their hands, they hit it with water that pushed the ball back up again. The same rules applied: They were not allowed to wrap the magic around the ball, nor hold on to the ball for too long a time. To ensure this, as a ball they used an ice sphere, and everyone had to use hot water. If the ball cracks, which would happen if anything other than water hit it, the team responsible loses. If the ball melts, which is usually due to long exposure to hot water, the team also loses. The game ends when the ball melts completely and people count the points. Since only waterspeakers could have quick enough reflexes for this, Syaoran found himself refereeing, and, when he became annoyed enough, causing trouble by using his chou and scaring everyone so the ice sphere crashes onto the ground and the game ends. This earned him a lot of friendly glares, but being a referee really was too boring so they gave him a break for that.
oO
2:02 PM
Everyone went back inside, drenched.
" Go change, " Ritsuko ordered everyone when she took in their state, " I won't have you in the dining room like this."
Syaoran, being the only one not drenched, decided to help himself to some food first. He sat at his usual spot next to another waterspeaker. Before, when Lee Senyan had been a threat, Syaoran had sat uncomfortably right next to Chul where the Water Lord could keep an eye on him. Though no one gave him much trouble for it, his seat felt badly misplaced. Once Lee was gone, however, Syaoran had eagerly chosen to sit with the rest of the young elementals. On weekdays, usually this meant sitting at an entirely separate table, since there were so many. On weekends, however, the tables were joined, with the children sitting further down and Chul sitting at the head of the table. Chul was a little put out, at first, until Ritsuko scolded him and pointed out that Syaoran was actually doing the right thing. The two made up for the separation by having a lot of snacks together interspersed with practice.
" Where's my dad?" He asked, when he realized Chul was not in the dining room.
" Upstairs in the library. Pass the salt?"
Syaoran handed the waterspeaker the salt. " Is he still mad about the microwave? It was just one microwave!"
" He's not mad dear," The other waterspeakers assured him kindly, " He's just reading up on light and theory. He's got like five textbooks up there already and he's just studying them to get a better idea of what you can do."
" Oh." Syaoran took a mouthful of rice. " That's my job." He muttered.
" He's got nothing better to do."
" Well, it's time to eat anyway." With a flash, Syaoran disappeared.
" Whoa!"
Ritsuko laughed. " Wait for it…"
Thump. " Ow!" Came a cry from upstairs.
" Go figure."
oO
2:11 PM
" After yesterday you still have the guts to do that?" Chul chided mildly as he helped Syaoran to his feet.
" It was a spur of a moment thing." Syaoran muttered.
" You seem to be doing that a lot lately." Chul observed. " Is everything alright at school?"
" Yeah."
" Things going well with the other waterspeakers?"
" Yeah."
" Things going well with other speakers?"
" Yes!" Syaoran crossed his arms. " I'm fine! I just finally mastered this ability to move and now it's going all weird again!"
" You just need practice. Be more careful next time. What are you up here for?"
" It's lunch time."
Silence.
" Abuji…" Syaoran glared.
" Sorry." It was Chul's turn to fold his arms defensively. " But I was doing some intense reading."
" Come on," Syaoran took Chul by the hand and dragged. " Did you learn anything new?"
" Nope."
" Thought not."
oO
2:17 PM
Lunch, with some idle chatter.
oO
2:43 PM
Korean dramas, because the teenagers insisted. Syaoran annoyed them by interrupting the shows with various Australian commercials and footage of frogs.
oO
3:15 PM
Group homework.
oO
5:04 PM
" Xiaolang! Phone for you!"
" Huh?" Syaoran accepted the phone. " Uh, hello?"
" Syaoran-san!" Yamazaki laughed. " Hey, how are you doing?"
" Hi Takashi-san. I'm doing bogus homework. What about you?"
" Oh you're doing homework?" Yamazaki then gasped. " You, doing homework, on a Sunday? Don't tell me, don't tell me, Mr. Punctual procrastinated!"
" Hey," Syaoran scowled, " I'm allowed to leave things for the last day on occasion."
" What happened? Who are you and what have you done with Syaoran?"
Syaoran huffed. " How's everything going? I didn't hear from Sakura last weekend."
" She's been really busy. We all have been, otherwise we'd have called you. Three tests this week, plus a paper due in Japanese."
" Oh. How'd it go?"
" I don't know about Sakura. She seemed to be all frustrated with math, as always. I thought it was alright, but I'm not going to jinx myself. What's up with you? You never called us either."
" Oh, been busy too." Syaoran did not really want to reveal just how much trouble he had caused that week.
" Did you get that radio wave control down?"
" Er…"
" Make sure you don't go near a microwave for that. I heard that if you put a radio inside a microwave and turn it on…bad things will happen."
" Y…yeah…" Syaoran scowled. Of all the times Yamazaki had to tell him a true story, it had to be after he already caused bad things to happen.
" What's up? You're being quiet today."
" Oh. I'm working on homework."
" Oh. Gomen. Didn't realize. You should have said!"
" Well I'm almost done, though it's pretty involving. But it was nice to hear from you."
" When are you coming over?" Yamazaki asked. " Yue said you were coming over soon."
" Probably later on." Syaoran replied. " Midterms coming up."
" Oh come on! What's it, like, two seconds to stop over for tea?"
" For me, yeah, but Chul usually wants to accompany me, and he takes a bit longer, especially now that the weather's getting cold. And since he takes longer I have to fly."
" Come on, you've been living on your own for two years before, surely he wouldn't mind you dropping by on your own."
Syaoran hesitated. " Iie, I think I like having a chaperone."
" Oh fine," Yamazaki huffed, " But in that case you better talk to Sakura-chan. Here,"
Syaoran, dismayed, waited until he heard Sakura's voice on the phone. " Syaoran-kun—"
" Hai, er, give me ten seconds. Iie, make that ten minutes. I promise I'll call you back."
" Were you in the middle of something?"
" Kind of. Homework. I'm almost done, but, well, I want to get it done."
" Oh! Hoe! Of course," Sakura stammered, " Gomen nasai…Takashi-kun didn't tell me—"
" I know," Syaoran laughed. " It's okay, Sakura. I'll call you back in ten minutes. Or fifteen minutes."
" How close are you to getting done?"
" Ano…I don't know."
" Oh, well call me whenever you like, but if you don't call me before nine, Li Syaoran…"
Syaoran covered the phone to snigger. " Hai, Kinomoto-san. I promise I'll call you. I give you my word as a thunderspeaker."
" I don't even know how much that's worth!" Sakura chuckled. " Talk to you later."
" Ja ne."
Syaoran tossed the phone back to its receiver, earning him some looks of disapproval by the adults, who then rolled their eyes at him and went about their business.
" Li Xiaolang, knows all eight million languages of the universe, and don't forget ward of the great Water Lord Park Chul. We're looking at a very real danger of a world-domination maniac here."
" You go dominate the world." Syaoran returned, having heard this joke many times already. " I'll settle for anything you missed."
" Hey, I don't see the appeal. But look at what you're doing. First you demonstrate the ability to control all forms of photons and waves, then you get Lord Chul to agree to your every whim—"
" Hey, that's not true! He grounded me two weeks ago."
" Well duh, you went with Nezha to Mars."
" It's not like I had any choice." Syaoran scowled. " He dragged me into it. He's a trickster god, remember."
" Yeah yeah, well in any case that actually matters, the most powerful elemental and hence magical being is on your side, in addition to having a Trickster God and Father of Firespeakers ready to swing his Cosmic Ring for your safety. Then you get a Card Mistress for a girlfriend—"
" She's not my girlfriend." Syaoran replied sourly.
" Maybe she's waiting for the right moment." The Korean girls sniggered.
" What's there to wait for?" Syaoran cocked an eyebrow. " She probably has a boyfriend by now."
" Sure, she'd get herself a boyfriend and not tell you, the guy she calls every weekend without fail if you don't call her—"
" Except for last weekend—"
" Well we're all not like Mr. Punctual, are we."
" Who says I'm Mr. Punctual?" Syaoran scowled even deeper.
" And I'm sure her imaginary boyfriend is perfectly alright with his girlfriend calling her dear friend a thunderspeaker all the way in Korea and spending all that long-distance money in order to say hello to you. Gee, Japanese mortals are so chill."
" Yeah, he's totally okay with her having a magical card created especially for you."
" It was not!"
" Love Card!" The children sang, " Love card love card love card—"
" Hey!" Syaoran broke them off, turning a deep red, " I promised her I'd call back in ten or fifteen minutes, so let's get to work, alright?"
The children sniggered but they were quieting, casting each other meaningful glances and winking at Syaoran, who turned even more crimson.
" How'd you do number eighty-three?"
" Which one?"
" The fat polynomial…"
oO
5:30 PM
" You exploded a microwave?"
" Did you have to announce it to everyone?" Syaoran exclaimed.
From behind Sakura, Syaoran heard Yukito and Touya laughing. Someone was coughing though.
" Kero-chan, are you okay?" Syaoran heard Sakura ask.
" Hey gaki," Touya called over, " Don't go around messing with X-rays, yeah?"
" You're giving him ideas, you realize," Yukito pointed out.
" Huh?" Syaoran blinked.
" Hoe?" Sakura exclaimed, " What are you talking about, Oni-chan?"
" Forget about it." Yukito assured Sakura. " Go on talking to Syaoran. You kids haven't talked for two weeks."
" Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed again, but did as Yukito suggested. " So how many mishaps does that make?"
" I lost count after the seventieth one."
" Was Chul mad?"
" Well, he wasn't exactly ecstatic. Luckily Myun, who was using the microwave, was all the way in the yard before the radiowaves went through it."
" Did you get in trouble?"
" I'm just glad I didn't kill anyone." Syaoran rolled his eyes. " Although Chul didn't punish me for that. Radiowaves are hard. They're so big."
" Well be careful."
" When am I not?"
" Well be more careful." Sakura laughed. " When are you going to visit?"
" Looks like during break."
" That much work?"
" I can't wait to go to college. I heard all you do is slack off and then you graduate and everyone wants to hire you."
" That's in Tokyo University."
" That's in any good college." Syaoran rolled his eyes. " Although now grad school's becoming more of a thing."
" Oh my god, middle school evaluation exams," Sakura let out a strange groan, " Got to study for those again."
" Hm."
oO
6:30 PM
Dinner, with everyone.
oO
7:43 PM
" I hate House of Flying Daggers!"
" But it's so pretty!" The girl protested as she inserted the DVD into the player. Syaoran groaned.
" I'd take your cheap Korean dramas!"
" Hey, we don't watch movies to get a good story. We watch them in order to stare at the guys."
" And Zhang Ziyi is hot."
" Ew, gross, didn't need to hear that," One of the younger girls grimaced.
" It's plot twists are even worse than YuGiOh's," Syaoran scowled, but he joined the group in front of the large-screen television.
" No, YuGiOh is definitely worse."
" I second that."
" The dancing scene is really awesome."
Syaoran had to agree.
oO
9:50 PM
" Good night Xiaolang." Chul helped Syaoran turn off the lights. " Is your alarm on?"
" Yes Abuji." Syaoran mumbled, not even bothering to look up. " I turned it on this morning."
Chul smiled. Syaoran did not always call him Abuji, but he called him that frequently enough, and each time it sent a thrill through his heart.
" Even if his alarm isn't on," One of the boys complained, " I've got mine on."
" Reason we got up before you." Syaoran added dryly. Someone threw a pillow at the other boy, who complained and threw it back.
Chul laughed and closed the door.