Naito Ame (Night Rain) ::revised::
A CardCaptor Sakura FanFic
Chapter 1: Dreaming of Deceit
AN: Hi everyone! I'm back for oodles o' fun! (yeh…right. -_-;;) The Dixie Artist (once known as CherryTides) has decided to officially revamp this story. I wrote it a LONG, long time ago, and it's in desperate need of improvements and fine-tuning. Mou, CherryBlossomz08 was right…I have to figure out this plot, and fast. Mucho thankies to all the people who originally reviewed that craptacular piece of fiction:
My Best Buds forever: CherryBlossomz08 and The Infamous Kid Pixie
And the random reviewers who I don't know: Jurei, jetforce, butterfly~***, Gaby-chan, Otaku-hime
WARNING: This fic will contain some swearing, and Japanese words (yeah, I'll put some Japanese in somewhere, but don't worry, there'll be a glossary). If this bothers you, tough cookies, or continue at your own risk. And remember, I'm only 14, so this probably won't be the greatest. You want nice CCS fics? Go read Ides of Diamonds work. She's spectacular. Compared to the Infamous Kid Pixie, who has a college reading level at her age (same as mine), I only have a senior's in high school. Compared to her six (or was it seven? ^_~) years, I'm only four years ahead for my age. As for CherryBlossomz008…I never did ask her. So, in conclusion, this might suck. ^^;;
Again, if you happen to come to the end of this chapter, please review! Makes me mucho happy, and keeps the world goin' round. And don't worry, the title means "Night Rain" and will have some meaning later in the fic. Ja ne! ^^
Disclaimer -- ::sniff:: CardCaptor Sakura never has, or ever will belong to me. The lovely artists of CLAMP own it. The only thing I take credit for is the idea for this story. I'm just an anime-obsessed fangirl who loves Eriol-chan dearly. Quatre Raberba Winner, too. Now enough of this crap, no more delays, and on with the fic! And yes, I know her name in Japanese is "Meiling" with the G silent, but why even put it in?
And I will say this now... I am having a LOT of trouble uploading my stories and such. Probably because I have AOL, and dial-up…::shudder:: the crappiest browser on the face of the earth. Thank my parents. Only good for IM's. I've deleted and re-uploaded this fic about 8 times now….so if it's crappy, don't worry, it'll get better. I'm just incredibly pissed off right now. Thank you.
Li Meilin…Meilin…
Li Meilin tossed and turned in her bed as the nightmare continued. It was a persistent dream…she had it every night now for the past year. What significance it was of she wasn't certain. It was of a woman with considerable power trying to get her to join her…or something like that.
::dream sequence::
Meilin looked at her surroundings. She shuddered as she took in the place. It consisted of an empty white void and her, all alone. She remembered this all too well… when would she show up?
A young woman, clad in deep fuchsia armor, with bone-straight jet black hair draping over her, suddenly emerged from the shadows. She looked no older than 17, Meiling's current age. She smiled at the Chinese girl.
"I know what you desire Li-san…that craving of yours, just barely out of reach. I can help you achieve your dream. Will you help me?"
Meilin shook her head wildly. What does she want from me? "N-no…no, iie!! I can't side with evil! Shaolan would hate me for it!" (A/N: I'll be using Shaolan when the Chinese family talks about him, Syaoran for Japanese, and whenever I'm narrating. Yes, I KNOW it's Xiaolang in Chinese…but I don't feel like typing it.)
The mysterious woman pouted. "You think I'm evil? I'm hurt…"
Meilin found this to be quite absurd. How fake was she?
The figure raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, that Shaolan boy," the figure said as she wrapped a curl absently around her finger. It's a pity, she thought, to have such a young girl be deprived of her life. Oh well, she'll be mine soon enough. Time to progress with the operation. She smiled deviously. "You love him, do you not?"
Meilin froze. How in the name of Kami-sama does she know about my private thoughts?! Why was she tapping into her subconscious? "Of course I do! And…h-how did you know that??"
The woman smiled. "It's funny. Your eyes just lost that fire of theirs for a brief moment…however; I know many things, Li Meilin. I know you envy that Kinomoto girl, just oh-so- jealous of her, and yet…you are somehow attached to her. She was a friend. On the contrary, she was never worthy to become Mistress of the Cards, ne? I know you've trained with your cousin for many years, yet, even though you had no magic through the lineage, you were an ally and formidable opponent. I've been watching you, your potential, for so many years."
"Nani?! My potential…You've been watching me?!"
The woman giggled slightly. Oh, how Meiling HATED that. How could any human being be so sadistic? Giggling…over something so insane as this?! "Yes, Meilin. You know, you're not as useless as you seem. In fact, that potential I was speaking of…it can be quite compelling. That Kinomoto devil took all your glory. Besides…"
Meilin scoffed. "Besides what, you witch! And why do you keep on invading my dreams?! You've never even said your name!!"
The woman tsked and shook at finger at Meilin. "Well, well, I wouldn't be talking so rudely to me if you want me to give you a gift of admirable abilities."
"A gift?"
"Hai, Meilin. And to answer your inquiry: I'm a sorceress
from long ago. My name is Keikoku.
(A/N: It means beautiful woman in Japanese, if I'm not mistaken) I believe your aunt might know something
about me."
Well, this was a shock to
Meilin's system. Just how old WAS this
woman? She certainly couldn't be her
age anymore. And she knew Xiaolang's
mother? "Augh…kuso! What have you done with Auntie Yelan?!"
Keikoku closed her eyes and sighed. "Such language, tomodachi. I've done nothing to your family. And to think, I can give you my magic…"
She grunted. Meilin wanted answers, and NOW. "I'm not any friend of yours! And…magic? Me?
Why are you lying?"
"No lies, Meilin-san, just the purity of truth, and," she waved her hand in a circle, creating a clock. "You'd better leave before you're late for your training." She smiled smugly. "Ja ne, Meilin."
::end dream sequence::
"AHH!" she screamed as she awoke from the torment. But something was odd. She didn't remember anything of her dream. This couldn't be good. Why would she awake screaming if she didn't even know what it was about? She glanced at her alarm clock. 5:00. No time to fret over that issue. Today she was leaving for summer training with Syaoran. Her parents allowed her to miss a few weeks of school so she can begin training early this year. She smiled, imagining Wei at the moment she would arrive. "Okaerinasa, Meilin-san! Mistress Yelan and Master Shaolan await your appearance inside." Demo, she couldn't tell anyone about the delusions of the night. They shouldn't be troubled over her.
::later, at the Li Mansion::
Meilin slipped into her robes, pondering the dream. She could only remember one thing: Magic…and a woman! Is it even valid? Doshite? What goal does she yearn for? Is her purpose truly evil? She walked down the lonely corridor, and opened the solid oak door, labeled "TRAINING FACILITY". She knew she really had no purpose there, for she was there during Shaolan's magic session, but she enjoyed watching him. Once inside, she saw her cousin, the one she loved dearly, changing into his robes. (A/N: No nasty thoughts, the slacks are on…but, now ladies, don't you want to see Syao-chan shirtless?) She blushed, then immediately condemned her thoughts.
"Hi Shaolan!"
"Mmph," he was getting his
shirt on, "Hello, Meilin." He smiled
warmly. Ever since meeting Sakura,
Syaoran opened his mind and his heart, an objective Meilin could never succeed
in. As she watched him battle, she
could only wonder. Perhaps…maybe he
didn't approve of me since I had no magical abilities? No! Syaoran loves me!
Just…not how I love him. He couldn't
possibly hate me for that…could he?
She grasped the side of her head. "Unh…I feel dizzy…" and with that, she left to take a nap in her bedroom. She could utterly care less about her training right now.
When she awoke, the clock read 11:22. She had missed her training. "::yawn:: Refreshing…" she headed out the winding corridors, down the endless numbers of stairs, and went outside looking for Syaoran.
"Shaolan! Shaolan!" she scanned the parameter. Where was he?
She didn't need to look any farther. He was on the edge of a bluff, staring out into the vast ocean separating him from the treasures of the life he was missing.
She came up behind him, and gave him the simplest question that came to her mind. "What's the matter?" However, Syaoran had other things on his mind, and declined answering. He couldn't tell her that he missed the one he loved; he couldn't tell her that he questioned the fact if she still loved him; it would hurt her too much. So, he decided to answer her, somewhat.
"Nande monai, Meilin-chan. Don't fret over it."
Meilin saw through him like glass. She wasn't stupid, hell no! It was fucking obvious what the matter was. "Don't assume I don't know who you're thinking of, Li Shaolan! You're thinking of Kinomoto!" She barely choked out the words. Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to show any signs of weakness, not letting a single one fall. "Onegai, don't even come near me anymore! I hate you, baka-yaro!" She threw the ring that Syaoran had given her into his hand, and stormed off into the clearings, leaving Syaoran shocked.
Syaoran stared at the ring as she left. It was made of pure gold, with a deep ruby surrounded by little diamonds. It was originally used to signify their engagement, but it now symbolized their friendship. He had half the mind to toss the ring in the crashing waves below, or chase after Meilin. He did neither. "Nani…did I do to hurt you, Meilin?" His fist enclosed the ring, and he slammed it into the ground. He muttered something, two words were audible.
"Damn it!"
Well now, isn't that better than the junk of before? Don't worry to the people who reviewed this before, same basic ideas, I'm just updating the rustiness on the story. Hope this is the eye-candy of the fiction-world! Again, pardon the fact that this isn't the best, because remember: I'm fourteen. And, the chapters WILL get longer as time goes by! Enjoy, and ja ne!
Y'all is a pronoun! And peace, cookies, and Dr. Pepper!
~*~The Dixie Artist~*~ (read more for Glossary ^^)
GLOSSARY as in order written– for most of the definitions, I give mucho thankies to CherryBlossomz008
Note: Names in Japanese are written last name first. AKA: If your name was John Smith, it'd be Smith John in Japan.
-san - a term that denotes respect, used on strangers and people you don't know well
iie - no
Kami-sama the Almighty (known to many…as God)
Kuso – shit (yup, this fic WILL contain language, mind you!)
Tomodachi – friend
Ja ne – see ya
Okaerinasa – formal welcome back
Demo - but
Doshite – why?
Nande monai – It's nothing
-chan – a term for close friends, shows affection
Onegai – please
Baka-yaro – asshole
Nani – what?