Syaoran awoke and lay, staring at the ceiling, for quite some time in the bright room. Spring was already moving toward summer. The sun was still only just rising, but the window of the room was positioned to catch even the first dawning rays. It was too warm under the covers with the sunlight coming in and his pajamas on. Despite that, he was drenched in cold sweat.
A knock came at the door, lightly, and then Eriol entered. He was wearing pants but no shirt, and he had a blue towel draped over his shoulders.
"The shower's free… are you going to get up?" he said, eyes and voice flat as ever. He went and sat on his bed without waiting for an answer and began toweling off his hair.
"I had a dream. It was important…" Syaoran said, sitting up and putting a hand to his head as the room spun a little. Everything went fuzzy for a few seconds and then it was back to normal. The last shreds of the strange feeling were flowing away like mist in the sunlight. Syaoran drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Oh?" Eriol said, pausing his toweling to arch an eyebrow. Syaoran had been around him long enough to know that this was the highest level of surprise he would ever show on a normal basis. It would take a meteor falling right in front of him to get more than that out of him. Eriol looked down at the sunlight that filtered in through the branches of the tree outside their window. He was reading it for signs. Syaoran could count at least 20 things Eriol could pull signs out of. He had more than just a gift for foretelling, though only Syaoran could see things in his dreams.
"A fateful encounter? Besides that it looks like a normal school day… Maybe some random girl will confess to you. We're fifth-graders now, it's bound to happen sooner or later," Eriol said, deadpan. He was usually bored with the subject of the future. Most of the time he couldn't be bothered to foretell since small things weren't worth the energy and important things would come to him without him needing to look.
"A meeting… Maybe it'll be the person in my dream… I dreamt I was in Tokyo, walking down a busy street full of people. As I was walking I passed by one person, and as we drew near each other time seemed to slow down and all the people vanished until it was just me and that other person. We looked into each other's eyes, and we were about to speak with each other when suddenly the other person turned and ran away. When I looked behind me…" Syaoran put his hand back to his head as a small wave of dizziness came over him again. "Behind me, the streets of Tokyo were full of ghosts."
"Hmm~" Eriol still showed no interest as he finished toweling off. "So some girl is going to confess to you then get scared off by your reputation. Case closed." Though there was no change in his voice, a very small smile of humor was on his face. Syaoran looked at him for a while before he also gave a small smile and began pulling off his shirt and heading for the bathroom.
"You're probably right," Syaoran said, as he walked out.
***
Mizuki-san had breakfast ready for them when they were both dressed and ready. Eriol complemented the food and made small talk with her while Syaoran ate in silence. Mizuki wasn't related to them in any way. Rather, she was a student of magic under their father, Clow Reed. Their father had left them in her care when his business as a powerful mage had taken him away on an extended leave. In fact, it had been years since they had had any news of their father.
Even though they shared a father, Eriol and Syaoran were only half-brothers. Clow had married two cousins who had agreed to share him between them since their love for each other was also strong. Eriol took after Clow, with dark hair and eyes as well as the talent for foretelling and protective magic that was Clow's specialty. Syaoran took after his mother, who was a well-known Taoist who studied the mystic arts in China. The fact that they weren't normal was the talk of Tomoeda, but no one had ever discovered exactly what it was about the boys that was different. Well, almost no one.
"Already done, Syaoran? You should slow down and enjoy the food a little bit more…" Mizuki said, tilting her head and giving Syaoran a wan smile. Syaoran bowed his head a little.
"Gochisousama…" he murmured, then stood up. Mizuki watched him for a moment, then sighed and handed him a lunch.
"Have a good day at school," she said, and Syaoran nodded. Eriol also arose, accepted his lunch with a smile and bobbed his head in a slight bow before following his brother to the door.
***
"You should talk to her more…" Eriol said, as they walked the familiar route to Tomoeda Elementary. "She's just as stuck with us as we're stuck with her. If you live this long with someone and keep your silence all the time she'll start to think you hate her or something."
Syaoran remained silent. Eriol had been raised by Clow in England for most of his young childhood. He had been taught the pleasantries of society and was quite the actor despite his normally stone cold presence. Syaoran, on the other hand, had been raised by the two Mrs. Reeds in China. Since they thought the 'silent little warrior' type to be more cute than the educated child they had raised Syaoran on martial arts and magic training. They were both evenly matched physically and magically, but Eriol didn't know his way around a fight… nor did Syaoran know his way around a party.
Actually, this very fact was what united them the most as brothers despite not sharing the same mother. They balanced each other out perfectly, each acting as the missing piece for the other. From the first day they had been brought together to live until their father came to reclaim them they had forged a strong bond. Now Eriol was the only person Syaoran would openly speak to, and Syaoran was the only one who ever saw Eriol without his polite mask of civility.
There was only one other person in the world that could make them lower their defenses. One person who made them feel like normal human beings. That person was…
"Daidouji-san!" Eriol exclaimed.
They were just arriving in front of the school when a small limousine also pulled up in front. A body guard stepped out first, and held the door so that Tomoyo Daidouji could step out.
Long black hair, perfect white skin, an angelic, innocent face. Every gesture Tomoyo made was delicate. Every expression cherubic. Not just the Reed brothers, but every other boy on campus was smitten with the heavenly ojou-sama.
"Ara, the Reed brothers. Good morning," Tomoyo said, tilting her head and giving a soft, refreshing smile.
"Good morning, Lady Tomoyo," Eriol said, putting one hand to his heart and giving a bow in perfect gentlemanly form. Tomoyo put one hand to her mouth and gave a small laugh.
"My, such formality is unnecessary, Eriol-kun," she said. She then looked at Syaoran.
"G… Good… morning…" Syaoran murmured, avoiding her gaze and blushing.
"Good morning, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo replied, smiling again. She was the only one in the whole school that referred to them by 'kun'. Everyone else still used their first names since throwing 'Reed-san' around wouldn't get you far with them always walking together. However, it was always 'Syaoran-san' and 'Eriol-san' with everyone but Tomoyo.
"You seem to be in high spirits today, Lady Tomoyo," Eriol said, falling into step beside her as they walked toward the school. Syaoran walked beside Eriol and a little behind, looking at the ground and blushing to his ears. There were times he would give anything to talk naturally to people like Eriol did.
"Yes. Last night my Uncle Fujitaka's family moved back to Tomoeda… they've been living in Osaka since I was little, but now they're planning to live here for quite a while. They have a daughter my age, and she'll be attending Tomoeda Elementary from here on. We've been pen-pals ever since we met at a family reunion, so I'm very excited to see if she's going to be in our class," Tomoyo said, touching her cheek with one hand and giving a smile of pure bliss as she spoke.
Eriol caught Syaoran's eye and raised one eyebrow. Syaoran merely shrugged. Perhaps this was tied in to the fateful encounter Eriol had predicted. Perhaps not.
"Well, if your cousin is as charming as you then I'm sure we all will have reason to be excited today, right?" Eriol said, smiling widely. Syaoran missed a step, then shook his head and glared at the ground. Tomoyo just kept on walking. She was used to Eriol's blatant compliments.
"I assure you, Sakura-chan is ten times as charming as I am… maybe a hundred?" Tomoyo said, again putting one hand to her cheek and getting lost in a dreamy gaze. Eriol and Syaoran exchanged another glance, this time both of them wore confused expressions.
***
"Syaoran-san! Eriol-san! Good morning!" Naoki's excited voice greeted the Reed brothers as they entered the classroom. Both winced and merely bobbed their heads silently in response to the greeting. Naoki, the supernatural-obsessed girl, had quickly latched onto them after discovering that they were far from normal. Neither of the boys was sure exactly how much she knew about their true nature, but even a little was too much, with the way she followed them around.
Tomoyo entered behind them and managed to engage Naoki's attention long enough for Eriol and Syaoran to slip away to their seats. Eriol sat near the front due to his weaker eyesight, while Syaoran sat near the back, close to the large windows looking out over the school grounds.
After everyone had more or less taken their seats the teacher walked in. Rika, the class president, led everyone in the daily routine;
"Stand! Bow!" she said, her voice mature and refined for a girl of her age… though not quite so refined as Tomoyo.
"Good morning class," Terada-sensei said, after everyone had bowed and sat back down. "Today we have a surprise; a new friend has just moved in and she'll be coming to our class now. I want you to all welcome her warmly and make her feel at home here in Tomoeda…"
Syaoran could already see stars appearing in Tomoyo's eyes.
Terada-sensei went and opened the door, and asked for whoever it was still in the hall to come inside. He then walked back in, followed by a brown-haired, green-eyed girl. Tomoyo gave out a long sigh of exultation.
"This is Kinamoto Sakura-chan. Everyone, let's be friends with her…" Terada-sensei said, gesturing to the new girl.
Syaoran looked from Tomoyo to Sakura and then back. He could see Eriol doing the same.
'This is the girl Tomoyo said was ten times more charming than she is?' Syaoran thought, quirking one eyebrow. He and Eriol glanced at each other and the same thought flashed through their minds:
'Not… even close…'
Sakura didn't seem the least bit shy, and she smiled broadly during her introduction, scratching the back of her head in an open, almost goofy pose.
"I'm Kinamoto Sakura… My Dad got transferred here to work for the government, but it looks like we'll be staying here for a few years so I guess I'll be able to get to know you all really well. I like gym and stuff like that but I'm no good with math so I guess I'll need someone to tutor me or something like that," she said, while laughing lightly at herself. The other students also laughed and it became quickly apparent that Sakura would fit right in.
Eriol adjusted his glasses with a chagrined expression as Sakura gave her introduction.
'Tomoyo has some weird tastes if she thinks this girl is charming… She's friendly enough, but she looks like a boy with that short hair and personality. Interest: Zero' he thought, though he kept his face a mask of open friendliness for the new transfer student, and laughed at her comment about math.
"Well, looks like you'll do just fine, Kinamoto-san. Why don't you go ahead and take a seat over behind Reed-san," Terada-sensei said, then corrected himself "Reed Syaoran-san, that is. We're lucky enough to have two of them."
Syaoran felt the grip of fate. Eriol as well, and he narrowed his eyes.
Sakura tilted her head as Terada-sensei said Syaoran's full name, and her eyes widened a little. She then walked toward Syaoran's desk, and stopped next to him, looking down at him with an unreadable expression.
"You're… Reed Syaoran-san?" she asked, politely but with a hint of something strange in her tone.
Syaoran nodded silently, eyes wide. He cursed fate for throwing so many random things at him and his brother. Just once he would have liked to have had a normal school day without things like this happening.
"Then… Reed Eriol is also…?" Sakura began, trailing off without finishing her question. One of the students sitting by Syaoran gave Sakura a questioning gaze but pointed at Eriol. Sakura followed the student's point and gazed at Eriol for a moment. Then she looked back at Syaoran, and for an instant Syaoran saw a look of pain tinged with sadness cross Sakura's green eyes. Then it was gone. Tomoyo called Sakura's attention and greeted her with a brilliant smile. The moment was past. Sakura took her seat and that was that.
***
"You want to know about the Kemono Kyoudai?" Chiharu asked, as Sakura pressed the girls in the class for details on the Reed brothers during one of the breaks between classes. Sakura tilted her head at the odd nickname.
"'Monster Brothers'…? Why do you call them that?" she asked, looking a little upset that they would be given such a name.
"You don't know? I thought you knew them from the way you looked at them when you were taking your seat. Everyone around here does. Those two walk strange ways… I guess I can't explain it, but we all go by Naoki's story… Naoki knows their true colors, right Naoki?" Chiharu looked to Naoki, who adjusted her glasses and got starry-eyed as she told her story:
"Well, one night I was coming back late from the library. I had to pass in front of the graveyard. There was a full moon out so I could see everything clearly, even with my eyesight. The Reed brothers had been in our class for a year or two so I knew what they looked like. Anyway, I clearly saw them that night, right in the middle of the graveyard… And all around them were glowing blue lights, which can only be one thing…" Naoki said.
Sakura's eyes were getting watery and her expression was aghast as she waited for Naoki to deliver the last phrase. Tomoyo carefully put her hands up to her own ears… she knew her cousin well enough to know what was coming next.
"Those blue lights the Reed brothers were surrounded by were… GHOSTS!" Naoki exclaimed.
"HOOOOOEEEEEEEEEE~!" Sakura screamed, causing all the girls to clap their hands to their ears. Tomoyo looked unphased.
"S… Sakura-chan…" the girls all murmured, wincing in pain.
"Hoe~… Sorry, stuff like that is my weakness…" Sakura said, eyes watery. Tomoyo put a hand on her shoulder and she relaxed a little.
"It's alright Sakura-chan, the Reed brothers are actually good people. I doubt they really have anything to do with such spooky things," Tomoyo murmured soothingly. Naoki's eyes flashed at this, and a small frown appeared on her face. Tomoyo met her gaze with a calm smile, and Naoki let it go, for Sakura's sake.
"Well… they're nice, and very mysterious, that's about all we really know about them…" Naoki said, putting special emphasis on the word 'mysterious' and looking strangely starry-eyed.
"Why did you want to know, anyhow?" Rika said, speaking up for the first time. Her voice was the same gentle, mature tone she used all the time, but Sakura detected an odd hint of something beneath the surface… more than normal interest in her answer. Sakura's eyes almost twitched into a surprised expression, but she controlled it before anyone would notice and traded it for a air headed blank look.
"Huh… why was it?… I forgot…" Sakura said, laughing a little at herself. She looked so goofy all the other girls laughed. Rika laughed last of all, holding one hand up near her mouth in a soft fist, giving her a very cute but refined look. Sakura felt some tension leave her. Whatever it had been that she had heard in the other girl's voice had to have been her imagination. But then Rika opened her eyes, which had been shut while she was laughing and looked directly at Sakura with a strange glint in her eyes.
"You're an interesting person… Kinamoto Sakura-chan…" she said, but her tone held nothing but comedy. The other girls didn't notice, and Tomoyo even nodded in agreement.
"Isn't she just?" Tomoyo said, giving a little sigh.
***
Lunch break found Syaoran and Eriol sitting on a blanket on the grass in front of Tomoeda High, which was next door to their own school, separated only by a fence. With them were two high schoolers; Tsukishiro Yukito and Akizuki Nakuru. The four of them had been together since Eriol and Syaoran had moved to Tomoeda. All of them possessed magical power, and they often worked together to resolve any supernatural problems that cropped up… and a surprising amount of them did.
Calm and friendly Yukito provided long-range support with holy arrow magic while energetic Nakuru use a crescent-moon scythe and close-range. That left Eriol as the kekkaishi (barrier/shield maker) and Syaoran to fill in wherever he was needed with his short sword or Tao magic. The four were an incredibly well-matched team, so they had all naturally come to be close friends… Yukito and Nakuru were naturally more open and happy with their lot as mages than the two boys, so they supported the Reed brothers every day as much as possible.
"Hey, Tsukishiro, so this is where you go for lunch…" a deep male voice floated over the grounds. Its owner was a tall boy with dark hair and a nice enough face. Both Eriol and Syaoran saw some resemblance in him, but they couldn't tell who it was he resembled.
"Oh, Touya, come over and sit down!" Yukito said, giving a bright, open smile. Touya nodded and sat down, opening his lunch. He sat near Yukito and opposite Nakuru, who was eying him like a cat looking at a new toy.
"Well well, our new transfer student Kinamoto Touya-kyun's come to keep us company! I could eat three bowls of rice today…" Nakuru purred, then chuckled to herself. Touya looked creeped out, Yukito blushed, and Syaoran and Eriol exchanged a confused look.
"This is Kinamoto Touya… he's a new transfer student to our class," Yukito explained, beaming happily.
"Then, he must be the brother of…" Eriol began, when they were interrupted as everyone looked curiously at someone who had just shown up. It was Kinamoto Sakura. She looked like she had been running.
"Reed… Eriol… and Reed… Syaoran…" she panted, trying to catch her breath but wanting to talk over it. The Reed brothers looked at each other then back at Sakura, both speaking at the same time. Eriol sounded amused, Syaoran confused.
"Kinamoto… Sakura?" they said, in unison. Everyone was sharing odd looks, but suddenly the scene seemed to freeze as Sakura withdrew a small black square from her pocket and held it up. It folded out to reveal a police-badge like leather case with a golden symbol embossed on it. Up the right side was written 'KEREBEROS', while down the left was the name 'KINAMOTO SAKURA'. There were three 'X's in gold under the golden emblem.
"Under orders from Kereberos, my brother and I have been sent to halt your unauthorized use of magic. And of the other two people with you…" Sakura said, all in a rush. She sounded like she was afraid of being interrupted and, though her voice carried some conviction, it was rather weak.
A chill seemed to settle over them. Yukito's face looked like it was made of stone, his eyes like dark clouds. Nakuru was baring her teeth with eyes like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Eriol had lost his polite mask to a face of pale, frozen fury and disgust. Syaoran's expression was the most mild, as his mind went numb and his body prepared for a fight. His right hand twitched, but he made no move.
"Kereberos no inume…" Eriol spat, treating each word like it was the worst kind of insult.
"So… you're really them…" Touya said, looking a little disappointed, but it wasn't clear with whom. He looked at his sister and sighed. "Sit down Sakura, have you eaten lunch yet? We should take this a little slower…"
"Onii-chan! The girls in class even know that they're different… They're not being careful with their powers! We need to…!" Sakura said, looking pained.
"So…" Eriol cut her off, his voice shaking a little "You've already been sniffing around, wanko-chan? Is that the whole reason you moved here? And poor Lady Tomoyo thought you were coming here for her sake…"
"Don't talk to my sister like that…" Touya said, his voice dangerous for a moment as he glared at Eriol. Then he took in and let out a deep breath, trying to control himself. "Listen. Every magic user Kereberos deals with starts out the same as you guys. You think we're here to put collars on you and treat you like animals. That's not it. Japan's in hard times right now. There are several countries that would like to see us all just disappear. We're not even allowed to have a formal army, and America's only agreeing to protect us under certain conditions. If they find out how many high-level magic users live here… we could lose their support and even make them hostile. Kereberos is here to regulate magic usage for Japan's protection…"
"Japan is a country inhabited by many spirits and demons…" Yukito said, his voice sad as he looked at Touya. The two of them seemed like the most level-headed in the situation, and the others left it up to them to negotiate the two sides since nobody else could trust themselves to speak. "… the magic of Japan is not something that can be controlled so easily. Nor should it be. Restrain human mages and the wild spirits will run wild, restrain the wild spirits and nature will die. Leaving things to their natural order… the order that has always governed this country… is the only way for Japan to survive."
"Japan is a capitalist country on the cutting edge of the modern world. We're working toward the day when all supernatural things will be repressed… so that everyone can just live a normal, fulfilling, happy, wealthy life like normal humans should," Touya said. When he saw the horrified faces of the four magic users he narrowed his eyes "Or do you want me to believe you're happy as you are now? You're happy with the lives you've been given… the fates that you were assigned without a choice?"
This cut them. Even though Nakuru and Yukito were old enough to withstand being different from everyone else they had all passed through hard times day and night because of their powers. Days of solitude, nights of dangerous spirit busting… But then Syaoran spoke up, surprising everyone. His eyes were full of accusation as he looked at Touya.
"But… you two don't look exactly happy with your own lots… do you?" he asked, his tone mellow but also carrying the same accusation as his eyes. Touya and Sakura both flinched slightly. Then they looked at each other, sharing an unspoken consensus. Touya stood and went over to his sister, and together they began to walk off. Before completely leaving, though, Touya paused and looked back at the four magic-users.
"Think about it, is all we're asking right now. Don't just go by your first impression… you need to think things like this out. More than just your lives are riding on this decision," he said, not looking at anyone. He then turned and the two of them left. Sakura said nothing, but gave them one last, pained look over her shoulder.
"What's there to think about?" Eriol said, after Touya and Sakura had left. His voice was bitter. "Spinel, the organization our father created, is 100% opposed to government plans like Kereberos that are trying to control magic. The use of magic should be decided by the flows of nature and the divinations of wise archmages such as father and that other woman… the Dimensional Witch. It's not like asking or even threatening us is going to change or minds about that…"
"No need to preach to the choir, Eri-kun…" Nakuru said, her face showing her distaste at the whole prospect of Kereberos even as she continued eating. "What a waste of a hottie… and to think I was gonna show him around town."
Syaoran and Yukito both had the same depressed expressions on their faces. Syaoran was just tired of having to deal with things that came up because of his powers, whereas Yukito had a different reason.
"Touya didn't seem like a bad person… I'll talk to him," he said, after the four of them were silent for a time. The other three looked at him in surprise and he gave them a weak smile "I'm a talker… I can't accept situations like this without trying to negotiate a little more. Maybe we can meet halfway. Really there's nothing we've been doing besides controlling the nature forces in Tomoeda and keeping them from harming the citizens. There's nothing in that the government should be angry about."
"Yuki-chan is so mature~," Nakuru said, sighing with a bored expression. Lunch was basically over, so she began cleaning up the area and packing up her bento-box. "I doubt it's even us they're after. It's probably that one thing… right?" she looked at Eriol as she said this. Eriol narrowed his eyes in thought and nodded slowly.
"You're probably right… there's nothing else in this area that would attract the government's interest…" he looked at his right hand, recalling, "The Tomoeda Matsuri… it keeps showing up in my divinations but I don't understand what it is or when it will happen. The only thing that's clear is that it's going to be something that will affect the lives of everyone who gets involved in ways we can't imagine. I wish I could see the signs more clearly." Suddenly, he looked at Syaoran, "You should try dreaming about that instead of dreaming of random girls in Tokyo! Then maybe we'd know what's going to happen!"
He was kidding, and all of them chuckled a little at it, and then they disbanded to return to class. They waved good-bye, and then separated. As Syaoran and Eriol were walking back Eriol noticed that Syaoran was even more pensive than normal. He stopped and was about to ask his brother if there was something particular on his mind, but Syaoran spoke first.
"I know now… When you mentioned it I suddenly remembered…" he said, cryptically. Eriol tilted his head, but Syaoran continued after a short pause. "The girl in the dream. The girl in Tokyo… It was Kinamoto Sakura."
***
The Reed brothers managed to avoid Sakura for the remainder of the day despite her sitting so close to Syaoran. For her own part she also seemed distant, and the few times she glanced at either one of them it was with that same look of pain and depression. Rika, looking back at one point, caught sight of this look and piqued one eyebrow before returning her focus to Terada sensei. Tomoyo may as well have not heard the lesson at all, as she gazed at Sakura starry-eyed the whole time.
After school Eriol and Syaoran split up to go to their clubs. Eriol was taking Archery with Yukito as a volunteer assistant coach, while Syaoran was in the Kendo club with Nakuru as an instructor.
Just as Syaoran was getting into his uniform for the club he saw a new face entering hesitantly. There was a clatter as Syaoran's shinai fell to the ground from his hands as he gaped in surprise. Kinamoto Sakura had entered the dojo. She looked back and forth until she caught sight of the sensei for the dojo, then walked over to him. Nakuru walked in behind her but passed by her with only a disgusted look.
"Looks like wanko-chan wants to learn how to use a sword..." she said, bitterly, to Syaoran as she also put on some equipment and picked out a shinai. "Think I should give her some one-on-one attention?"
"Don't let emotions infect your style..." Syaoran said solemnly, as he finished suiting up. Nakuru looked at him with a wry grin.
"My little warrior is so mature~!" Nakuru said, suddenly hugging Syaoran and trying to snuggle him. He quickly slipped out of her grasp, but their commotion had attracted the attention of the other students, including Sakura. Sighing, Syaoran looked off to the side to avoid everyone's eyes while Nakuru made some kind of apology for the ruckus.
"Reed-kun, since you've learned all the forms already you may as well get with the new girl. You can bring her up to speed," the sensei said, gesturing for Sakura to join Syaoran. The two of them looked at each other wordlessly for a moment, then Sakura went off to the locker room to change into one of the smaller female uniforms. Syaoran took the opportunity to rein in his emotions completely. When he had a blade in his hand he felt nothing.
"... youroshiku," Sakura said, uncertainly as she approached Syaoran, now wearing the proper uniform. Syaoran bowed his head formally, then gestured to the rack of bamboo shinai.
"Pick one that feels right in your hand," Syaoran said. Sakura seemed a little surprised by his cool manner, but she obeyed. It took her a minute or so of testing out the different shinai, but she finally found one that felt good.
"Have you ever done any kendo?" Syaoran asked, walking back to an open area of the dojo where they could practice. Sakura nodded, then tilted her head a little.
"Well... I've held a sword before, but not one like this..." she said, looking a little unsure. Syaoran didn't react. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything, when there was a blade in his hand.
"Copy my stance..." he said, passing right over Sakura's comment. He placed his dominant foot forward, using his other foot as to stable his stance. He kept very little weight on his front foot, looking ready to leap forward at any moment. Sakura looked at him and tried her best to stand exactly as he was. If Syaoran had been paying any attention he may have been pleasantly surprised at how well Sakura was able to mimic the stance.
"Now take the shinai in both hands..." Syaoran continued, gripping his own shinai tightly "... raise it up..." he did so, raising it over his head until it was pointing at heaven "... and then strike downward while stepping forward forcefully."
"HA!" he suddenly let out a yell as he brought his foot forward with a stomp and brought his shinai down in a crushing downward blow. Sakura could clearly hear the wind whistling past the bamboo blade even though she was a foot or two away from him. She gave a little jump at his yell, also.
"Go ahead and try it," he said, resuming his ready stance. Sakura nodded. She brought her own shinai up over her head and then brought it down while giving a little step forward.
"Ei!" she said, not really putting her gut into it like Syaoran had. She looked to Syaoran to see his verdict, but he barely seemed to see her.
"Don't stop. Keep doing that practice. A thousand strikes a day is normal for a true student of kendo," he said. Sakura nodded and began doing the strike over and over, though her voice never gained any confidence. After about 7 strikes Syaoran moved over to her and gestured for her to stop. Without the slightest hesitation or asking her permission, he then stepped behind her and embraced her from behind. Well, not quite embraced... rather he wrapped his arms around her to place his hands over hers on the shinai (he had set his own down before walking over). Sakura let out a startled 'Hoe~!' and blushed, but Syaoran's grip was firm and trying to shake him off would just cause her to brush up against him even more.
"Your strikes are meaningless. Are you really here to seriously study kendo?" Syaoran murmured, since his face was close to her ear. He still had the same stone cold tone he had been using, and he may as well have been talking to a horse he was training. "How you handle a blade is a mirror of your soul. Weapons are power, and power is a force of nature. Therefore you must act as if you are part of that force. Visualize it in your mind."
He slowly pulled upward, raising the shinai over Sakura's head with her still holding it in a good grip. She couldn't very well have let go or shifted her grip with Syaoran's fists clamped down on her own. She felt like she would never stop blushing. She could even smell his sweat... and wondered if he could smell her... But somehow his rock steady tone kept her concentrating on his words.
"Imagine that you are a cliff in the wild, and the sword is a river of pure white rapids. The fact that it will pass over and fall with crushing force is inevitable. The downward strike is inevitable. Your movements must also be inevitable. A force of nature. Not something you control; but something you direct..."
All of the class had stopped to watch Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran was oblivious, but Sakura thought if she blushed any more her head would explode. But then time seemed to slow almost to a stop as Syaoran pressed her forward, forcing her hands into a downward strike. She could feel the air parting under the bamboo blade, the force rushing from Syaoran's muscles and her own into the force of the strike. She could truly feel the natural force, just like Syaoran had described it.
Then Syaoran let go of her and stepped around in front of her.
"Now do it again, but without my help. Strike out at me with all that force and don't forget to step forward and use you voice. Your opponent must feel that he is facing something completely solid, a rock wall of force, a crushing storm. Any sign of weakness or hesitation means utter failure," Syaoran spoke the almost poetic words with no sign of eloquence. His eyes were cold and hard. Several girls in the club, watching intently and hanging on his every word, gave sighs of longing. Even the boys were grudgingly taking Syaoran's words to heart. The sensei had tears in the corners of his eyes.
Sakura slowly concentrated, focusing on the instructions and trying to clear her mind of the embarrassed haze Syaoran's 'hands-on' teaching technique had caused. She sucked in her breath and prepared for the strike. She brought her shinai down in a perfect strike, but as she looked at Syaoran's solid stance, his cold eyes, and remembered his earlier comment to her and her brother, she hesitated. Rather than the proper stomping lunge she gave only a half step and her voice faltered as she let out an: 'EI!'
And then she sat down, hard. It took her a moment to realize what had happened with her head suddenly fuzzy. Then she looked up and saw Syaoran standing over her with his shinai gripped tightly in both hands. He had struck her over the head, hard. The other students and the sensei all began to protest but Syaoran let out what Sakura thought was a disappointed sigh. He then looked at Sakura and spoke in a voice only she could hear over the voices of the other students:
"Kinamoto Sakura. If that's the limits of your determination, then you'll be doomed to failure your whole life... You should..." he turned his back on her "... leave Tomoeda."
"Reed-kun! Striking a new student without her even having the proper protection? What are you thinking! Go run a few laps to cool your head!" the sensei spluttered, helping Sakura back to her feet. Syaoran didn't respond, and that was the last time he spoke directly to Sakura for quite a while.
***
"~~" Tomoyo made a sound like a cat's angry meow as she watched Syaoran strike Sakura from outside the dojo. She was taping the whole thing on her camcorder, but she stopped once Sakura fell down. She then saw Syaoran walk out of the dojo and start running laps. For a moment her eyebrows drew down and she frowned in his general direction. However, after a little bit she let out a sigh and looked at the camcorder.
"I suppose I'll forgive him just this once, since he let me see Sakura's cute blushing face and get it on tape..."
***
"He hit her over the head?" Eriol's incredulous voice filled their small room as he spoke on his cell phone to Nakuru. He burst out laughing at her reply "Hahaha, I would have given anything to see that!"
"..." Syaoran remained silent and finished his homework. He felt drained and annoyed, but he couldn't put a finger on what exactly he was upset about. His outburst at the dojo was hardly even on his mind anymore. He had cast Kinamoto Sakura aside as someone who would never have the nerve to change anything, and all Syaoran really wanted in his life was a change. Something that would shake the world to its core and free both he and his brother from the grip of fate.
"Hehe... wow. Well, hopefully that will teach her what playing around with the Kemono Kyoudai can cause. Right, see you tomorrow. Bye." Eriol hung up and looked with a kind of smug, approving face at Syaoran. However, he sobered after looking at Syaoran's expression for a moment. "Syaoran?"
"I'm tired..." Syaoran said, closing up his books. He then stood up and started to get undressed so he could get into his pajamas. Eriol gazed at him for another moment then sighed and finished up his own homework. He paused, however, when he felt magic power gather around Syaoran, and he looked over his shoulder to see what his brother was doing.
Syaoran snapped his fingers in front of a stuffed wolf on their dresser and the animal stirred and looked up at him, animated but still appearing like a plushie.
"Yes, Syaoran?" the wolf asked, its mouth not moving. Like their master, all of Syaoran's summons and creations were very formal and stiff.
"I don't want to dream tonight," Syaoran said. Eriol could see the glow of magic slipping from Syaoran to the wolf as the plushie siphoned energy from its master. It would regulate the flow of magic in Syaoran during the night so that his foretelling powers would be sealed. It made for restless sleep and weakness the next day, but Syaoran would often use it if he was upset to forget for one night that he had any powers at all. Again Eriol let out a sigh and then began preparing himself for bed as well.
"Yes, Syaoran," the wolf replied, after it had already begun the process of siphoning. It then went motionless again. Whether it was still animated or not was hard to tell, since it sat rock still... Very much like Syaoran, in all aspects.
"Syaoran..." Eriol said, sitting on the side of his bed and looking at his brother who had already laid down with his back to Eriol. Syaoran didn't respond. "Syaoran... someday we'll find a way to... to be happy despite..." Eriol couldn't think of the proper word to attach to their various problems "... despite... everything."
It was weak, but it had its intended effect. The brothers had a strong bond, and Syaoran could feel that Eriol believed in his own words, so he did as well. Rolling over, he gave Eriol a small, hopeful smile, and nodded. Eriol smiled, nodded, then turned off the light.
Cardcaptors Alternative Syaoran 1st Thread ~ Jouhou ~
...Woven
Anjin's Comments – So, first chapter. 'Thread', as it were... you know, with the threads of fate cliché and all. Right, hoped everyone got that. If you didn't understand some of the Japanese in here please don't be upset. Really nothing important was un-translated... and if you did understand it consider it a treat for your Japanophile-ness. I'll try to keep it to a minimum but... y'know... I can't very well call a 'shinai' a 'bamboo practice sword' every time. Nor am I gonna call 'sensei' 'teacher' or 'dojo' 'training hall'.
What's up with the chapter title, and why's it at the end? Hmm... can't say. I just didn't feel like putting the titles at the beginning and also I've decided to only use the names of anime OP or ED themes as chapter titles! Don't ask me why. Anyway I'm trying to find anime themes that fit the mood or feeling or meaning of the chapter in either lyrics or style. You'll notice that the first theme I used (Jouhou, you can find it on Youtube if you search for 'Es Otherwsie OP') from E's Otherwise is a song about the unknown and how it surrounds us. I thought this was a good introductory song to use since obviously I've just thrown you into a very odd parallel of the original Cardcaptors world where things are very different. Trust me, they're even more different than you know. Much more. I've got quite the deep and twisted plot ready.
Oh, and want to hear a great thing? I'm keeping my Original Characters in this to almost zero. All the main cast will be the original CCS cast, but playing completely different roles. It'll be fun, trust me. I know I've probably already ruffled some feathers with the pairings you saw in this chapter, but it'll only get better. I really wanted to try some things with Rika and Naoki, and I wanted to throw some random relationships at Syaoran such as his crush on Tomoyo just to see what will happen. Exciting right? I hope so.
I'd like to thank Wish-chan who is writing the New Trials CCS story since she's my inspiration in launching into this big work. I never would have had the courage to dedicate any time or effort into a CCS fic if she hadn't have proven that people are still interested in these things. I'm amazed by her dedication and really touched. I hope someday she reads this fic also, since I'm certainly an avid reader of hers!
Other notes or comments... hmm... Well I'll include more thoughts in the second chapter since this one is just an introduction. If you have any comments or concerns please write me at All kinds of contacts are welcome and appreciated. Look forward to Thread 2 here in a bit!
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Eriol: Want richer, fuller hair? Want to bring out the true hue in you? New Syaoran moisturizes and revitalizes your follicles and brings energy back to your curls.
Announcer: Cardcaptors Alternative Syaoran 2nd Thread ~???~
Eriol: Because I'm worth it.