Chapter 2: Regret
"Fear is temporary, regret is forever." -Anon
The bell rang and school was finally done for the day.
If one listened closely enough, they would be able to hear the faint melody of piano notes playing from the music room. Tomoyo Daidouji stared down the hallway, her eyes fluttering towards the music room.
She has heard that melody somewhere before, but where? With a sense of eagerness, she walked towards the music room. Timidly, she slowly opened the door, afraid of what- or rather, who she might see.
"Hiiragizawa-kun."
"Long time no see," replied Eriol looking up from the piano. "I've mentioned it before, haven't I? You can just call me Eriol, I am not too fond of such formalities."
Huh? Her heart melted and something in her stomach lurched upon seeing the boy with glasses and dark blue hair with brilliant sapphire eyes, sitting down, his hands rested on the piano.
"Okay, then you can just call me Tomoyo as well, Eriol-kun. So what brings you back here in Japan?" Tomoyo replied, a bit hesitant.
"I guess things just got too boring back home, so I decided to pay everyone a visit." Eriol stated as a matter of fact.
Tomoyo merely smiled, of course, what else would be the reason? But there must be something else. "Have you told anyone yet, or were you planning to surprise us?" she asked, as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Maybe." was his short response. He stood up and walked closer to Tomoyo, "As always, you look very beautiful, Tomoyo-san."
What? Was he actually... complimenting her? "I- uh.."
"Tomoyo-chan! There you are, I was looking every-" Sakura stopped, bursting into the music room. She stared at Eriol and Tomoyo and then smiled.
"Eriol-kun! What are you doing back here in Japan? Why didn't you say anything?" Sakura asked, then she glanced at the slightly red Tomoyo. Oh dear, did she interrupt something important?
"Hello Sakura-san, I was going to tell you. Though, I just didn't know when." Eriol smiled.
"Oh, right! Tomoyo-chan you forgot this!" Sakura said turning to Tomoyo, she handed her a blue bag filled with papers and sewing materials.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Tomoyo replied.
"It's no problem! Well, we should probably head home." Sakura turned around, ready to leave the room. Then she frowned, if Eriol's here, is there something that she should be worried about? Surely Eriol didn't just come all the way from England to Japan just because he wanted to pay them a visit. She shook her head, now if only he was back...
Tomoyo and Eriol stared at Sakura shaking her head furiously and exchanged puzzled glances.
xoxoxoxoxox
Walking down the streets, Sakura halted and looked at Eriol expectantly, "What are you really doing back here in Japan, Eriol-kun?" She couldn't get the thought out of her head.
Looking back at Sakura, his brows furrowed, "Well, I really wouldn't be lying if I told you that it just got too boring back home."
"But?" Sakura added, was she right after all?
"But... I believe that there is something that we should be rather concered about." After a second thought, he added, "Apparently, a seal had just been broken a few days ago."
"A seal?" Tomoyo asked.
"Yes, and I believe that that seal was made by Clow himself. Decades ago, he sealed a source of dark magic that was preventing him from making the Clow Cards."
"Dark magic..." Sakura repeated.
"To maintain equibrilium between the forces, there also had to be some sort of dark magic to match the cards' light ones. And just a few days ago, the seal broke which caused all of the dark magic to be released." Eriol said, his glasses reflecting light from the setting sun.
"So that's why I've been feeling this dark aura all this time... But then, who could've broken the seal?" Sakura asked, "Clow-san was known for making very formidabble seals and barriers after all."
"I still don't know, but whoever it is, it must be someone powerful." Eriol said, "You better be careful and stay on your guard, but if there's anything in more danger than you are, it's the cards. If there is dark magic on the loose, it may very well take control over the cards and possibly corrupt them. And the cards, when used for the wrong intentions can be very powerful, and instead of being able to aid you as they're supposed to, may also pose as a very dangerous threat to you."
Sakura frowned, this was a lot to take in. Just as she thought that life was finally going normal for her for once. But then again, it is her duty as the mistress of the Sakura cards, and they were the ones at stake. She must find a way to destroy the source of this dark magic before it harms any of the cards.
"Then that means..." Tomoyo shrieked.
"Eh?" Sakura looked at Tomoyo quizzically.
"This means... That I'll be able to video tape Sakura-chan wearing my battle costumes again! Ah, this makes me very happy!" Tomoyo squealed. Although she was worried about all of this, the least she could do was lighten up the mood. At this, Eriol smiled. But truly, she was happy that the costumes that she had been making for the past two years or so weren't going to waste after all.
xoxoxoxoxox
Rei walked into the Li mansion and went to the courtyard, "Ya called?"
Syaoran looked up, "Eh? Well, that was quick."
"Heh, well you see, I have this thing called magic, Syao-kun." Rei leaned against the doorway gazing at the scene of Meilin layed on the ground with her head rested on Syaoran's lap, "What happened?"
"Meilin passed out..."
"YOU CALLED ME ALL THE WAY FROM JAPAN JUST FOR THAT?!" Rei exclaimed, steam coming out from her ears.
Syaoran sweat-dropped at the sight of an angered Rei, "No! No! It's not just because of that." He paused, "Actually, I want you to stay here for a few days."
Rei lowered her fists and said, "Hm, Why?"
"Well..." Syaoran looked at Meilin, her breathing was slowly going back to normal now, "I need you to look after Meilin."
"Oh...? Well, I don't mind. By the way, I was just in the middle of talking to Saku-chan and Tomo-chan when you called," Rei smiled.
"Wait, what? Did you tell th-"
"Nah, I didn't. I mean, Eri-kun's probably in Japan by now, and I'll let him fill them in."
"Eri-kun..?" Syaoran scowled, he had completely forgotten about that four-eyed creep.
"So, are you going to take Mei-chan inside or what?" Rei crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
"Oh, right." He carried Meilin on his back and proceeded to carry her into the house, Rei followed from behind.
"So why do I need to take care of Mei-chan exactly?"
"I just feel like we should be extra careful, and I can't exactly leave her alone here in Hong Kong while we're in Japan. I want to bring her with us, but like you said, the Elders might not approve." Syaoran replied, entering a guest room and setting the unconcious Meilin on the bed.
He was listening to that conversation? "Well, I guess that's fine." Rei paused, "But you can't take me out from all the fun for too long! I want to go back to Japan, too."
"Fine, for now, we'll take turns. I'm not supposed to leave for Japan yet, so I'll call you again when the time comes. Is that okay? Oh, and sorry for bringing you over here in such a short notice."
"Yeah, that's fine," Rei responded.
"Well, I'll be leaving now. Take care!"
"Yeah, the same goes to you." Syaoran watched as Rei left the room and disappeared.
xoxoxoxoxox
"A seal was broken?" Kero asked.
"Yeah... now there seems to be some sort of dark magic on the loose." Sakura pondered for a moment, this is different from merely catching the cards when they were up to mischief, nor that time when Eriol-kun was training me since he had good intentions anyway and didn't want to completely harm us. However, this time...
"Sakura?" Kero called.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sakura smiled, "Let's worry about all of that tommorow, I'm tired."
Kero nodded and turned off the lights and snuggled up next to Sakura, "Sweet dreams, Sakura."
"You too, Kero-chan."
xoxoxoxoxox
Rei walked down the streets when she suddenly felt the urge to go to King Penguin park. She continued walking until she saw a person in the distance. Slowly, she walked closer to the person.
"..."
Rei grinned and faced Eriol, dark blue hair swaying in the wind and glasses glimmering in the moonlight.
"Long time no see," Rei said.
"Long time no see, indeed, Reiji." Eriol smiled teasingly.
Rei's eyebrows twiched, "Oh come on, don't be like that, Eri-kun."
"Like what?"
"This conversation isn't going to go anywhere. I'm glad to see you're doing fine after all these years, makes me want to screw your pretty little face up a bit." Rei said, releasing her sword.
"Oh, don't think the feelings aren't mutual." Eriol also released his staff and pointed it towards Rei.
"Heh," Rei lunged forward to attack Eriol.
"Want to celebrate our reunion with a fight? You haven't changed one bit." Eriol said, blocking Rei's speedy attacks with his staff.
"Same goes to you, you're still an old creepy hag stuck in a kid's body!" Rei slashed her sword at him again.
"I've been reincarnated, Reiji, if that makes any sense. And do I really have to say this again? Just because I am Clow Reed's reincarnation, doesn't mean that I am really him. So I see no right for you to hold a grudge on me for what Clow did after all these years."
Rei only remained silent and attacked Eriol, once again he blocked it with his staff. Then a huge amount of dust gathered, and once everything cleared, Eriol found himself standing alone in the park. Rei had disappeared, he smiled.
xoxoxoxox
"Syaoran...?" Meilin called, eyes half-shut.
"Meilin!" Syaoran ran up to Meilin, "Are you okay now?"
"I'm feeling a little dizzy, but I'm fine." Meilin paused, she eyed the ofuda in Syaoran's hand, "What's that?"
"So why do I need to take care of Mei-chan exactly?"
"I just feel like we should be extra careful, and I can't exactly leave her alone here in Hong Kong while we're in Japan. I want to bring her with us, but like you said, the Elders might not approve." Syaoran replied.
"Well, I guess that's fine." Rei paused, "But you can't take me out from all the fun for too long! I want to go back to Japan, too."
"Fine, for now, we'll take turns. I'm not supposed to leave for Japan yet, so I'll call you again when the time comes. Is that okay? Oh, and sorry for bringing you over here in such a short notice."
"Yeah, that's fine," Rei said.
"So, did you bring it?" Syaoran asked.
"Hmm? Oh, right. This?" Rei handed Syaoran a sealing ofuda. It was emanating a strong dark aura.
"I sealed it there for now when I felt the dark aura near the school gates for the second time, I guess Saku-chan felt it too, but I got ahead of her. Whaddja say?"
"Well, you should give this back to her, so that she can seal the dark magic away again so that it won't corrupt the cards." Syaoran handed the ofuda back to Rei.
"No, keep it. You give it back to her. She probably doesn't even know how to seal dark magic yet. So you keep it and make sure it doesn't break free, okay? I'm going to take care of a few things while I'm here." Rei said, "Well, I'll be leaving now, take care!"
Syaoran quickly hid the ofuda in his pocket, he stammered, "I-It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"Hm.. okay then. Where are we?" Meilin looked around the room.
"We're in one of the guest rooms at my house, you suddenly passed out while we were training earlier. Oh right, I have to tell Wei. Don't move too much, okay? I'll be right back."
Watching Syaoran leave the room, Meilin smiled, since when did Syaoran become so caring? It was just a few years ago when he was that grouchy anti-social kid at school. All the more reason why Syaoran needs Sakura more than anyone, she's the only one who can really change the darkest of hearts. (Not that he had one)
That's why I also want him to go back to Japan, he and Rei needs to stop worrying so much about me. Stupid useless, weak, magic-less self.
xoxoxoxox
"You have an injury," a feminine voice said.
"It's fine, I can handle it." Rei replied, she was gripping her sword too tightly, her palm was almost in the verge of bleeding. She clenched her fists, she was walking down the streets on the way to her apartment, next to Syaoran's old one.
"I can heal it for you," the voice insisted.
"I'm fine. Besides, you already helped me out so much earlier, that's good enough for today," Rei said.
"Hmm.. fine. If that's what you want, then I guess I can't do anything about it," the voice disappeared.
She looked at her palm, slowly, the scars healed, as if it wasn't there in the first place. "Heh, persistent as always aren't you?"
xoxoxoxox
The next day...
"Everyone, please take your seats! I have an announcement to make." Terada-sensei said, walking into the classroom.
"Today, I have a new transfer student to introduce to you. She comes from Hong Kong and is cousins with the other two Li's, come in." Terada-sensei gestured to the door.
"Cousins? Does sensei mean Li-kun and Meilin-chan?" One of the students whispered.
Then, a bright-looking girl with long brown hair and red amber eyes entered the classroom, "Hello everyone, my name is Li Reienji. Nice to meet you all," She smiled, so wide that a halo might just appear above her head.
The three cousins back in their school in Hong Kong were known to be the most popular, talented, beautiful/handsome and not to mention, very smart. Sometimes, in grades and competitions, it would be Meilin in first place, sometimes Rei, and most of the time, Syaoran. Thus, all through out the school, they were known as the 'Wanmei San' (perfect three/trio).
"Let's see... about your seat, you can take the one behind Daidouji-san," Terada-sensei pointed to an empty spot behind Tomoyo.
Rei walked up to Tomoyo and Sakura and smiled once again, "Nice to meet you." And she proceeded to her seat.
"Hoe... I mean, I guess I'm not surprised, but.." Sakura whispered to Tomoyo.
"We should've seen it coming, ohohoho..." Tomoyo agreed.
xoxoxoxox
"Does anyone know the answer to this problem?" The math teacher, Asuka-sensei, aksed.
The whole class was dead silent, this was just literally taught last week ago and nobody could remember the formula anymore, some people like Tomoyo did, but they probably didn't want to go up front and answer nonetheless.
Rei raised her hand.
"Reienji-san, please answer the problem on the board," all heads turned to Rei's direction. She stood and walked up to the board and answered the problem.
"Correct, well done, Reienji-san." Asuka-sensei acknowledged, she surely wasn't expecting the new student to answer the problem the students could barely even remember, well she is a Li after all.
"Good job, Rei-chan! You got it on the first try!" Tomoyo whispered to Rei.
Sakura smiled, "Yeah, I was afraid that if nobody volunteered she would call a student instead, ahahaha.."
"Eh? It's no big deal, really..." Rei blushed, but what could she do? Math was her favorite subject after all, besides English.
'Show off.' A voice murmured.
'Shut up!' Rei retorted.
xoxoxoxox
"Yes. Brown transferred into Pink's class, just this morning. Brown seems to be getting along with Pink and Purple well." A girl with long dark violet hair and black eyes spoke through the mic.
"Anything else?" A male's voice spoke through the earpiece.
"Brown showed signs of great use of light power. If my calculations are correct, she used a teleportation spell," The girl continued, she gazed at the sight below, she was standing on the top of a tall building, probably 60 feet from the ground.
"To where?"
"Hong Kong. She met with Green since he called her, apprently Red lost conciousness."
"He called her just for that...?"
"Brown also gave Green a sealing ofuda, and went off on her own." The girl paused, "That's all, currently, Pink and Purple are eating outside with a few friends; one boy, three girls, and a girl is approaching them. And Brown's whereabouts are currently unknown."
"I understand, I will be on standby in the meantime," She said, putting her sunglasses on, as she jumped off of the building.
xoxoxoxox
"So? How did everyone's summer vacation go?" Chiharu asked.
"It was great! My family and I went to this sort of white victorian-style house in Kyoto!" Naoko replied.
"Oh, I did hear about that, they're those big mansion-like houses near the beach, right?" Rika stated.
"Eehh... really? That must've been nice!" Sakura beamed, all of the girls (insert Takashi here) gathered for lunchtime and talked about what happened to their summer vacations, as usual.
Takashi joined in, "Speaking of victorian-styled houses! Did any of you know that they were first founded by a woman who was apparently named Victoria, and was also rumored to be a cunning murderer which deceived men at night, takes their money, and uses that same money to-"
Takashi almost got to finish his story but ended up being strangled by Chiharu, "Lies, lies! Look at Sakura-chan! Don't you feel guilty at all?"
They all turned to Sakura, who was star-eyed, "Eh...?! I didn't know that! It sounds really creepy, but I wanted to hear the rest!"
Takashi smiled, but before he could do anything else, Chiharu teasingly slapped him on the back as a girl started to run towards them.
"Sakura-san!" A girl with long, white, snow-like hair tied into a ponytail and icy blue eyes approached them.
"Ah, Aisu-chan." Sakura looked up.
"Is there something we can help you with, Aisu-san?" Tomoyo also looked up, if there was anyone that rivalved with Tomoyo's beauty, kindness, and grace, it would be Fuyu Aisu. Secretary of the student council, also known as the Snow Princess because of her kind, elegant, and sometimes icy nature.
"Is Yuki-kun with you, Aisu-san?" Yamazaki asked, he was friends with Aisu's twin brother, Fuyu Yuki. The captain of the basketball team and, just like his sister, known as the Snow Prince.
"He has a basketball meeting," Aisu replied.
"Eh? Even though it's lunchtime?" Sakura asked.
"Well, I heard it was pretty urgent since the annual sport games are coming up, the captains are getting really fidgety, since this year, we'll be going up against Rissei Academy," Chiharu said. Rissei Academy was the posh and elegant school that was just beside the neighborhood Tomoeda. Rissei Academy could probably be called Tomoeda's rival school in games and other competitions.
"Yeah, that's right." Aisu replied, as she eyed Rika who was quietly eating her lunch.
Feeling a pair of icy blue eyes directed at her, Rika looked up, "Eh?"
Aisu quickly looked away, "Ah, by the way, Sakura-san, Terada-sensei asked me to give this to you. Sorry for bothering all of you, I'll be leaving now," Aisu smiled. She took one final glance at Rika and took off.
Tomoyo noticed this, and she tapped Sakura lightly on the shoulder, "Sakura-chan, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Right now? I mean, the bell is probably just about to ring. We should head back," Sakura whispered to her, Tomoyo's strange expression worried her, these days, she felt like Tomoyo was being less than her usual composed self, I wonder if she's also worried about this whole 'dark magic' thing...
As soon as she said that, the bell rang. "Oh, right..." Tomoyo laughed nervously. Ever since Aisu started going to their school, she's been feeling very off lately. Everyone gathered their bentos and readied to go back inside until Tomoyo was the only one left.
Someone walked up behind her and a very familliar voice whispered, "Be careful, she might know more than she lets on. There's no knowing of what she's capable of doing."
Tomoyo spunned around to see who was talking, but as she turned around, the person was gone. That voice... I know it too well, it's Eriol-kun's.
"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura called and waved her hand in the distance, "Are you coming?"
"I'll be right there!"
xoxoxoxox
"Stupid Rei. What makes her think I can keep this thing from breaking free? I can even barely control my magic properly..." Syaoran said, eying the black-tainted ofuda in his hands.
"She probably thinks that you should give it to Kinomoto-san."
Syaoran jumped and quickly hid the ofuda, "Gah! Meilin? What are you doing? You're not supposed to be up yet!"
"Psshhh! I'm perfectly fine, you don't have to worry so much about me," Meilin replied.
Syaoran looked away, "I wasn't worried."
"Heh, of couse you weren't," Meilin teased. Then, she walked past him, hands folded on her back, as her long, black pigtails fanned behind her, "I am hungry though, so I'm gonna go back to my house. Don't worry, I'll tell Wei and Auntie Yelan about what happened before I leave."
"Okay then, be careful on your way home." Syaoran paused, "On second thought, maybe you should ask Wei to escort you."
"I'll be fine, jeez!" She groaned, "So? When are you planning to go to Japan?"
"Rei still needs to take care of a few things in Japan, so I guess It'll have to wait."
"What does that have to do with this?" Meilin paused, "Well, even so... don't you want to see her again or something?" Meilin played with her luck, she really wanted to know what was going on his mind, because at times like these, he tends to just bottle himself up. And that was not a good thing.
Expertly changing the subject, Syaoran proceeded to head back to his room and said, "It's getting dark, you should probably head back now," Trying to keep the restraint tone from his voice.
Meilin pouted, "Hmph! I'm telling you, if you keep this on, she'll really start hating on you."
Abruptly, Syaoran turned around and stared right through her amber eyes, a shade a little lighter than his.
A chill ran down her spine as she walked towards the door, "I'm leaving."
That is true, but what exactly should I do? Go back to Japan and expect her to forgive me so easily after I left her without even saying goodbye? I'm an idiot, and that's why I've chosen to let go. She probably hates me more than anyone in the world right now.
Still... I'm sorry that I didn't say anything to you that time. I wonder if I'll ever be able to look at you straight in the eyes ever again. But seeing how things are now, I guess I have to, huh?
xoxoxoxoxox
Taira Murasaki:
Konnichiwa, everyone! Thank you for reading! Did you enjoy? Sorry if the scenes are a little mixed up and confusing. I'll try to work on that, hehe.
Hohoho... Things are about to get spicy... Say, what if Sakura-chan got a boyfriend and forgot about Syaoran-kun completely? What will he do about it, I wonder. *smirk* No, no, I was just kidding. I'm not that cruel.
Again, thank you so much for reading and please come back for more! I'll try not to be late this time, chapter 3 will be up in a few. (I forgot to mention it last time, but if you want to see Chapter 3 early, it is up in Wattpad since that's where I originally started posting. Have a great one!
Arigatougozaimasu!
