CHAPTER TWO: REVELATION
Syaoran whirled around in surprise to see a young man standing in front of them. He claimed to be their tour guide and seemed appeared nice enough, speaking of princesses and royalty and things that would be fascinating to explore. The other students were entranced by him, running to his side without protest. Terada-sensei's carriage pulled up, and as more students landed on the field they also hurried to the tour guide's side. He was, as far as appearances go, completely harmless.
Syaoran, however, didn't trust him for a moment. The guide had a strong magical aura, one that rivaled Syaoran's own, and Syaoran had always been taught to be wary of those with power.
He turned to the recently titled Master of the Clow to inform her of the potential danger, but saw that Sakura was beside Link like the others and was giggling at something that Chiharu had said. The little group of girls looked so close, so happy… How could Syaoran break that up for something so serious? He shook his head and walked to Link's other side, far away from Sakura. Well, he would be on guard at least, even if Sakura wasn't. He would protect her without burdening her. It was a lonely life, but it was what would make Sakura happiest. Syaoran was beginning to learn that sometimes when it comes to making your number one person happy, you have to make some sacrifices in the process.
As Link led the group of students through the market, a man who Link guessed to be their chaperone ran up next to him. "Is there something I can help you with, sir?" Link asked.
Terada-sensei cleared his throat. "Well, I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Terada Yoshiyuki, and these are my fifth graders. I'm very pleased to meet you." He held out his hand. "That's a very interesting outfit you're wearing, sir. Is that traditional garb here?"
"It's good to meet you, Mr. Terada. I'm Link. This clothing was made by the Kokiri. The Kokiri live in the forest, hence the green coloration. You'll get to meet them later." Link was a little preoccupied with the glares he was getting from the magical boy. What could he possibly have against me? He probably doesn't trust me. I'll have to talk to him later. "I hope you enjoy your stay, Mr. Terada. Also, you should try some of the cakes here. They're quite good." Link thought he heard a noise and turned to look. All he saw was the students one of which was rummaging through her bag. Normally Link would have dismissed this, but this was the girl who had a magical aura. He would have to investigate that as well.
At the mention of food, Kero had aroused inside Sakura's big and started banging his head into its sides, struggling to escape the confines. "I want cakkkeeesss…"
"Kero-chan!" Sakura cried, pushing him back down as quietly as she possibly could. "You can't do that! What if someone sees you?" She caught the eyes of Link, who gave her a suspicious look. She laughed nervously and gave him a shaky expression that she hoped resembled a smile.
"That's very interesting," Terada-sensei was telling Link. "I can't wait to meet them. And cakes, hmm? We should go to a café or something later…"
"YES!" shouted Kero.
Sakura gave him a particularly violent shove in response.
————
After what felt like longer than usual, Link led his group onto castle grounds. Zelda had gotten there before them and was standing in the courtyard flanked by guards.
"Hello, everyone. I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. Thank you for visiting our country. Hopefully you will find it to be full of entertaining and enriching experiences. Link has explored more of Hyrule than anyone else, so there's no one better to guide you. You will be visiting many unique places, many of which have rich cultures all their own. At the end of your stay, we here at Hyrule castle have planned a special meal that will feature food from all over the country. You will get to sample these foods during your tour, so you will be able to have your favorite choice at the party. Link, please take our guests to the inn."
"We get to sample foods?" asked Kero, but softly enough that Sakura wouldn't hit him again. His mouth was watering already!
Link, who had been thinking about when they were going to get to the ranch, shook his head slightly and glanced around. "Right, the inn is in Kakariko Village, so we should get going. This way, please." He would talk to the magical children at the inn.
The students gathered their things and followed after Link, talking amongst themselves about how exciting it was to be in a different country. Syaoran kept his eyes on Link at all times. He couldn't help noticing the strange green garb, so similar to the ceremonial robes that he wore while capturing Clow Cards. Did Link know about the Cards somehow? Sakura had said that Clow had been to Hyrule…
Maybe he was reading too much into this, but he'd been trained very carefully never to relax, never to assume that things were all right.
"Syaoran-kun!"
"AUGGHHH!" Sakura had crept up behind Syaoran without his knowing, and he yelped in horror until he realized who it was. "Oh, um, Sakura… it's you."
Sakura never once flinched, never wavered from her position. "Syaoran-kun, let's walk to the inn together!"
Syaoran blushed a deep crimson. "Okay…"
"You seem so serious," Sakura giggled. "Relax! Have some fun!" She held out her hand.
He took it. Oh, God.
————
As the group arrived at the inn, Link breathed a deep sigh of relief to see Anju standing at the door. Anju loved children and knew that Link was easily exhausted by them.
"Well, everyone, this is Anju, the innkeeper. She'll show you to your rooms. We'll meet for dinner at six-thirty, so you have some time to unpack."
As the students walked in, Link discreetly pulled aside the two magical ones. The girl appeared confused, but the boy was giving him a death glare.
"So, let's get down to business. What kind of magic do you have, what's in the backpack, and what do you use your magic for?"
Sakura gaped. She didn't understand… how could he have known? "How… how do you know we have magic?" asked Sakura defensively.
"Isn't it obvious?" spat Syaoran, but his anger was directed at Link, not at Sakura. She looked to him with wide eyes. "He has magic too."
"Oh," squeaked Sakura. Before she even had time to gain her composure after this news, her bag gave a huge lurch and a little yellow lion came tumbling out. "KERO-CHAN!"
"He knew I was here," Kero said seriously, glaring at Link with the intensity of Syaoran. "What's your magic, kid?"
Sakura didn't quite know what to do. She liked Link, but she didn't know if she could trust him now, based on Kero and Syaoran's behavior. On the other hand, their attitudes towards him seemed quite a bit rude.
Link took a few mental deep breaths to prevent himself from snapping at the rude boy. "I am known by some as the Hero of Time. I'm also the bearer of the Triforce of Courage." He held up his hand to show them the glowing triangles. "I defeated Ganondorf and saved Hyrule, so if you fight for good, then everything should be fine. In fact, maybe we could learn something from each other, like how to be more trusting." He looked directly at the glaring boy as he said this. "As for the plush toy—"
"WHAT did you call me?!" Sakura would have warned Link not to say it, but now it was far too late. In a state of blind fury, Kero flew forward and clamped his sharp little teeth around Link's finger.
Syaoran stood next to them complacently. He didn't much like either Kero or Link, and didn't know whose side to pick in the fight. Certainly he pitied Link, as the same set of actions had befallen him when he had first met Kero. But then again, Link was a mysterious magician who could be secretly trying to kill him and Sakura this very moment. He decided not to interfere.
"Kero-chan!" Sakura cried out in horror. She lunged forward, trying in vain to grab a hold of the tip of Kero's tail. "I'm so sorry, Link-san," Sakura sputtered. "Kero-chan hates being called a stuffed toy."
Link was annoyed that he had been bitten, but he'd had much worse happen to him in the past. "Sorry… Kero, was it? Okay, well, I suppose that you aren't what you appear to be. I seriously doubt that any respectable magician would make that your true form. So, tell me, what are your names? Also, what kind of magic do you use? I've been taking lessons for a while and it involves a lot of reading, so I might know a thing or two about it."
"It's not Kero," Kero told Link indignantly, before the others could say a word. "My name is Cerberus, guardian beast of the seal! Yeah, this isn't my true form; Clow knew better than that. My true form is super-cool!" he bragged. "This is the aweosmetastic Master of the Cards Clow left, in all her glory—"
"Kero-chan." Sakura sighed and shook her head, taking over introductions after he abruptly shut up. "I'm Kinomoto Sakura, and this is Li Syaoran-kun." She looked dutifully at Link. "I'm the new Master of the Clow, which are these magical Cards made by Clow Reed-san. He's, um, a magician who lived a long time ago—"
"The greatest magician to date!" Kero proclaimed proudly.
"Yeah, that." Sakura was embarrassed by Kero, but she gave Link one of her famous warm smiles. "Syaoran-kun is from Hong Kong, but he came to Japan to look for the Clow Cards. He helps me out a lot."
To his annoyance, Syaoran's face turned red at this comment. "I… I captured some of the Cards too," he told Link. It was against his better judgment, but how could he refuse when Sakura had just informed their guide of practically everything? "And I have the strongest magic in my family, the Li Clan of China. Clow Reed is our ancestor… you've heard of us, right?" Searching Link's eyes, he couldn't tell if he had or not. "I can do Chinese magic," he went on. "I can make wind or fire with my sword. That kind of thing."
"Hmm, Clow Reed…" Link mused. "Yes, I do remember reading about him, a great magician. I do believe that your clan was mentioned as one of the two branches that exist. If either of you needs anything magic-related during your stay, I'm your guy. And did you say your name was Kinomoto? A young man with that same name got a job at the inn yesterday. His first name was… Toya, I think. You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?"
Sakura had just opened her mouth to thank him when suddenly she heard her Oniichan's name come out of Link's mouth. This couldn't be the same Toya, could it…? But then, wasn't Kinomoto a distinctly Japanese name? And Toya had said that he was getting a job in Hyrule. But at the inn she was staying at? That was just too weird. "Toya? H-hai, I know him," Sakura said shakily. "He's my Oniichan… my big brother."
Syaoran's eyes burned at the mention of Toya's name. The fact that the two hated each other was common knowledge. Syaoran was going to have trouble sleeping at night, what with Kero and Link and Toya all in the same building as he was. Could this arrangement possibly get any worse?
"Your brother? Well, that's a big coincidence," said Link. "You two should head to your rooms. You should have just enough time to unpack before dinner." But as the two started to head towards the door, Link grabbed Syaoran's shoulder and bent down next to his ear. "She likes you. Go for it." And with that, he walked off towards the restaurant to make last-minute arrangements.
Syaoran stared after Link for a full minute before he came to his senses and ran after Sakura to unpack his things. As it turned out, he was sharing a room with Yamazaki (Sakura was sharing with Tomoyo, and of course Kero-chan), and he was in a daze the entire way through unpacking his clothes. He didn't hear Yamazaki's lies as they flew past his ears. He didn't notice what drawer he put his shirts in and what drawer his pants. He wasn't even consciously thinking when he pulled from his pocket the keychain that would turn into his sword and placed it on the dresser. His mind was still stuck on Link's last sentence and couldn't seem to pull itself away. It was if that when a certain six words were uttered in his ear, a switch was turned off inside him and those six were the only things he could think of.
"She likes you. Go for it."
Was it true? Did Sakura really like him? Or had the tour guide lied to him, set it up on purpose as a decoy so that he wouldn't notice when he was attacked? But then, if it were meant as a distraction, then wouldn't the tour guide have needed to whisper something to Sakura too?
"She likes you…"
Syaoran knew Sakura liked him. Of course Sakura liked him. The two of them were best friends, and would always be best friends.
But… did she like him as something more?
"She likes you…"
She was in love with Tsukishiro-san, wasn't she?
"Go for it!"
Should he trust this tour guide? His instincts told him never to take anything at face value, but his heart told him that Link was a good guy. Maybe he really was just trying to help… but even then, how could Syaoran prove that the tour guide's advice was good?
"She likes you."
Did she?
Did she?!
How hard it was to be on guard and keep his senses peeled, Syaoran mused, when the simple fact that he was in love seemed to ruin everything in an instant.
————
Link walked out of the restaurant and sat down on a bench deep in thought. He knew the kid wouldn't believe him at first, but at least he'd tried, right? He could tell by the energy surrounding them that that he had done the right thing, but he didn't like to be called a hypocrite.
I'm going to have to tell Malon that I love her before that kid will trust me enough to take my advice.
And then there was the girl. She was in love with Syaoran, but she didn't know it yet.
How do you tell someone something like that? Syaoran probably thinks that he's the one who has the biggest mental dilemma right now. If I could just get Sakura into a Shekiah meditative state, she'd realize that she loves him! But how?
Aha! If I could get her to look at the Mirror Shield through the Lens of Truth, the effects would be instantaneous!
Link got up and walked towards the hotel, quite pleased with himself.
————
Syaoran was still in a daze from Link's words as he arrived at the dinner table. He barely noticed as friends greeted him, and when Sakura smiled at him, he turned away. Could he trust Link? Did Sakura really return his feelings? He couldn't even look at her now, let alone "go for it," as Link had suggested. He averted his eyes and sat down next to Yamazaki instead of her.
Sakura, however, had her own things to trouble over. Why wasn't Syaoran sitting next to her? He hadn't even said hello. Was he mad at her for telling all those things to Link? That had to be it. It was the only thing she'd done since she'd last talked to him that he would know about. She put her head in her hands, dismayed. She and Syaoran had just begun to be such good friends, too!
"Is something bothering you, Sakura-chan?"
"Hoe?" Sakura looked up to see Tomoyo sitting beside her. If she could trust anyone, it was Tomoyo. "Syaoran-kun ignored me when I said hi to him, and he wouldn't sit next to me," she explained. "I think he might be mad at me for telling Link-san about our magic."
Tomoyo smiled in an understanding way. "Maybe it's something else," she said gently in reply. "It's not you, Sakura-chan. Li-kun probably just has something else on his mind tonight."
Sakura put her head down once more, resuming the depressed expression from a moment earlier.
Tomoyo had something else in mind, but she didn't say it, for it would simply put Sakura into an even greater state of confusion. Li-kun probably just has something else on his mind tonight… like how to finally tell you that he loves you.
————
"Hey, Navi."
"What is it, Link?" asked the glowing fairy who had flown out from under his hat.
"How do you tell someone that you love them if you don't know if they love you?"
"Don't worry, Link. I know that Malon loves you just as much as you love her."
"How could you possibly know that?" asked Link incredulously.
"Because I'm your fairy. It's my job to make sure that you're safe, both physically and mentally, so if I didn't know, then I would be slacking."
"I believe you, but that doesn't make me much more confident."
"Don't worry," said Navi teasingly. "I have enough confidence to share."
"Thanks, Navi." Link smiled. "Okay, everyone, it's dinner time! Meet outside the restaurant!" He used a voice-throwing spell to make sure that everyone who was inside the inn heard him.
After dinner, that's when I'll get her to look at the Mirror Shield.
————
Kero was right. Hyrule did have good food. However, when convinced Syaoran was mad at her, it was hard for Sakura to enjoy it. Sakura was distant and depressed all through dinner, barely talking to anyone, and staring at the back of his head for the majority of the meal. She couldn't understand, however, why Syaoran not talking to her made her so miserable. Sure, he was her friend, but she wouldn't feel this way if Tomoyo decided not to say hi one afternoon. The way she felt about Syaoran was… different from the way she felt about Tomoyo, or any of her other friends for that matter. What was it?
Finally, when everyone had finished and Terada-sensei promised they would go to the inn's café and get cakes as soon as they met Link, Sakura pushed aside her chair and started out the doorway. However, once there, she was met by a very red, very fidgety Syaoran.
"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura cried. She had to get it off her chest. Hopefully once she apologized, he wouldn't be angry with her anymore. "I'm so sorry I told Link-san about our magic! He seemed so nice and I just wasn't thinking!"
"N-no, it's fine." To her surprise, Syaoran waved the comment away. But then why had he avoided her before? And why was his face so red? "Umm, Sakura," he began, still blushing furiously, "there's something I have to tell you."
"Okay," Sakura said agreeably, flashing him a smile for the first time all night. She was confused, but very relieved he wasn't mad. "What is it?"
Syaoran looked down at his toes. Why did this have to be so hard?! It was best to get it out there, and fast, before he had the chance to change his mind. "I… Sakura… I…"
"Yes?" asked Sakura, naïve and innocent as always, completely unaware of the sentence he was about to throw upon her and the impact it would have on the rest of her life.
Just two more words, and she'd know, and it would all be over. "Sakura," Syaoran said, determined to do it now that he'd started, "I lo—"
But before he could finish, he was tragically cut off by an all-too-familiar voice. "Oy! Sakura?!"
"Hoe?" Sakura looked up in shock to meet Toya's eyes. Syaoran stood by her side, frozen to the spot. Now he hated Toya more than ever. And he'd been so close to confessing, too!
"Hey, monster," said Toya lazily. "Didn't know you were staying here."
Sakura shook her head in amazement. "Oniichan! Link-san told me you were working here, but I thought it must be some kind of weird coincidence with someone with the same name or something."
Toya smirked. "Nope. It's really me. And hey, monster, guess who else is here?"
Before Sakura could guess, however, another figure appeared in the doorway behind Toya. He was tall and thin, with silvery hair and glasses and a wide smile. "Sakura-chan! Hello!"
Sakura's face reddened to almost the color of Syaoran's. "Y-Yukito-san!" she stammered. "I didn't know you would be w-working here too!" She couldn't believe her good luck. Staying in the same hotel as Yukito-san! What a dream! She still had these feelings for Syaoran that she couldn't quite make out, but she always felt so floaty inside when she was around Yukito! However, as much as she loved talking to Yukito, she was sort of curious about what Syaoran had to say. She made a mental note to ask him later… once she was done talking to Yukito-san, that is.
Syaoran's blush slowly faded as he watched Sakura and Yukito chat aimlessly about nothing in particular, his hopes fading along with the color in his cheeks. Why hadn't he seen it before? It was so darn obvious. He guessed that tour guide just hadn't seen how Sakura acted around Yukito, because it was so clear to Syaoran and everyone else around him that it was Yukito that Sakura was head over heels in love with.
Not Syaoran.
Yukito.
Syaoran left his confession in a figurative crumpled ball of unwanted paper at the corner of the room and went outside to see what the tour guide wanted. Syaoran wanted Sakura to be able to have time alone with the one she loved most.
————
Outside the hotel, Link stepped back from the wall that he had propped the Mirror Shield up against and pulled out the Lens of Truth. "Now I just have to get Sakura to look in the right place. Hey, Sakura!" he called. "I have something to show you! It's pretty cool, and it will only take a minute!"
As Syaoran walked out the side door, oblivious to the scene between the girl he loved and Link, Sakura reluctantly turned away from Yukito to see what her tour guide was talking about. Yukito gave her a little push so that she wouldn't feel rude by leaving. "Go on, Sakura-chan. I'm sure it'll be great."
Sakura smiled uncertainly at Yukito. She was still a little wary of Link after what Syaoran had told her about him, but she couldn't let Yukito know that. "H-hai! I'll be back in a minute, Yukito-san!"
Yukito gave her a nod. Secretly, he had another reason for wanting her to go. He thought that Sakura should get out and see places and experience things without being distracted by her feelings for him, because in the end when she confessed, he knew he would have to turn her down. Like Syaoran, Yukito had someone else who was very close to his heart. He loved Sakura, but he loved her like a little sister, not like a girlfriend.
Once outside in the cool evening air, Sakura cautiously approached Link. The crickets were chirping, the sky a medium-blue. Link was holding something weird-looking, but he seemed harmless enough. She had to keep reminding herself of Syaoran's words to stay on any sort of guard at all. "What is it, Link-san?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound cheerful, and to keep all fear out of it. Somehow she thought being afraid of her tour guide would seem slightly rude on her part, and that was the last impression she wanted to give.
"Hi, Sakura. See this lens? If you look at that shield through it, you can learn all sorts of things. It's not dangerous. I'll go first to prove it." Link looked at the Mirror Shield through the lens. What Sakura didn't know was that Link had done this before and all he saw was his reflection. "Go on. I promise you'll be fine." He held the lens out for Sakura to take.
Sakura was deeply uncertain. Mirrors had all kinds of magical properties, not to mention what the Mirror Clow Card had done to her Oniichan! Should she trust Link? What if what Syaoran had been going to tell her was that looking through the lens would cause a swift and painful death?! But no, that didn't seem right… he'd been blushing, as if embarrassed to tell her something. But what?
Well, if Link had looked through it, she mused, it could hardly be deadly. And she really wanted to stay on Link's good side. After only a moment's hesitation, Sakura took the lens from his hand and looked at the mirror's surface.
Suddenly she was hit by an overpowering epiphany. She couldn't have told you why or how, but suddenly Sakura's feelings for Yukito all seemed to fade to dust as she realized once and for all why she'd been so upset when Syaoran had been ignoring her.
She loved him.
He was her number one.
Now all she had to do was tell him. She hoped he felt the same way. She had to tell him. Tonight. Hope for the best. But wait—wasn't he engaged to Meilin?! This could cause some problems…
With trembling hands, Sakura lowered the lens and handed it back to Link as politely as she could. "Thank you, Link-san."
