Title: Reminiscent (3)
Author: Yih
Written: March 1, 2001
Dedication: To the following Reviewers- Baby Wolf, OneWeirdMOnkey!, Kitty0san, rynne (twice), Grace, Silver, obiwankatie, Blue Angel, caffeine koala, rakko-chan, and Azn Pnay!
I only know you like it if you review!
Disclaimer: All rights belong to Clamp except ACC- Shaolin, Faa, and Dangyun.
******** I WON'T BE UPDATING UNTIL I GET 10+ REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 3 B/C GETTING 200+ HITS PER CHAPTER AND ONLY 1 REVIEW IS PITIFUL***********
"Who are you?" demanded Syaoran in a sharp voice.
Shaolin ignored Syaoran and pressed a sweet kiss onto Sakura's forehead before letting her go. He turned to Syaoran, saying simply, "I'm what you were, and you are what I am. Do you understand what I've just told you? I'm what you have been, and you are what I will be."
Syaoran ignored Shaolin and asked Sakura instead, "who is he? Is the mirror card trying to play a joke on us? I'm sure it's the mirror card. I mean who else could pull this kind of joke? But how does this clone have my personality? I didn't think they could do that. Now that… is a new thing to try."
Sakura turned from Shaolin, but she reached for his hand to
hold on to. "It's no joke, Syaoran,"
she murmured in a voice that was still trembling from what she had heard about
Shaolin's sad tale. She had never
thought that one so young could have been through so young. He's not much older than I am, Sakura
thought. And he's been through so
much. I can't imagine how it would be
like to lose Syaoran that early when--when we're just discovering our love for
each other. How painful it must be to
be separated like that forever.
Syaoran now saw the tears that glistened on her beautiful
face. He wanted to know what had
happen. If that--that imposter has
hurt her, I don't care if he was me! I'm going to kill him for hurting my Sakura. No one can hurt my Sakura without getting past me first! And if this isn't a joke, what could it
be? Who is this guy who looks exactly
like me? Who wears my fighting robes in
a red color? Who is he? But I must not show my concerns. Sakura trusts him already, and she has good
judgment in people. I must be
comforting to Sakura, he decided when he felt her shaking off the last of
her sobs.
"Then what?" Syaoran asked gently, holding his arms out for Sakura.
Syaoran saw the hesitation in Sakura before she ran into his arms. He saw the reassuring squeeze she gave to the boy that looked exactly like him. He felt a sharp pang that he couldn't identify go down his spine. She said in a shaky voice, "he's what you were in your other life. He's come to protect me here, like you've protected me when I was capturing the Clow Cards. He wants to help me, Syaoran. Because--because…"
"Because Dangyun killed my Faa, who is now reincarnated in Sakura," his eyes were filled with sadness as he finished saying what Sakura couldn't finish.
"I don't see why you have to be here," Syaoran stated. "I can protect Sakura just fine. I've been there for her since the very beginning, and whether you are me or was me, I can still do just fine without you! Besides, we've been through enemies before and survived. What makes you think that we can't do it this time? Do you doubt Sakura's abilities?"
Shaolin shook his head. "No, no. I don't doubt Sakura's magical abilities. She's probably much stronger than I am. But then again, my real source of power lies in my fighting skills, not the magical ones. I lost Faa to Dangyun; I'm not going to lose her reincarnation to him. No matter what, even if I have to die, I'll make sure that my future will be intact with his destruction." He paused when he heard the sound of footsteps. "Who is it?"
"Tomoyo-chan!" cried out Sakura.
Tomoyo glanced at Sakura with a smile, but when she saw the remainder of the tears she inquired, "what's wrong Sakura? Why have you been crying?"
Sakura was about to respond when Tomoyo caught the startling revelation that Syaoran had somehow doubled himself. "Whose the Syaoran in red?"
"I'm Syaoran's past life," Shaolin answered simply. "My name is Shaolin."
"What's going on?" Tomoyo asked with keen perception.
"Dangyun."
"DANGYUN?!" cried out Kero as he fell from Tomoyo's backpack. "How did Dangyun get here? And what are you doing here little master? What's all this talk about Dangyun? Is he here because you're here? Then where's Clow Reed? Is Clow Reed here? Geez, wait until Yue gets a whiff of this, he'll be over in a flash? Where's Faa? She must be around if you're here! Someone answer me!"
Shaolin smiled sadly. "Faa's gone."
"Faa's gone?" Kero repeated with a question.
"She's dead," Shaolin stated.
Kero felt some tears form in his eyes. He still remembered Faa quite well, even after the many years. She was the one that had introduced him to the delights of human food. He couldn't believe she was gone. But if she was gone, he knew that Shaolin must be in even more pain. He had an idea who might have killed her but he asked for confirmation anyway, "who did it?"
"Dangyun."
"It still doesn't explain why you're here though, little master," Kero said.
Shaolin gazed intently at Sakura. "I'm here to protect Sakura. You did know that she was Faa's reincarnation, didn't you?"
"Err…" Kero muttered. He looked over at Sakura, scratching his head he finally said, "I did think she looked an awfully lot like Faa, but many souls aren't reincarnated, how was I suppose to know that Faa was one of them? But I see your point, Sakura is strikingly like Faa in appearance and personality."
Shaolin nodded. "And Dangyun is here to kill her because she is Faa's reincarnation. I'm here to make sure he doesn't kill Sakura and ruin my future self's life with her. And Clow Reed is not here. He didn't even want me to come here. He told me it was unnatural. And I agree with him. The force driving me into this timeline was incredible and the experience, different. But it isn't normal for humans to go travel through time. I felt my body being pulled into pieces, the world was trying to destroy me because I wasn't suppose to living through the passing time."
Kero nodded. "So many reincarnations of what was is in this period of time. It's not only you that has been reincarnated or Faa. Clow Reed has been too."
"He has?" queried Shaolin incredulously.
"But with lesser powers. Clow Reed had his powers split between two sources. Is Dangyun even more powerful now?"
"Yes," Shaolin said tiredly. "My onii-chan almost lost to him in the last battle, but he held on because of the Clow Cards."
"But Sakura should be alright," Tomoyo interrupted the conversation between Shaolin and Kero, "because she has transferred them to the Sakura Cards, and they are even more powerful than the Clow Cards."
"I really don't know. Clow Reed had more than the Clow Cards helping him. He has been studying magic since he was born. He was the most powerful magician of his time, and if Dangyun is his rival, even now I don't know…" Shaolin's voice trailed off.
Syaoran felt a surge of jealousy in his veins. Normally, he was the one they relied on. But now they were talking to Shaolin like he knew everything about everything. And he was jeaous, he admitted to himself. He tightened his hold on Sakura. He felt her shudder as she got rid of the last of her tears and sadness. She has been through so much, Syaoran thought, the Clow Cards taught her to much about what she has to be. She's probably the most powerful magical force right now. And and my leaving her a few years ago didn't help her. I'm so sorry Sakura, he stroked her lovingly, I love you so much. I'd do everything that I possible could that would make you happy and your life perfect. I'd sacrifice everything… just for you.
Sakura suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired. She didn't know what had happened that she
had known instinctively what to ask Shaolin to give her the answers, but
whatever it was, it had seemed to drain her energy. She leaned heavily against Syaoran and her eyes began to
droop. She was exhausted. I should be strong right now, she
thought with a sense of failure. But
I feel defeated. Everything is
different. I have to rest now. When I wake up, everything will be fine. I'll live through this living
nightmare. I'll be strong enough to
defeat Dangyuna and let this--this--this restless spirit--Faa… It's Faa inside
of me!
That's how I knew everything. That's how I knew what to ask when. It's Faa inside of me. It must be here. Who else can know all that she knows besides Shaolin? Oh, how tired she must be. She must have used whatever strength she had
to get in touch with me. She must be
here to help me and Syaoran. She
doesn't want what happens to Shaolin and her… to happen to Syaoran and me. I don't want that to happen either. I understand that now. Faa! I understand that Syaoran and I are meant to be like Shaolin and
you.
I won't be defeated by Dangyun. I'll try my best to see whatever plans he has for me--that they
don't come true! I promise both of us
that much!
Sakura felt like she was being lifted by a beautiful breeze. It felt wonderful. She wasn't afraid of it, even though it was a strange feeling. She wondered of the people around her felt the magical essense of the wind. It felt peaceful and comforting. Was Faa here? Could it be her?
Sakura… The wind whispered her name delicately. Sakura… it won't be easy, this journey that you need to travel.
Sakura felt a gentle touch of air on her hand, trying to make a connection. It seemed like it was trying to convey strength to her.
Sakura… love both of them because--because I'm no longer there…
Author's Note: I'd really appreciate it if you review it if you'd like me to continue writing this. I really don't know if this is better than An Endless Affair. I really should start working on the next sequel to An Endless Affair, but I find this series has taken on a mind of its own saying: WRITE ME! My personal feelings is that this is the better fanfic because it's more well-written and more thought out. I am still deliberating how I am going to incorporate the other characters, but this story certainly won't be only about the S+S(+S) relationship. I'm really sorry that this part was shorter, but I can't write anymore without going into the next part…
Remember: Reviewing is Doing the Giving to Caring authors Slaving over Working on Writing fanfics!
