Friends from the Sky
Mortal Problems
It was a calm Saturday morning. School had started two weeks ago, and Li Neng had made quite a few friends. He did not have another chance to approach Li Syaoran or the little Card Mistress, so it was a surprise when all of the sudden he received a phone call from the girl inviting him over to the house.
" We have a barbeque party." She was saying. " Um, very American, but it's exciting in its own way. Otou-san made a ton of Korean foods, so I'm inviting everyone I know in the neighborhood."
Li Neng had a feeling that asking her how she got his phone number would appear quite rude, but it was a question that had to be addressed eventually.
" Sure. I'm free. What time is the party?"
" At two." Sakura proceeded to give him directions. Li Neng grabbed a spare piece of paper and wrote them down.
" See you then!"
" Arigatou!" Li Neng hung up. He wondered if Li Syaoran would be there as well. Then again, if Sakura went so far as to invite Li Neng, they must have had too much food.
Too much food? That is the first. Li Neng thought. If there was anything he learned about this place, it was that the Japanese were masters of selling tiny portions of food decorated with ribbons and sparkles and charging high prices for the workmanship. It did well for the incomes—the rich were not too far above the poor, and it also did well for fitness—most people would rather save the money than spend it on gluttony. He supposed, however, that American companies would do much to hinder those effects, especially with the beef.
Ugh, the beef. Li Neng shook his head. What kind of idiot feeds cows cadavers of their cousins? Cows are not even carnivores! But it goes to show, whoever watched over Britain and Canada knew how to punish. It still makes Japan end up on the short of it though—checking every cow in Japan ended up being more costly than importing from the Americas, where the lovely folks only check one cow out of a thousand.
Steak? He thought. Beef steak. Oh dear. Korean beef is still beef from Canada—
oO
" Yes Mother."
" Seriously, you are eleven years old. You don't have to be so independent yet!"
" I'm fine, Mother. Don't bother my sisters."
" You know they won't mind."
" I know! But still! I'm fine here! I didn't sense anything from the new guy."
" He might simply be hiding his aura."
" True, but he isn't even enrolled in my school."
" He doesn't have to be to hurt you."
" Or hurt Sakura. Though he seems more interested in me."
" Which is why either I can send one of your sisters over, or you could come home. Ultimately, you matter more than any of those wretched things you managed to bring with you."
" But what if it's a fluke? He could still hurt Sakura."
" Xiao Lang, at this rate I don't really care about Sakura. Sakura has the cards, Yue, and Kerberus—"
" Not Yue anymore Mother, Yue—"
" You have nothing."
Way to put it. He thought unhappily.
" Now the airports are relaxing slightly after that commotion was over," Yelan went on, " It's your decision. Either you come home, or I send one of your sisters."
" Can I at least finish the school year? I'm already 2 weeks in!"
" Two out of how many months? Xiao Lang—"
" Mother!"
" Xiao Lang, I don't want you in Japan, especially not alone. The Japanese may act all nice and sweet while nothing is going on, but as soon as something goes wrong, they change. You think World War II was a one time event? They still have it in them."
" I know Mother, and so do we. And they won't do anything that stupid."
" You never know. Just earlier they were barking at China over to the east where they found oil under the sea. They demanded the Chinese withdraw their workers because it was Japanese land. Little Japanese, against China? But that did not stop them. Now governments have their ways. Civilians have another. And call it a mother's instinct, but you are my child, not the other way around."
Syaoran sat back on the couch, sighing. " What about that thing that attacked Yue?" He asked.
" You think I'm going to let you stay there with that?" Yelan snapped. " Which is it, Xiao Lang?"
Syaoran looked down. The mink waddled its way to him.
" Annoy my sisters." Syaoran mumbled.
Sensing her son's mood, Yelan spoke gently, " Xiao Lang, I am proud of you. I'm just a mother, you know. One day you'll do great things, but right now you're still a young child."
Syaoran did not answer.
" I'll send Fuutie over."
" Okay."
" Take it easy over there, alright? You know how the students there clabber over grades. You're smart and you're doing well."
" Yes, Mother."
" Alright, I'll leave you alone now." Yelan sounded much more cheerful now that she is sending a daughter over to protect Syaoran.
" Bye Mother."
" Bye Xiao Lang."
Syaoran hung up and sighed. Fuutie was the sister that would not shy away from using magic in public, probably the reason why his mother chose her. Things are bound to get interesting, and Syaoran was not looking forward to it.
The mink pawed at his leg. Syaoran reached down and picked it up and cradled it, taking in the comfort it gave.
They were both startled when the phone rang.
" Mother again?" Syaoran picked it up. " Wei?"
" Er…Syaoran-kun?" Sakura's voice sounded confused.
" Oh." Syaoran shook his head. " I thought you were—" that did not sound tactful, " Never mind. Ohayo."
" Ohayo…um, do you want to come over later this afternoon? We're having a barbeque."
" A barbeque?" Syaoran frowned. " That's a first."
" Un…we have lots of food, and Otou-san is cooking them Korean style. You're not afraid of spiciness, right?"
" Spicy?" Syaoran's mouth watered as he remembered the Szechuan restaurants he went to as a child. Szechuan yields beauties, his mother loved saying. " Iie, I'm not afraid of spicy foods."
" OK. You want to come over at around two? That's when we're starting."
At this, Syaoran suddenly hesitated.
" Onegai!" Sakura begged. " It's not the same without you!"
No kidding. Syaoran thought, and he was certain others would agree, though in a less flattering way. He wanted to get away from the phone calls from Hong Kong though, so he set his jaw. " Sure."
" Alright!" Sakura sounded genuinely delighted. " I'll see you in a few hours?"
" Hai."
" Alright. Ja!"
" Ja…"
Hanging up, Syaoran looked at the mink.
" Well," He said.
oO
Syaoran was in unusually low spirits when he arrived at the barbeque, especially upon seeing Li Neng there. The other boy was pleasant enough, and even ventured as to act somewhat brotherly to him. Touya seemed sensitive to Syaoran's feelings this time, and acted a little hospitable. Syaoran could not tell if it was because Sakura somehow threatened her brother, of if Touya felt it prudent not to show his dislike of Syaoran in front of Li Neng, who for all intents and purposes looked a little more formidable compared to Syaoran and his childish frame.
There were many people there—Touya's friends, Kamiya, Li Neng, a group of people from their middle school, the elementary school kids, as well as some of their parents. It was a pretty big party, and the yard was not large enough to fit everyone, so most of the people had to eat inside while Fujitaka tackled the grill outside. For some reason Yukito wanted to talk to him, but for an equally unfathomable reason Syaoran did not feel like listening.
I must be depressed. Syaoran thought. Is this what depression feels like? Go figure.
How could he not be depressed? His mother is going to send his sister over. Sure, he missed them, but his sisters have their own businesses in China. Syaoran began to think that he should have gone home instead. He was acting like a selfish brat, staying here and forcing Fuutie to come.
" Hey," Li Neng caught up with him just as he sat down carrying his second plate of food. " You seem awfully quiet."
" I usually am." Syaoran replied.
Li Neng smiled kindly. " Yeah, but you look almost glum. Unless Kamiya-san forgot to mention another detail.
Syaoran did not smile—he rarely did, but his expression softened a little. Maybe feeling guilty forced him to let his guard down, but he really did not want to be so uptight anymore. Just for now… " Iie, just a lot on my mind."
Li Neng sat down across from him and spoke in Mandarin. " You live here alone? Seriously?"
Syaoran nodded.
" Must be scary, especially now. China's gotten better and that has Japan on edge."
" That has everyone on edge. Even the US."
" Yeah. Why don't you go back?"
" Well, I can ask the same of you. Why did you come?"
Li Neng smiled. " I'm not staying here for long. Half a year, a year at most. You've been here for too long for this to be a mere transfer program. Unless there are two-year transfer programs? Plus, I have yet to hear of a transfer program between elementary schools."
Syaoran swallowed. How was he going to explain this?
" Syaoran-kun!"
Thank Heavens for interruptions—
" Sakura," Syaoran looked at her. Her smile was contagious, " Your father is a good cook."
Sakura laughed. " You aren't eating though."
" Well, we were talking." Li Neng told her.
" Hai." Sakura smiled at Li Neng, who smiled back. " Everything's fine here, right?"
" Hai."
" Well, I'll go look after the others." Sakura left with another dazzling smile.
Li Neng turned to Syaoran. " Got a crush?" He winked.
Syaoran choked and was glad he said it in Mandarin. " What makes you say that?"
" You smiled." Li Neng laughed. " You never smiled before, except at Sakura."
Syaoran huffed. Then, " It's that obvious?"
" Hell yeah."
" It's not going to work." Syaoran muttered. " She's Japanese."
" Your family like that?"
" Not my immediate family. My mother's pretty loose about this, especially since…" Well, he could not very well tell Li Neng that Sakura was a Card Mistress, " Well, she met Sakura in person. But the rest of my family would have a lot to say about that."
" You're lucky it's the rest of your family and not your mother." Li Neng tilted his head. " What about your father?"
Syaoran hesitated. " He's dead."
" Oh."
Syaoran lowered his head. " Has been my whole life."
" What happened? Accident?"
Syaoran hesitated again. " Don't know, actually."
" Oh…"
Syaoran rolled his head around a little to alleviate the stiffness building up in his neck.
" Hey, who wants karaoke?" Touya yelled. The high school kids swarmed into the living room. " I got some songs by Utada, some English songs if any of you language dorks want it."
" Hey Syaoran-kun!" Sakura laughed. " You want to sing too?"
Syaoran stared at her, feeling a pressure at the base of his head as he did so. " Uh…iie. Arigatou."
" Oh come on!" Tomoyo joined Sakura in persuading the boy. " You too, Li Neng!"
" I don't know any Japanese songs."
" We have Chinese songs." Sakura announced.
" You do?" Syaoran looked surprised.
" Hai!" Sakura laughed. " Very few though. We also have some Korean songs."
" You sure we won't annoy the hell out of your friends?" Li Neng asked.
" Well, Touya's friends are nice,"
" Even if Oni-chan isn't!"
" I'll pass." Syaoran waved it off. " Besides, I have a headache."
Oh blast. Did I just—
" Hoe?" Sakura looked at him, worried. " Are you alright, Syaoran-kun? Do you want to go lie down?"
Lie down where Syaoran wanted to laugh. He was not sure if Sakura's bright pink room was good for him right now, and he was not entering Fujitaka or Touya's bedroom.
" I have some aspirin," Sakura offered.
" It's going to get pretty loud down here," Tomoyo pointed out.
On second thought, he will brave whatever Sakura came up with.
" I think I'll go lie down," Syaoran told her wearily, " Hopefully this goes away."
Sakura led him upstairs. He did not get a good look at Touya's room, but he knew it was not pink, and the bed, soft as it was, did not help much with the pounding in his head.
oO
The first thing Li Neng did was make sure it was not the monkey who was causing the headache. The Great Sage had caused his share of stomachaches by going into the actual stomach and fooling around. However, this time the pain was not caused by the Buddha.
Heading to the bathroom so he could safely astro-project, Nezha quickly sought Wukong out.
" Not you then." He declared as soon as he saw the mink. " Our subject has a headache."
" Stressed." The mink declared after morphing into the monkey. " His sister's coming over and the kid isn't happy about that."
" I would think he would be happier. He seems lonely around here."
" Me too." Wukong replied. " But he is a responsible kid. He does not want to bother his siblings too much. Though that's no reason to get a headache over it!"
" What happened here earlier?"
" Just a call. And then that Kinomoto girl called, just in time."
" Ah. I better get back before someone discovers," Nezha turned around.
" Oh, ah, Amaterasu sent one of her messengers by earlier today."
" What?"
" Said it's going to…ah, be a little unfavorable."
" What would be?"
" Apparently, the weather, from what I could glean from the stuttering."
Nezha stared at him.
oO
The aspirin did not work fast enough.
I am too young for this. Syaoran thought as he steadied himself. Fujitaka was supporting him while Touya got him a glass of water.
" I don't think it's your food, Otou-san." Touya commented to Fujitaka. Syaoran shook his head in agreement and flushed the toilet.
" Gomen nasai,"
" Nonsense." Fujitaka helped Syaoran straighten. " It's not your fault."
Unfortunately, Syaoran felt like he was going to be sick again. He uttered a pained moan.
" Kuso." Touya felt his sweaty forehead. " He looks like a corpse."
" I hope it isn't allergies." Fujitaka remarked worriedly. Syaoran shook his head. His limbs suddenly gave out and the older man had to catch him.
" Whoa, easy there," Fujitaka slid an arm under Syaoran's knees and lifted him.
Sakura and Li Neng waited at the doorway.
" Is he going to be okay?" Sakura asked.
" I think we should call the hospital."
" Does he carry his passport?" Fujitaka asked as Touya went to dial.
" Does he still need a passport?" Sakura asked.
" Don't know. Is he registered as a resident?"
" Well he goes to school here,"
" That doesn't mean anything. He might have a visa for studying here, that's all. Doesn't mean the country's responsible for him without documents. Oh well, we'll worry about that later."
Murmurs could be heard outside, " Chinese kid sick…" " Poor darling…" while Touya yelled at the phone, " Yes, he's sick. He passed out. Huh?"
Fujitaka carried Syaoran to Touya's room. Syaoran was actually still awake, but the light hurt his eyes and he had to keep them closed. He gave Fujitaka's hand a squeeze to show his gratitude.
Sakura and Tomoyo came to his side.
" What happened?" Sakura was dismayed.
That's what I'd like to know.
Touya entered the room later. " They say they're coming."
" Alright." Fujitaka nodded. " Why don't you all go downstairs and hang out with your friends? I'll stay with him."
Yamazaki and Kamiya came up, followed by Yukito and Chiharu.
" Whoa, were you sick bad." Yamazaki commented. " They say that when you get really nervous you can go into shock."
" He was nervous?"
Chiharu glanced at Yamazaki dryly. " Thanks for pointing out the obvious."
Syaoran blinked his eyes at Yukito. " Where's the stuffed animal?"
" Huh?" Kamiya raised his eyebrows.
" Oh…" Sakura looked at Tomoyo anxiously. Knowing Kero, he probably demanded his share of the barbeque long before. Tomoyo nodded and left, most likely to sneak some food into Sakura's room.
" I guess the kids are having their party in my room." Touya observed to Yukito, sounding slightly put out. Syaoran was too sick to care. It was all he could do to remember he did not really want to vomit all over Touya's bed.
Fujitaka smacked Touya on the back of the head lightly, before ruffling it.
" Otou-san!"
Fujitaka chuckled. Touya and Yukito left the room. The father then turned to Sakura.
" I'll stay with him." Sakura declared.
" You sure?"
" Hai."
Tomoyo came back into the room.
" What happened, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked.
Syaoran tried to answer. He ended up uttering a strange sound instead.
" Guess we should be quiet." Chiharu noted.
Li Neng looked over at Kamiya.
And then thunder cracked outside and it started pouring.
Li Neng fought the urge to drop his face in his hands. So that was what they meant.
oO
The ambulance came much later than expected, due to traffic. Syaoran had fallen asleep and did not wake up when the paramedics entered.
" Was he unconscious this entire time?"
" Iie, he fell asleep, I think." Fujitaka told them.
" Pale, let's see, can you wake him up?"
Sakura nudged Syaoran, who woke with an effort.
" What did you give him?"
" Aspirin. He said he had a headache."
" Alright, what is his name? Age? Birthday?"
Sakura supplied all the answers.
" Hey kid," The paramedic smiled at Syaoran. " How are you feeling?"
Syaoran writhed a little. He still felt sick and tired, though his headache was gone.
" Come on, get the stretcher up here."
" What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked.
" Don't know yet. Have to take him to the emergency room first."
They lifted the boy onto a stretcher and carried him down. Syaoran felt too miserable to be embarrassed.
" Maybe we should call his parents?" Fujitaka suggested.
That would go over well. Syaoran thought sarcastically. Fuutie was on her way here already, or at least packing. He could imagine his mother's reaction.
" I don't have their phone number." Sakura told Fujitaka miserably.
And then he was out of the house. The pouring rain was cold now, showing signs of the fall. One of the paramedics carried an umbrella over him, but the rocking of the stretcher made him so ill he had to vomit yet again.
And then the ambulance sirens and shaking made him vomit again.
And again.
And again.
oO
" You cannot blame this on the Cosmic Ring." Nezha glared. " Cosmic Rings do not make people nauseous. They kill people, or they give headaches, but they do not affect the digestive tract."
" But the brain affects the digestive tract."
" But it did not hit his brain! He caught it!"
Uke-Mochi folded her arms. " Well, I cannot say. I am no expert on vomiting. I only vomited once and Tsukiyomi went berserk. I never had a chance to vomit properly again."
" You planned to serve him your vomit for dinner. I can hardly sympathize there."
" He invited himself over. And you know I hate cooking."
" You were still a lousy hostess."
" This is not about me." The Food Goddess glared back. " Listen, nausea can be caused by a lot of things. You can get nauseous simply because you ate greasy foods during a headache. If the child is stressed out for some reason, that barbeque may be a factor, but mostly it might just be because the child happens to be sick, alright? We are not responsible for every little thing that goes wrong down there. The rainstorm was unfortunately scheduled long before Takahikone decided to skip down the stairs ahead of time. Just because that one kid is irresponsible does not give you the right to go around accusing everyone of meddling in your affairs. Besides, I hate cooking, as I mentioned before. What makes you think I would whip something up specifically to target the boy?" And as she said this a hamburger leaked out of a cut in her body where long ago Tsukiyomi had slashed at her. Following the hamburger toppled several sesame chicken strips.
Nezha stared, dumbfounded. " You are still propagating food?"
Uke-Mochi threw him a dirty look.
" Fine." Nezha shook his head. " I have to head back down. Crazy Japanese deities," He added.
Uke-Mochi huffed. " As if you were much better, meatball!"
" Point taken." Nezha conceded. He flew out.
oO
" Zao Wang Ye!" The Great Sage hollered, scaring the Kitchen God right out of his warm place in the stove. " Lord Zao, it's me!"
" Oh yes, it's you," Lord Zao stammered, " I thought you became a Buddha!"
The monkey chuckled. " I have a favor to ask of you. You know a boy called Li Syaoran?"
" Li Xiao Lang?" Lord Zao scratched his old head. " Yes…you mean the sorcerer? He lives down in Hong Kong. Family is quite rich, though the child seems a little morose all the time. What, did he do something against the temples?"
" He would do that?" Wukong was puzzled.
" Oh no, no, but some of his relatives are less than respectful. Personally, I like the boy. You are not causing him any trouble, are you?"
" Me? Please!" Wukong laughed. " The Third Prince and I are merely looking up on the kid and his background. The Third Prince said Li claimed he did not know his father, and that his father died somehow, or something. Can you remember what happened? Eh?"
" Oh…I cannot remember, Great Sage, seriously, why do you want to know?"
" Why I want to know is none of your business!" The monkey yelled, and his cudgel appeared in his hands. " I know you remember! Or you can go through the files you compiled for Jade Boy up there and find out!"
" Oh oh oh, yes, yes, yes," The Kitchen God stuttered nervously, " I will go, straight there I will go, yes?"
" Okay," The monkey graced him with a sweet smile. " Thank you so much!"
As the Buddha departed, the Kitchen God wondered how the monkey could change his façade like nothing happened.