Essence of Blood
He had met girls throughout his life but never had he met a woman as unique as her. Not only did she defy him in an erratic way but her blood held an essence that differed from everyone else. Her blood was special…her blood made her, his.
Chapter Ten
Essence of Sensuality
.xx.
-Sakura-
August 2nd, 2001 – 4:14 am
Over the course of the last week or so, the Bloodhound home base was bombed and searched. I heard, from the flow of conversations, that Li, Hiiragizawa and, well, everyone else that I knew and then some had left along with this Mei Lin person (who I had yet to meet). Therefore, Tomoyo, myself and Li's sisters were sulking around the mansion in which we were residing.
Oh, and I realized that the mansion that we were residing in was not the home base. Home base was apparently in Hong Kong.
Tomoyo and I finished the book, the Essence of Blood, as the cover so kindly put it. After the pictures were shown, a few pages of the story were revealed before the book stopped. Tomoyo and I tried everything to figure out the rest, yet, it was to no avail. I was going to approach Li and inquire him about the book but he had left for Hong Kong by then.
So this is how the rest of the story went:
Xiao Lang was completely unaware of his surroundings, maybe his unawareness was a dire mistake, or perhaps the play of destiny; his arms were crossed in front of him and he was chewing on a long stem of grass. He did not sense the aura that surrounded his own and did not feel the light of God enter his body.
"XIAO LANG!"
He snapped back into his senses, looking down at the base of the tree. His eyes widened—his breath caught.
It was the woman in his dreams.
Time had come to a standstill as Xiao Lang stared; stared at the woman that he constantly dreamed about. Emotions flooded the her emerald eyes, her clothing resembled what farmers from the mainland wore and her face... her face held lines of distress, but despite that she was as beautiful as she was in his dreams. As beautiful as the day she was created.
He swiftly jumped off of the tree landing like a feline in front of the maiden. "How do you know me?" he growled, in a stealthy voice. Ying Fa took a step back.
"Is it… really you?"
Confrontation.
It was the first time in seven centuries since Ying Fa had seen this man. The last time she ever saw his face was when he was killed emotionally as she was thrust into a body of water. Instead of dying, as the Dark Lord had assumed, Ying Fa had used the power of her blood to create an air bubble around her nose thus allowing her to breath under water. She had swam to the nearest land and pulled herself out, collapsing upon her step on land due to the pressure on her body.
And that was when a nice farmer and his wife took her in. She had seen the farmer grow old and die—and his children, and his children's children. The farmer realized that Ying Fa was unable to age but promised to keep it a secret—and swore his children, too, would keep her secret a mystery.
Xiao Lang stared into her eyes and saw the echos of their tragedy whisper through them. He took a step towards her.
And her, back.
"Xiao Lang," she whispered again. She felt the dark aura surround his soul and she was beginning to get terribly frightened. This wasn't the man she fell in love with two lifetimes ago.
This man was completely different.
And she knew exactly what she had to do; she had to sacrifice her blood—her being to bring the old Xiao Lang back.
Her Xiao Lang.
"Ying—Fa?" He whispered the name foreign to his lips. That name rushed through Xiao Lang's mind, but it was a memory long forgotten. He continued to stare at her.
"What happened to you?"
He didn't seem fazed. "Nothing—but, what about you… I thought you…" he gulped. "Died?"
Ying Fa frowned. "You remember?"
Xiao Lang peered into her eyes before frowning. "No. I don't. But… you—I don't know." He seemed confounded. Ying Fa had tears prick her eyes.
"I waited seven hundred years for you Xiao Lang, and you return to me—a monster."
His eyes widened, "Monster?" The word was new to him. Forever he was the best warrior to the Dark Lord—
"You were God's best warrior." Her voice was hardly audible. "What happened?"
His heart began racing. God's best warrior? He asked himself as he continued to peer into Ying Fa's gleaming eyes. "I love you," she whispered as she took a step back. Xiao Lang scowled.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Ying Fa smiled sadly. "Saving you," she whispered, before throwing her hands in the air.
"I command, with the power left vested in me, to save thy soul, Xiao Lang!" An aura surrounded her being as Xiao Lang felt his insides beginning to burn. His eyes flew open.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
She closed her eyes. "I sacrifice myself to save his soul—and should there be a time in the future where I can be with him, God, let it come. Until then, may your soul remain pure…"
Xiao Lang shrieked as a white aura entered his body. Ying Fa watched with pain as her body began losing its energy and life force. Xiao Lang sank to his knees, smoke emitting from his body, from his soul. Gasping, he looked up—his eyes holding a look Ying Fa was glad to see before her dying breath.
"Ying—YING FA!" Xiao Lang launched up, despite the pain pulsing through his body, and managed to collect Ying Fa's body close to his heart.
"Xiao—Lang," she whispered, "I lo—ve…you…"
"No… no!" Xiao Lang had tears spring into his eyes. It was the second time in his entire existence that he was stooped to shedding tears. The first was the first time he assumed Ying Fa was dead. The second was when she lay in his arms, dying. "No—please… Ying Fa don't leave me!"
Ying Fa smiled, crookedly. "One day…" she whispered. "Until then…stay pure…"
Xiao Lang felt her body begin to disappear in his clutch. "No! NO,YING FA!"
Clutching the dirt beneath his fingers, Xiao Lang allowed the tears to run freely down his cheeks. His body pained from the exorcism of his dark soul but he didn't care—he hardly remembered anything before looking directly into Ying Fa's eyes. All he wanted, more than anything, was to hold her body close to his and never let her go.
And you can.
Looking up, Xiao Lang saw a white light floating in front of him. He wiped the tears from his cheek, staring dully into the light.
Ying Fa shall be reborn, my child. If you so wish, I can leave you dormant until the time is right.
Xiao Lang's heart began racing. "For Ying Fa, anything!"
Very well. When the time is right, I shall reawaken you. You will know, by the essence of the woman's blood, if she is your Ying Fa or not.
Xiao Lang took a step towards the light but it shone out. Gulping, he stared directly into it. "Who—what are you?"
I am…what I am…
And Xiao Lang's body disintegrated, putting him into an indefinite sleep.
Until Ying Fa was reborn; in the Christ year, 1981.
April first, 1981 was my birthday. I would call it a coincidence, but it was too exact to be just a coincidence. I was going to inquire to Li about the rest of the story (how to get the rest of the story), but he had already left for Hong Kong and, well, like I said before, Fuutie, Feimei, Sheifa, Tomoyo and I were confined to the limits of the Bloodhound mansion.
I reached out of my bed, pulled my slippers on and decided to take a trip downstairs. Tomoyo-ism was infecting me and I was beginning to have a bout of insomnia. I couldn't sleep much anymore (blame it on stress and fear), so I stayed up most of the night and watched television in the living room with whoever else was awake (normally Fuutie, she was an owl… but she never slept during the day either so I have absolutely no idea where all of her energy comes from).
This night, however, nobody was awake and I was venturing into the kitchen, alone. I decided to grab a little container of applesauce, my addiction. Groping around, so I wouldn't stub any body parts anywhere, I managed to open the fridge. The light of the appliance practically blinded me. Blinking to adjust my vision, I plucked the little container off of the shelf and closed the fridge behind me.
Again, I was blinded but this time it was by the darkness surrounding me. I liked the dark to be honest, and besides, I didn't know where the light switch was. Fumbling around, I tried to find the drawer that carried the utensils. I opened a random drawer and reached in.
I felt a gun. That's not it.
Closing the drawer I kept fumbling around until my pupils adjusted. I reached in and felt… paper. And a pen—and something that felt like it had a jagged edge.
Obviously, not spoons.
I was about to reach for a cupboard when the light flashed on and I closed my eyes in surprise.
"What are you doing up so early?"
I could recognize that voice anywhere. Forcing my eyes open, I turned around to find Li standing beside the archway, smirking like such a man. I gulped slowly.
"Trying to—find a spoon? When did you get back?"
"An hour ago." He shrugged as he went to the drawer that had the gun in it and pulled out a plastic spoon that was behind the gun. I wanted to hit myself. Murmuring a soft, "thank you," I lounged over to the chair and took my seat, acutely aware of the fact he sat down in the chair next to mine.
"So…" he started as I peeled the cover of the sauce open and put it down on the table, "how are you?"
Dipping my spoon into the sauce, I looked back up at him. "I'm fine. You?"
He shrugged. "More or less." Li watched as I picked up a small lump of sauce and deposited it into my mouth. I tried not to train my gaze onto him.
Not going to lie; he was sexy.
"How old are you?"
Frowning I looked up at him. "Pardon?"
"How old are you," he repeated. "You were at Dark Night on my birthday—just curious."
I looked back down at my sauce. "Twenty. And you're twenty-six?"
I saw him nod as I continued to eat my apple sauce. "And your cousin?"
"She's turning twenty next month."
Again, another nod. It was an awkward moment. Why was he here with me, when he could be with the people that actually care about ambushed bases and his presence? Frankly, he scared me; especially the uncanny similarity between him and the book version of him. And the close proximity wasn't helping.
"Did you finish the book?"
Ah, yes. The book.
"Yes." I nodded slowly. "I was going to tell you but you left for Hong Kong—" I was cut off when he, randomly, pulled me off my chair and rather comfortably onto his lap. The apple sauce dropped and my hands gripped his shoulders, trying to push him off me.
"Li!"
"Shhh…" He trailed his left index finger down my neck. I shivered as I felt his touch leave a burning sensation in my soul. Goosebumps shot through me as his touch continued to caress down my neck. "So soft," he murmured, as I felt his lips press against my neck. I, unintentionally, gave a squeak of surprise and immediately began to wrestle against him.
"Li," I grunted, trying to push him off. "Li, have you lost it?"
Li stopped his ministrations and looked up at me with heavy lidded eyes. "Call me Xiao Lang," he said, rather huskily. I felt a blush travel up to my cheeks as I shook my head.
"No, it's okay. I'm fine with Li—can you just stop it and let me go?"
His lips played a smirk. "Not unless you agree to call me Xiao Lang, Ying Fa."
My body slammed against a hypothetical wall as I heard him refer to me as Ying Fa. I stared at him in awe, my eyes searching his endless chocolate brown orbs. I felt my grip on his shoulders loosen, my hands slowly dropping to my sides. He, unknowingly, answered all of my questions.
He's Xiao Lang.
And I'm Ying Fa.
"Sakura?" His voice was a chuckle. "Are you okay?"
I slowly snapped back into reality. I moved to get off of him but he didn't allow me to withdraw. Giving in, I remained sitting like a rock on his lap. "I'm fine." I sounded robotic and he didn't seem convinced.
"Relax, beautiful," he whispered, "I've waited eternity for this moment."
My body stiffened as I felt his lips touch my neck again. I wanted to scream, kick, punch, and run to my room in tears. I wanted to get him to stop and let me be my own woman again, away from his conspiracy of religion and history—
And most of all, I wanted him to continue.
His right hand reached back to my hair and pulled my head back, giving himself inescapable access to the stretch of my neck. His tongue grazed against an invisible scar and I felt myself give an involuntary shudder. This wasn't right, a voice nagged in the back of my head.
Not only was he a complete stranger giving me sensual pleasure, but I was still, kind of, sort of… dating Yue (I think? In my head I was...).
Deciding to take control of my mind (over the matter at hand), I gave a final push towards Li—Xiao Lang.
"Li, stop it."
"I said, call me Xiao Lang."
I gave a sigh. "Fine. Xiao Lang. Will you please stop?"
His hands dropped to my waist, but his right thumb drew small circles right underneath my shirt, on the bare skin on my waist. I felt fire shoot through my body once again but I forced myself to fight it. "I said stop!" Pushing myself off of him, I went to take a step back but stepped on my earlier spilt applesauce. Faster than fast, I went tumbling down backwards, giving a scream of shock.
And even faster than that, Xiao Lang had his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his chest and breaking my fall. My right foot was sticky with the sauce, but all I was aware of was the heat emitting from his body, and his heart slowly beating beneath my ear. It felt like an eternity plus seven as I felt the warmth dissolve all my fears and worries away.
"You okay, Ying Fa?" his silky voice purred into my ear. I gulped and nodded against his chest, pushing back again. Looking down over my shoulder, I saw the applesauce and made sure to sidestep it.
"Thank you," I whispered and moved to leave the kitchen.
"Ying Fa," he called, and I looked over at him. It was an automatic response; Ying Fa is my Chinese name. When I turned around, I saw that he was merely inches away from me. Before I could react, his left arm snaked around my neck and pulled me into an unexpected kiss. My eyes widened as I felt his lips caress mine.
"Oh my!" I heard a gasp and my eyes flickered to the left to find a brunette woman standing in shock. Just as I was about to push Xiao Lang off of me, I felt my body dissolve and reconstruct itself in my bedroom.
Xiao Lang stepped back. "Goodnight." He bowed and turned to leave my room. My eyes were wide as I watched him shut the door behind him. Slowly sitting down, my hand softly touched my lips.
Not only did he kiss me…
He kissed me with a hundred times more emotion and passion than Yue had ever did.
.xx.
August 2nd, 2001 – 2:03 pm
I had woken up a little while ago and stood in the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I got into the shower and stood there for all but forever. Why is it that when hot water is beating onto your back that everything in the world just stops mattering? Showers are magical. Stepping out of my 'save haven', I stood in front of the mirror, my hair wrapped up in a towel, ready to apply body moisturizer. As I dumped some of the contents into my palm, I gasped.
There, on my neck, was a long thin scar.
The exact same spot Xiao Lang had stroked last night.
The exact same spot the Ying Fa in the picture had.
No way…
.xx.
August 2nd, 2001 – 2:16 pm
I walked downstairs and saw Xiao Lang sitting beside Hiiragizawa and an unknown face. Glancing around the room, I noticed that only Ling and a black-haired girl sat on the loveseat and Fuutie on the single chair beside the love seat.
"Sakura," Xiao Lang greeted me, his face void of any emotion he portrayed last night. I figured it would be smart to revert to Li.
"Li." I nodded and he rolled his eyes.
"What'd I tell you? Call me Xiao Lang."
Never mind about it being smart to revert to anything.
The girl sitting beside Ling shot up and semi-jogged towards me. "Sakura? Hi! I'm Mei Lin!" She hugged me and I figured I had a look of shock on my face because Ling got up and pried Mei Lin off of me.
"Sorry." Ling laughed. "Mei Lin is hyper like that. She dodged death and now she's hugging people she's never met before." He looked at Mei Lin. "Go eat something, love…"
"Shut up, Ryu."
Ling rolled his eyes and turned back to me. "Mei Lin is my fiancée."
I nodded as I noticed Mei Lin stroll out of the living room and indeed into the direction of the kitchen. I took her spot beside Ryu Ling who handed peanuts to me. He had cracked some earlier, I assumed, and was munching on them with Fuutie. I gladly took one. My stomach was starting to rumble in hunger.
"Sakura," Xiao Lang called and I looked up. He ushered towards the girl beside Hiiragizawa. "This is Yasui Hiiragizawa, Eriol's wife." I nodded as I saw the brunette smile in my direction.
I offered a smile back. "She was the one having the midnight snack last night while you were getting yourself lost in the mansion." Xiao Lang spoke and I saw Yasui's eyes glimmer.
"Getting lost or…"
"Getting lost." Xiao Lang's tone was final and I had to give him a look of appreciation. Either he chose not to acknowledge it or was good at not reacting. Nonetheless, he continued talking about what he was talking about before I interrupted them. "It was a false alarm, in the end, and nobody attacked us. Clow and Ceroberus retrieved the vial from Gin on our way back to Japan. They're still at Gin's place right now; they should be back later this evening." Xiao Lang leaned back slightly. "And that vial will reveal all the missing links in history my friends."
"Nice." Fuutie clapped. "Now that all that is cleared up, can I ask you something?"
Xiao Lang raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure?"
"Can we please go shopping? I need clothes, Sheifa needs clothes, Feimei needs clothes and, dear lord, Sakura and Tomoyo really are in need of a new wardrobe that does not include outdated fashion that's inside our wardrobes!" Fuutie seemed to beg and I had to laugh. Much to my relief, Ling, Hiiragizawa, and Yasui laughed with me as Xiao Lang raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Fuutie, we had a false alarm. Sakura and Tomoyo were attacked for real last time."
"So we'll take Ryu and Takashi with us and I'll have my guns and Sakura's getting the hang of the M1911… We practiced when you were gone! She's gotten so much better! The recoil doesn't bug her as much!" Fuutie pleaded, in an attempt to convince Xiao Lang. I found it hilarious, watching the comical expression on her face and the twitching lip of Xiao Lang. He was attempting not to burst into uncontrollable laughter, I think. "We'll be safe! I promise! I need clothes as much as you need food."
Xiao Lang frowned. "Alright, dammit woman. Fine you can go on the condition I come along too."
Fuutie squealed and launched at her brother who hugged her back. My heart sank.
I missed Touya.
I wonder how my family was, coping with the news that I was dead…?
My father… Touya… Yukito…
I blinked back tears as I saw Fuutie pull back from Xiao Lang. "Sakura, let's go get ready! We are going shopp-ahng!"
Laughing, I got up, following Fuutie out of the room. I could sense Xiao Lang's gaze locked onto my receding figure and I didn't dare look back at him. Mostly because I was scared.
Scared of him.
Scared of our history.
But most of all; scared of what his gaze will do to me emotionally. Memories of last night just wouldn't seem to leave me alone.
.xx.
Special thanks to my beta-editor, Sakura-chan Master of the Clow
Edited/Updated: September 25, 2011
Re-edited: January 20, 2013