The Tomoeda Maiden
XI: The Other Teacher
Sakura had adjusted to this place very well. Barely even 2 weeks and she knew where everything was and which room was which. That was impressive because I've been at this manor for roughly going on 2 months and I only really knew my room, Tomoyo's room, Sakura's room, Eriol's room, the library and the dining-kitchen area. So there you go, I suppose I'm pretty pathetic in that aspect. Even back at the palace I didn't know where everything was and I have lived there for most of my life.
Training with Eriol has gotten a bit better, he actually taught me how to channel my energy to distort things, such as bending objects and eventually destroying them. I didn't really see the point, but at least it was better than nothing. Eriol wasn't much of a fighter with swords so I unfortunately had to practice alone, but sometimes he'd make some target practices or he would be the target sometimes, ha.
"It's only been a handful of days since I've gotten here, but you've really improved." Sakura approached me after my training session. I was rubbing my head with a clean towel and it was only then did I notice her standing there all along, watching me and Eriol practice. She gave me a smile but I looked away. I was caught off guard and no one really watched me practice, not even Tomoyo.
"Ah… thanks." I looked at the ground. "I didn't notice you were here."
"I didn't want to make myself visible because it'd distract you." She reasoned. "Lunch is ready, Tomoyo and I made you and Eriol a meal since you two have been at it since sunrise."
"…Alright, thank you." I told her. To be honest, even though I was the one who had brought her here, it just felt weird to have her around in the house. I mean, it's not like Sakura and I got into any conflicts. Maybe we'd occasionally argue who'd get the last piece of dessert but she'd let me have it anyway. It was different having a different presence in the house, it wasn't a bad thing, but I didn't know what it was about her.
Sakura and I both walked into the house, and as usual, we were having a little chatter. She'd tell me about her day and I would tell her about mine. I was happy for her, though. Her mood has certainly changed and become uplifted ever since she had arrived here. Occasionally, though, she'd sneak off into town as usual without telling any of us… but as long as she got home safely that's all that mattered.
This place was not just my home or Tomoyo's home or Eriol's home, but it was everyone's. It was Sakura's home too, and when she's not around we all worry. That's how it was. Especially now that we know there's a bunch of psychopaths chasing her and all.
"Sakura! Come help me!" Tomoyo said to Sakura. Sakura ran up to her cousin and nodded and the two went to the kitchen. As usual, since Nakuru was gone to do Eriol's dirty work around town (also known as doing Eriol's errands for him) it was just me and Eriol sitting at the dining room table waiting to be served. To this day it still makes me uncomfortable to be served and not be helping, but there was no use fighting with Tomoyo… and now that Sakura was in the picture, it'd be impossible for me to argue with both women.
"Isn't Sakura cute?" Eriol suddenly said, taking a sip of his daily portion of wine. His question caught me by surprise. I didn't know what to say so I just nodded shyly and slowly, looking at my glass of water.
"… I guess she is." I said afterwards. "It's nice to see Tomoyo with someone else besides us."
"Mmhm, the energy here has definitely gotten… cheerier and happier, hasn't it?" Eriol adjusted his glasses and took another swig of wine.
"Is she really safe here, Eriol? What if those temple people go out and try to look for her again and burn your house down next?" I was worried this would happen. Now I knew Eriol had worked hard to maintain this house, and to see it get burned down would be a shame. However, this fact didn't phase Eriol at all.
He shook his head and gave a light chuckle. His tone got slightly serious as he looked over to me sternly, "As long as Sakura doesn't leave the house and stays here, she will be safe. I guarantee you."
"How can that be?" I asked. "Besides, what if some people go knocking on your door? I've already seen it happen around town already."
"They won't." He said confidently. "Just trust me."
I raised my eyebrow at him. Yeah, trust Eriol. The reason why I was in this forsaken place was because of Eriol. My training had been further delayed because of Eriol. The reason why I got all hurt and beat up here was because of Eriol telling me to check the Tomoeda ruins!
Then again, if I didn't trust Eriol, it'd mean I didn't trust mother. I trusted my mother's judgment, but this man was just plain peculiar and strange to say the least. He would be the last person I'd send off to go train me.
So I just nodded and went along with Eriol. I wanted to believe it, but sometimes life can unexpectedly change according to plan.
I mean… I was supposed to be in Tomoeda and then home within a few months or a year, but now I was in this unknown place called Ling Shi and I had no idea how I was going to go home and when. All the letters I sent to my mother went unanswered, but then I realized how could letters get all the way to Heung Gong when even people couldn't get out of the island. Could pigeons truly carry those letters all the way across the sea? I still wrote my mother letters about where I was and how strange these turns of events would be. It's been weeks, and usually my mother would send a letter within a few days. I never gave up, though.
"We're here!" Sakura and Tomoyo came back with fresh baked bread and eggs and mass quantities of milk and fruit. Usually it would just be bread and maybe some sliced fruit, but since it was a Sunday, it would usually be the day when we had the heavier and more delicious meals of the week. It was Sakura's second Sunday with us and it certainly was livelier than the other Sundays. The table wasn't just Tomoyo talking or Tomoyo asking me questions; instead the table would be full of conversation, laughter and spirit.
When Sakura laughed and talked to Eriol and Tomoyo, I couldn't help but sneak some looks at her. She looked totally in her element, and totally happy.
Tomoyo was happy too – and she also kept herself busy by sewing like mad. I think in a span of 2 days Tomoyo made about 3 dresses. It may seem like nothing, but when hands are the only tools you have, it was quite an impressive feat. Besides training and meals, one of the things I looked most forward to is what Sakura would wear today? It was one of the more interesting things to see because Tomoyo would come up with weird designs – sometimes a hit, sometimes a miss. It was a good thing Sakura was pretty, or 'cute' as Eriol said it. It really would bring out the good in the outfits instead of the negative aspects because there would be a pretty girl to model the clothing. Of course, I never really outwardly told her that she was pretty or beautiful. I'd give her quick glances so I wouldn't weird her out, and then look away so I wouldn't end up staring. She truly was beautiful though.
Sakura wasn't like the girls in Heung Gong. In fact, she wasn't like Meiling. As close as Meiling was to me, Meiling had a nasty attitude. In fact, she was selfish. She was a lot like me in a way. Admittedly, I am a selfish person. It's something I've been trying to change because being a good leader and King wasn't about being selfish, but in fact it was the contrary, and it was about being selfless and caring about the good of the people.
Taking Sakura in and actually bothering to help her with her house burning down was probably the first selfless thing I've done. Giving her flowers wasn't selfless; and in fact it was about my pride. It wasn't honourable to have something such as your life be tended to, and then not give a reward. It'd go against my beliefs and my inner morals. If I didn't give her some sort of token of appreciation or thanks, it wouldn't benefit me because I felt guilty for not having given her anything in the first place.
Therefore, when I helped Sakura, it wasn't about my pride, or me but it was about helping her. Going through blankets of smoke and acting out of impulse wasn't my style – I preferred to watch through the sidelines. No, I wanted to do good for someone not out of a favour, but because I wanted to; because I wanted to put someone else ahead of me.
Meiling was also very spoiled and arrogant, again, a lot like me. She was basically my twin in personality. I was working against becoming spoiled, and that was what separated me and Meiling. She was arrogant to the bone and always gloating. Her pride and ego was so big that it put mine to shame.
That was the exact reason why Meiling would not make me a good wife, or a good queen. Someone selfless and genuinely good would be a good fit for a queen – and yes, it would've been someone like Sakura. I am not implying I wanted Sakura as my Queen at all. From what it seemed like, Sakura was equally important here in Ling Shi, no matter how much she wanted to escape from the temple. She, like me, was bound to invisible strings to our roles. Even though Sakura wasn't at the temple, her past and everything to do with her revolved around that fact. As was mine as well. My whole personality, my being, my existence, and even me being here was a result of my upbringing and environment. If I had to choose a queen, it'd have to be a woman from Heung Gong, or at least a woman who possessed Sakura's good qualities and was not tied to another place.
xXxXxXxXx
After lunch was over, I headed outside to sit down on the bench that sat across the pond. I never really did explore this part of Eriol's estate, but something here seemed familiar. The pond had lotuses and lilies prettily floating atop the water. Underneath the water were some koi fish swimming along. There was a wooden bridge that led to a marble building, in which it appeared to be a prayer building of some sort. Many of the houses here, I noticed, had prayer buildings in each yard. I suppose Eriol's wasn't any different.
I couldn't make out what seemed so familiar about this place. It felt like I was here before, even though I strongly remember I wasn't. I shook my head and sighed. My head wasn't really in focus today. Perhaps I ate too much at lunch.
"Syaoran?" A familiar voice said from behind me. "Can I sit here?"
I turned around and saw two green eyes staring at me along with her shy smile. I took a quick glance at what she was wearing, and of course, it was another Tomoyo creation. Sakura was wearing a light yellow sleeveless sun dress with a light green ribbon cinching at her waist. I suppose I was staring at her when Sakura kept calling my name.
"Syaoran? Syaoran?" Sakura waved her hands in front of my face. I started to feel my face get hot. At least it was appropriate to stare at someone from afar and not directly in their face.
I nodded, giving her permission to sit beside me. I scoot over to the left side so Sakura could take a seat beside me. She sat down and started swinging her legs forward and backwards, something I used to do as a child. Now that I was older and taller, I no longer had the luxury of being able to dangle my legs from above the ground and swing them around.
"Thanks for the meal, Sakura." I complimented. "You and Tomoyo make the best food."
"Ah, really? Thanks." She brushed her hair away from her face. Her cheeks turned a light rose colour.
"I've been meaning to tell you something, Syaoran." She looked over to me seriously. I wonder what could have it been? So I turned to her face-to-face, ready to listen.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Your training." She paused. "You could do a lot better." She smirked all the sudden. I almost wanted to fall over to the side. She was criticizing my training? It could've gone both ways – it could've been a backhanded comment towards Eriol or me. Either way, she was butting her business into something personal. I wasn't angry at all, but I certainly was surprised she'd make an observation like that.
"Remember what I told you about being neutral and being emotionally attached to things?"
I nodded. I remembered. In fact, I remembered that she said it was because of her being upset that the perpetrators were able to go through her magic and then find her house, eventually burning it down.
"I can sense there's lots on your mind." She paused. "I have many powers thanks to magic, but unfortunately I can't read minds, but… I could tell that when you use your magic, you are thinking."
"You need to think about your strategy." I replied. "You can't just carelessly use magic."
"That's true, but a true master can cast magic out of instinct. When the mind is clear, the body is just a vessel for the magic to freely flow through, you know? Like the magic is the one doing it's own thing, but it's the correct thing."
I didn't really understand what she was saying but from the look of her face, she was dead serious. I raised an eyebrow. I was skeptical about what she was saying, but then again when I thought about it… she did possess great magical skills. I mean, it must've been a great talent for someone to cast a spell so people would walk in a continuous loop if anyone tried to get to her house, and I wouldn't even dream of being able to summon a whirlpool of water out of nowhere and douse a burning house with water at my level. She was good, but was she that good?
Eriol was useless, I decided. I mean, he wasn't too useless since he and Tomoyo took care of me and all, and I have learned how to control myself and the basics – but I wanted to get better. Training at Eriol's pace was training at tortoise speed. I wanted more. I was greedy for progress and knowledge. At this point, anyone was better than Eriol – and training by myself even proved to be more useful than he was.
I decided to bite the bullet and ask Sakura if perhaps she could give me some pointers. She seemed to have a better grasp at this whole magic thing than Eriol. At least Sakura was kind enough to observe and even give criticism. Eriol never pointed out my mistakes, but rather just told me to watch what I was doing. I had nothing to lose, really. Sakura must be bored enough to watch me train… I mean, when I watch Meiling train sometimes it got tedious and boring.
The only thing was my pride was getting in the way. Yes, she is skilled, but she was just a priestess. How much could a priestess know about my kind of training? Was she strong enough to be rigorous? Was she harsh enough to give decent training? I needed a trainer, a master, not a friend. Was she able to differentiate that?
I shook my head. Screw it. If it doesn't work out, nothing will change anyway. As I said, I had nothing to lose. I was about to go against my mother's wishes for training with Eriol, but I guess this was my cue to branch out and try different things.
"Hey, Sakura…"
"Hmmm?" She looked up at me. "What is it, Syaoran?"
Goodbye, pride and independence.
"Will you… help me?" I felt my ears get hot. I know I shouldn't be embarrassed, but I was. I was never used to asking people for help. It was always Syaoran who was the best back home, people asked me for help, but now the tables have turned. Swallowing my pride was like trying to swallow an oversized tablet of medicine. It was painful and bitter to swallow, but if I wanted to get better, I had to do it for my own good.
"Help you with what?" Sakura was so innocent… and dense. I guess for a girl with knowledge, she wasn't very keen in social skills.
"Training." I lowered my head and looked in her confused green eyes, "Will you help me with my training?"
Her eyebrows arched and her mouth formed a circle. "…M-me?" She stuttered. "You're asking me for help with your training?"
"You seem to know what you're doing…" I put my hands behind my head and leaned against the bench. "It feels so stagnant when I'm training with Eriol. I need to move forward… and since I know no one on this island except you and Eriol, and since you both possess a good power of skills, I figured I should ask."
"But Eriol's your master!" She started to get red as well. "I'm no good at all!"
"I know, but as I said… it's slow, and I think he prefers to spend time reading or spending time with Eriol lately." I shrugged and then smirked. "Besides, you seem bored enough to come and watch me."
"Hmmm…" Sakura smiled slyly. "You know, Tomoyo has been dying to spend even more time with Eriol." She started to giggle mischievously, "Why not?" She clapped her hands together. "I do have to remind you of something, though."
"What's that?" I smiled at her. I didn't care at this point because she agreed – and maybe this was good for me. I would get to spend more time with her.
Okay, nevermind. What was I thinking? I mean, I'd like to get to know her, but this wasn't a ploy because I wanted to spend time with her. I just needed a change, and I quite honestly needed another taste of the spectrum because Eriol's side was getting dull. It was time to go against my own set or rules and try something different.
"I'm a priestess… not a teacher." She said sternly. Her big green eyes were intense, I felt like she was trying to read into me again. It was something I couldn't look away from. For one, she looked 'cute' when she looked serious, and two, green was my favourite colour. Her eyes were a lovely shade of green and it was always quite a joy to be able to look at them from up close.
"With that said, I'm sorry if I screw up, okay? I'm going to try my best with this new experience."
"I'm not expecting you to act like a grand master. I just want to learn from you; that's all, as a person… and not as a friend."
"I'm going to try my best." She took my hand, "Don't be mad at me if I go to rough on you." She teased.
At the moment, I didn't know she was even capable of being rough or anything but kind and sweet Sakura.
For the following weeks to come, I was proven wrong.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Eriol didn't mind that I asked him for a break so I could train with Sakura. In fact, Tomoyo and Eriol told me that it would be nice if we spent some time together anyway. Eriol told me that if I came crying home to him, he'd laugh. I didn't know what that even meant – but I do now. Tomoyo had come into my room before the first day I'd train with Sakura and she told me that Sakura was a really strong priestess, but also a formidable magician as well.
The first day of training, Sakura already had me beat. She told me she wanted to see how I could form some fireballs and attempt to hit her. I hesitated and told her I didn't want to hit her because it was just poor etiquette and manners to even lay hands on a woman, let alone a priestess.
"You know, Syaoran. This is why you're not at your potential. You're holding back too much!" She shot a fireball directly onto my arm. Thankfully it didn't hurt as much, but I felt the heat hit my skin. I clutched onto my sword and kept my ground. I didn't want to hit a girl, I really didn't.
"Come on, Syaoran!" She shot another one right at me – except that one hurt. I didn't get burned, but man, it made me wince. "Attack me!"
"No!" I replied. "I thought you were going to teach me how to use magic – not attacking each other!"
"If you want to use magic, you have to use it in any situation." She took out a card from her sack that she always carried. "You need to let go and stop hesitating. Free your inhibitions. Free yourself. Free yourself from any attachment from this world. Every thought, worry – everything. The only thing you should think about is not the what ifs, but the present. Only the present. The only task at hand." She yelled and got into her throwing position again. This time, the fireball was big.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. I remembered the spell Eriol taught me, the spell that I learned in which I could distort objects and if I got better at it, even time itself. I cleared my mind of everything, except the present; the fact that a fireball was going to slam right into me. I pointed my hand towards the ball of flames and rotated my hand. Suddenly, the heat and energy I felt from the fireball stopped as it flung back to Sakura. She nimbly dodged it and smiled at me.
"Good. Do you see what I mean? Clearing your mind from the past and the future and from any doubt will strongly help you." She raised her hand up with the card. I knew it was trouble – whenever she used one of those cards, she meant it.
"I know we're supposed to be training magic…" She giggled, "If you want to be able to use magic in any form, you have to adapt to the circumstances and whatever is being thrown at you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means… you have to dodge and run away from things if you want to successfully counter someone's attack." She yelled, "Arrow!"
Before I knew it, a barrage of arrows came after me. Following Sakura's words, I started to run for my life. Each corner I turned, the arrows seemed to follow. I had to think of a way on how to successfully counter her – but I couldn't. It was hard to clear my mind when you have about a hundred pointy things just waiting to skewer you. I had to think – I couldn't run away forever. I had to act fast. I stopped abruptly and thrust both my hands forward, as if I were trying to make a force field. I tried to concentrate all my energy and spiritual energy into making a barrier. Right before my eyes, I saw a light shield form before me, causing the arrows to bounce off. However, I caught myself off-guard by celebrating too soon in my head. I broke Sakura's golden rule of thinking while casting magic – and doing the reverse hit me; literally. The remaining arrows had hit me, and yes, it hurt.
"Syaoran!" Sakura screamed. The arrows disappeared as she ran towards me. Before I knew it, I had cuts all over my body and I was bleeding.
"Oh my goodness." Her eyes widened. "I didn't know this would happen… I'm so sorry!"
"It's alright, it's not completely your fault." I winced as I looked at the blood flowing down on my arm. "You had too much confidence in me. I'm still getting used to letting go of my mind."
"Sssh. Just relax and lay down." She knelt down on the grass. I complied with her request and I laid down. I looked up at her as she smiled down at me with an apologetic expression. She stroked my cheek to reassure me everything was going to be alright. I wasn't going to lie… having a bunch of arrows strike you all at once hurt.
"Close your eyes." Sakura whispered.
I did as she said. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my mind. The feeling afterwards was familiar to me, it was a similar spell Eriol had done on me when I first became conscious here on Ling Shi. Sakura was healing me and I knew this because I felt it. My body filled with this warm positive energy I couldn't quite explain in words, but soon I felt energized and the wounds that were once there were now closed up. The only remnants left were the remaining streaks of blood that had previously flowed out of the wounds. Sakura took a cloth out of her sack and started wiping off the blood.
"I'm sorry again, Syaoran. I shouldn't be too hard on you next time." She started rubbing my hands. No one ever really was affectionate towards me like this before – you know, a touchy-feely kind of approach. There was the aggressive tackling and hugging I got from both Meiling and my older sisters, but this was more of a warm and comforting touch I got from Sakura. It felt really nice. I didn't say anything and kept my eyes closed, enjoying the warmth that was present.
Then I felt Sakura lay down beside me, because I felt the side of her body touch mine. We were both parallel to each other now, but not looking at each other. As I had my eyes closed, Sakura's eyes were watching the clouds float by in the sky.
"I wonder if the sky looks like this in other places." She turned her head over to me, expecting a response. She knew I wasn't from here.
"It is." I told her. I opened my eyes to look at the clouds as well. "There's some days where I just used to lay down by myself on the grass in the palace garden and just watch the clouds underneath the tree, when I needed to get away from everything."
"I see." Sakura was silent for a few minutes. "I wish I could've had the freedom to do that, to go outside."
"You don't have a garden back at your temple?"
"We did, but I wasn't allowed to leave the temple. None of us were. That's why I spent so much time with my brother, Yukito and Tomoyo." She sighed. "With such limited things we could do around the place, all we had was each other, you know?" She turned to her side, supporting her head with her hand. "What about you? What did you do growing up? Besides training and all."
"Well, I spent time with my sisters…" I said. "I'd go to school, but I was only taught by the teacher mother hired. We were allowed on palace property, which included the gardens, but we weren't allowed to go into the cities until we were teenagers."
"Hmm, at least you got to go into the cities." She said enviously.
"It wasn't all that great. I had to sneak out sometimes by myself because if I had to go out in town, I'd have to be with my sisters, but that included being surrounded by other castle guards. So every time we entered town, all eyes were on us."
"I've only been out of the temple when it was big island events." Sakura laid back on the ground. "We had to dress in really fancy temple garbs and walk around town like some… object. Everyone admired us, but that was it. I never really felt like a person when I walked down the streets here. I was just my father's daughter – I was just the prized jewel of the family. I mean my family treated me well, but besides that? I was just a person with a flashy label plastered on me."
I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say. I was more of a listener and truth be told, I liked to listen to Sakura speak. It was a melodic soothing voice that I enjoyed to listen to. I closed my eyes again, just letting the cool breeze hit my body and face and the sounds of nature take over.
"I think escaping was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Why's that?"
"I miss Touya and Yukito, but I know they're watching over me. I mean… we do keep in touch from time to time." She said. "They want me to be happy, and sometimes… I'm tired of putting others, putting the rules over myself. For once I just want to be considered as a person with feelings and not just a fancy object or a pawn."
Sakura then laid beside me and put her arms around me. She buried her head into my chest and whispered, "Thank you for setting me free."
I jerked a bit because I was caught off guard. I felt my face becoming hotter than it ever had been before, and my heart seemed to want to pop out of my chest. For a few moments, I let her give me that hug. Afterwards, I gently removed her off of me and I turned to the side, facing away from Sakura.
"I guess… training session is over for today." I said quietly.
Sakura got up and awkwardly started to walk away from me. "Alright… I'll see you soon, then." She stopped and turned around, "I'm sorry again, Syaoran."
Within moments, she was gone. I rolled over to the side and continued to lay on the grass. I closed my eyes. Then I clutched onto my chest and closed my eyes. What was this feeling? Whatever it was… I hated it and liked it at the same time.
Authors Note:
Hmmm! What does Syaoran feel? Hahah. Well here's your chapter for you. I have some slow relationship development, but it's gotta be realistic, right? :P You can't have a relationship just then and there. As always, please read and review if you like the story.
