NEW Disclaimer — As I already said, I don't own CardCaptor Sakura, nor it's original characters (but I DO own my gang of these 'New Generation' kids! Hehee). But, also, I put in the lyrics to Ayumi Hamasaki's song "Angels Song", and I would just like to clarify that I DO NOT own the song/lyrics either. Hamasaki-san does. Gawd, if ONLY I had her voice XD
Quick THANKS! — Just wanted to thank everyone for the amazing and great reviews!! They mean a lot to me, and they just want to make me keep going. Thanks, especially to those (StarAngel02, Jishinibaka-chan, Smoochynose, Cheeseycraziness, MysteriousAngelgirl, XxXMagnoliaBlossomsXxX, SilentCynara)who review to most, if not all, of my chapters (smiles) You guys are great! And to my awesome beta, Jade-chan (Tsuki.Senpi)!! LOVE your little comments at the end of each of my chapter when you're done editing XD (hugs).
Chapter eleven: Confusing Surprises
Hitori
bocchi nan ka ja nai'nda to
(Escaping into nights, I told myself.)
Yoru
ni nigeko'nde ii kikaseta
(That
I was not at all alone.)
Kekkyoku
sore wa jibun no kodoku wo
(But after all, it revealed.)
Hinihini
ukibori ni shite dake datta
(Nothing but my loneliness day by day.)
Gensou
kara hanareta kaeri michi (On
my way home from the bustle of the city.) Tayori
na kute na sake na kute
Itsumo
tonari mo kawaranai no ni (Though
it was no different from any other day.)
Kurikaeshite'ku
no ka to omottara
(I
thought I would repeat such pattern of life.)
Kyuu
ni namida ga komiagete kita (And
tears welled up suddenly.)
Fuan de samishikute (Uneasy and lonely.)
Koe
ni naranai koe de (I
wanted some warmth.)
Nukumori
o hoshigatta (In
a faint voice.)The
two girls looked at each other and giggled, as Akimi turned up the
volume on her iPod. Both teen girls had an earpiece in their ears,
listening carefully to the lyrics of their favourite singer's new
song.As
the lyrics continued to play, the one with odd coloured streaks in
her hair began to turn crimson, slowly thinking about one person in
particular while listening carefully.
Nee
kimi wa tashika ni totsuzen araware (But
it's certain you appeared suddenly.)
Watashi
no kurayami ni hikari sashita (And
a ray of light shone in my darkness.)
Soshite
sukoshi waratte (You
smiled a little.)
Daijoubu
datte unazuite
(Told
me it was all right with a nod.)
Watashi
no koutou de aruite shita (Took
my hand and started to walk.)
Kimi
no se ni tenshi no hane o mita (I
saw an angel's wings on your back.) Tsuyoku
naritai to nagatta no wa
Itami
ni nikoku naru tame ja nai (That
I wished to be strong.)
Tasukerarete
sasaerarete (I
was helped and supported by you.)
Atae
atte yurushi atta (We
gave and forgave each other.)
Ano
hi imamo o teiki tei (I
got what I wanted to protect.)
Mono
kateki dakara (On
that day.) Nee
kimi wa tokidoki mububi sugiru gurai
Watashi
ni subete de butsu katte kuru (And
come face to face with me with all your might.)
Sore
wa amari ni mo mabushii sugiru hodo de (It's
so much dazzling.)
Watashi
wa mabata kisae mo oshimu no (That
I even spare the time of a blink.)
Kimi wa se ni tenshi no hane wo motsu. . . (You have an angel's wings on your back. . .)
Tsukiko waited a few more seconds for the song to finish by repeating some of the previous lyrics before gently tugging the ear-bud out from her ear and handing it back to Akimi. Akimi also waited until the end, then stopped the song and turned off the music device in her hands. She tucked it into her school bag and sighed, leaning up against the tree Tsukiko and her were sitting in front of.
"That has to be her best song yet, ne, Tsukiko-chan?" She asked lightly, closing her eyes and allowing the wind to softly blow through her hair.
Tsukiko smiled and nodded, also leaning against the tree. The artist, Ayumi Hamasaki, was both of the girls' favourite singer. Her songs were usually full of love and hope that both girls looked up to, even though Akimi didn't want anyone to know that part about herself.
"It is," Tsukiko agreed, sighing heavily. "Such beautiful lyrics and a strong beat, ne?"
Akimi also nodded, as images of one person in particular danced in her mind and the songs lyrics ran over in her head. The person's face came into view, his large and beautiful eyes shining at her lovingly. Akimi quickly grew a deep shade of red and pushed the glorious images away; it was useless.
Tsukiko peered over at Akimi, concerned by her friends sudden silence and frowned. She was still faintly tinted in her cheeks, and Tsukiko had a suspicion why. Although she had told Akimi that Akatsuki and her were just friends, Akimi seemed not to believe that. But Tsukiko knew it was true; especially with the events from the previous night, not that she told Akimi that part. It was just friendship, right? But still, it felt different. Not love-love, but. . .
Akimi caught her friend's odd stare at her and cocked her head to the side, "Nani?"
Tsukiko, not realizing she had been staring for so long, shook her head lightly and smiled. "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Okay, if you say so. . ." Akimi laughed slightly and turned her attention back towards the school, then down to her watch. She frowned upon seeing the time. "Is he coming out any time soon? How long does it take to talk to a teacher?"
Tsukiko smiled, quietly giggling to herself. "He shouldn't be too long, I don't think."
Akimi sighed and looked at the time again, "I have to be home before dinner. My grandmother is coming to visit this week, and mom wants me to help clean before she comes."
Tsukiko nodded and turned her attention back towards the school's front doors. She had to agree, it was taking Akatsuki longer than she had expected. All he was supposed to do was run up and talk to Yue about walking home. Since Akimi was walking with them, both Tsukiko and Akatsuki had agreed that getting the astronomy teacher to walk home with them would have caused major suspicion and questions, so Akatsuki was asking Yukito/Yue to stay behind and walk or drive home on his on. Tsukiko suspected that the enormous amount of time taking to deal with this matter was due to Yue's stubbornness of not wanting to let the two out of his sight. But Kero would still be with them, in Tsukiko's tote bag, so everything would be okay still.
Finally, the boy came out of the building and looked around frantically for the girls. At the same time, both Tsukiko and Akimi stood up for him to see and he ran over to them, his eyes blazing oddly towards Tsukiko. He quickly apologized to them for being late, and then followed the two girls towards the sidewalk.
Akatsuki walked up to Tsukiko, so she was in the middle, and brought his voice down so only she could hear, "Yue-san isn't very impressed with us at the moment."
"Didn't like the idea too much, ne?" She asked with half a smile.
"Not at all," He returned the smile. "He doesn't agree with it, demo, he'll go back to the apartment when Yukito-san's done work."
Akimi saw the two exchange smiles and could hear them whispering to themselves quietly, and couldn't help but frown slightly. Even though Tsukiko had told her earlier that there was nothing that could happen between her and Akatsuki, Akimi still didn't quite believe her for some reason. She couldn't help it; the way the two looked at each other, smiled at each other, talked to each other. . .they clearly were more than friends. And even though Akimi had said that she didn't need a guy and she really didn't care, she did care. She cared a lot; enough for it to still hurt.
Tsukiko looked over at Akimi and saw the glazed look in her eyes along with the slight hurt showing on her face. Tsukiko felt her friend's sadness tug at her own heart, and she turned to Akatsuki with pleading eyes. Akatsuki looked over to Akimi and nodded to Tsukiko, as if completely understanding.
He swung himself so he was now between the two girls and smiled down at Akimi. Upon seeing his tall figure approach her, Akimi's head jolted up to see his smiling face looking down at her and his soft eyes gazing across her own face. She was sure she would have melted, if not for wanting to never show how much she really wanted him. She pushed down the small blush begging to appear.
"Daijoubu desu ka, Hamamoto-san?" Akatsuki asked softly.
Akimi nodded and forced herself to smile, "Oh, arigatou. Daijoubu."
Akatsuki nodded, somewhat happy with her response and looked forward again to see where he was going. He smiled and said softly, "Yokatta."
Akimi was sure her face was glowing bright red by now, and was extremely grateful that the boy was looking away from her and couldn't see her face. She gently chided herself and shook her head to rid herself of the blush.
Tsukiko, though, had caught her friend blushing and couldn't help but smile to herself. Since the previous night, she had learned and accepted that Akatsuki and herself could only be friends. There was something there that was stopping them from being more, even though her body was telling herself she was only half way to nailing the cause of it. Something more.
"Can you believe that assignment Ashikaga-sensei has us doing?" Tsukiko broke the tension. "Already this early on in the year, too!"
Akimi nodded, happy for her friend's quick thinking, whether intentional or not. "I know! I mean, a two page letter in English!? I can barely write a paragraph, let alone two pages! And he said he was going to send it to some class in America too, ne?"
"He is?" Akatsuki asked, whipping his head towards Akimi, as if not believing her. "You can't be serious! So it has to be perfect, I guess, ne?"
"Great!" Tsukiko threw her hands up in the air dramatically. "Maybe I should have dropped English instead of gym!"
All three of them laughed as a soft breeze blew in their direction. The breeze forced the tree's leaves to rustle and create a calming sound, almost like water. The day seemed so peaceful and serene.
Suddenly, Tsukiko stopped, her eyes widening with panic. The two others stopped a few paces in front of her, and turned around to look back at her. Akimi cocked her head to the side, confused, while Akatsuki frowned at her. Tsukiko gave a look around, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper as the breeze slowly died down.
"Tsukiko-chan?" Akimi asked, taking a step closer but stopped because of the cold stare she received from the girls amber eyes.
Tsukiko turned to Akatsuki, who had taken the half step to be beside Akimi again. "You felt that, didn't you? Can't you? Please tell me I'm not losing it."
Akatsuki frowned, slowly shaking his head. "No, you're not — I felt it too. He's here, isn't he?"
Akimi began to shake for no reason, looking worriedly from Akatsuki to Tsukiko. "Na-nani? Who's here?"
Suddenly, the calming breeze was still and the air became too stiff. Tsukiko's eyes widened in horror as she saw a wall of flames appear from what seemed like nowhere, heading towards Akimi and Akatsuki's backs.
"Iwakura-kun!" She screamed, hoping he'd get the hint.
He was already a step a head of her, feeling the powerful magic approaching him at a rapid speed. Without thinking about it, he pulled Akimi to his chest and jumped out of the way, landing onto the hard ground. He landed on his back, taking the brunt of the fall, as Akimi began to scream hysterically, covering her ears with her trembling hands.
Tsukiko did the same, but lunged herself to the opposite side. She fell onto her shoulder and scraped against the cement for the last few inches of the fall. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from groaning in pain. Sitting up and looking, she saw that the friction and cement had ripped her blouse and scrapped her skin. She was bleeding, but only slightly. Still, it stung like hell.
She stood up and looked around frantically for her two friends, but couldn't see across the way because of the thick black smoke that still lingered in the air between the two groups.
"Akimi-chan!" She called out, trying to lightly flick the dirt off of her scrape without making it sting too much. "Akimi-chan! Iwakura-kun!"
"We're okay!" Akatsuki called out, and then croaked quieter to himself, "We're okay."
Akimi continued to cry and scream hysterically, even in the boys reassuring grasp. Akatsuki stood up, and pulled her along with him. He began to look around frantically for a place to hide the girl in his arms, still being able to feel Li's presence. He quickly found a row of tree's just off the distance, separating the road and sidewalk from a row of fences.
He slipped his hand into Akimi's and pulled her along towards the tree's. He pulled them so they were behind one and gently pressed her against the trunk, holding onto her shoulders firmly as they both slid into crouching positions. His heart broke when he saw her crying with fear and confusion.
"Hamamoto-san, are you alright?" He asked gently.
She shook her head frantically, still crying. "What's going on? What's going on!?"
Akatsuki gently slid his hands off her shoulders and into her hands, trying to comfort her. "It'll be okay, just trust me, okay? It'll be okay."
Akimi stopped crying, but continued to shake with fear. Where had those flames come from? Who were her friends talking about? How could this boy in front of her be so calm? She looked up into his big, emerald eyes and somehow found comfort. She slowly nodded, "I. . .I trust you."
Akatsuki smiled sadly, and brought his voice down. "I need you to stay here, okay? You'll be safe here."
He stood up and peered around the tree to see that the smoke had cleared and Tsukiko was with Kero, now in his true form, looking around frantically for Li. He growled low in his throat and took a step to join them when a cold and frightened hand grabbed onto his wrist. He looked down to see a pair of tropical-sea blue eyes looking up at him with a pleading glint shining in them.
"Wh-where are you going?" She asked in a small voice.
Akatsuki tried to give her a reassuring look, but couldn't. Instead, he forced a small smile even though he knew she could probably tell it was fake, "I have to go help, okay? But I'll come back."
He didn't wait for a response and ran off to go help Tsukiko and Kero. He missed the lingering stare he received from the girls wide and terrified eyes as he ran off into danger. Akimi couldn't help but let a small tear escape her eye and roll down her cheek; not because she was scarred, which she was, but because she couldn't understand what was going on. Suddenly, her eyes widened frantically. What if. . .what if this was it? What if she never saw him, or neither of them, again? She closed her eyes, trying to play her song and let the boy's soft, reassuring eyes appear in her head;
Soshite sukoshi waratte (You smiled a little.)
Daijoubu
datte unazuite
(Told
me it was all right with a nod.)
Watashi
no koutou de aruite shita (Took
my hand and started to walk.)
Kimi no se ni tenshi no hane o mita (I saw an angel's wings on your back.)
"Nanami-san!" Akatsuki called out as he caught up to Tsukiko and Kero.
Both Tsukiko and Kero whipped around to see the boy running towards them, and Tsukiko couldn't help but let a small sigh of relief escape her. Her ease showed in her eyes as he approached her, but she quickly frowned again.
"Where's Akimi-chan?" She asked seriously.
"She's safe," He reassured. "She's hiding behind that tree over there."
"No time for chit-chat," Kero told them, looking forward again and smelling the air for Li. "He's here, and we don't have time to start up some pleasant conversation right now, got it Kids?"
Both nodded, but it was Tsukiko who spoke. "Got it!"
Both began looking for Li by their own means. Tsukiko closed her eyes and tried to pin-point his location but couldn't; hey, she was in training still. Her magic wasn't that great yet. Akatsuki, on the other hand, began focusing his energy on each spot that Li may have been hiding behind. It had helped before, but this time he just didn't seemed to be able to find him.
"There!" Kero suddenly yelled.
Tsukiko whipped her head to see Li suddenly in front of them, only a few meters away. How did he get so close so quickly? She heard Akatsuki come up beside her and growl.
Li smirked disgustingly, "Miss me?"
Tsukiko almost choked even though nothing was in her mouth. Miss? As if. But she didn't answer, because she knew she didn't have to.
"That's it!" Akatsuki spat sarcastically. "We missed you alright. We were beginning to get nervous and all that you weren't gracing us with your fabulous presence."
Li rolled his eyes, "Wonderful. Just what I was hoping to hear; sarcasm. Wonder where he get that from, ne, Keroberus-san?"
"SHUT YOUR TRAP, you slimy and disgusting Li!" Kero screamed.
This seemed to amuse Li, as he smiled even more. "That's not very nice, Keroberus-san, especially since—"
But his words were cut off by large flames suddenly flying towards him. The man was scarcely able to jump out of the way of the large and bright flames. When the flames died, Li looked angrily at the group, expecting Kero to be grinning widely at almost being able to get him.
Except, it wasn't Kero who had thrown the flames; it was the boy standing not too far from the guardian. The boy was gasping for breath, his chest heaving in a steady rhythm. His eyes were looking menacingly and hatefully at Li; they resembled so much like the other two he knew.
Li's eyes narrowed on the boy; how dare he? And even with his few days gone, the boy seemed to be even stronger. Although his magic was very distinctive and different from Kero's, Li had somehow presumed the attack to belong to Kero even though it had felt different. But it was a powerful flame, and he hadn't expected the kid to be able to drive something that powerful just yet. Damn, he had assumed wrong again.
"Can't we reason?" He asked, clearly full of it. Although he held out his hands in a surrendering manner, both teens didn't dare let their guards down and Li was able to see that. He smirked, "Come now, we don't need to fight, do we?"
"You freakin' well started it!" Akatsuki shrieked accusingly. "We wouldn't be in the mess if you had just left us alone!"
"You know he's lying, ne?" Tsukiko whispered low enough only for Akatsuki's ears. "He just wants us to lower our guard."
"And he think's we're actually going to fall for it!?" He said loud enough for Li to hear. "He must be stupid!"
A small flame flew towards them, landing near their feet between them making Tsukiko and Akatsuki jump back so the flame wouldn't hit them. Simultaneously, they turned their attention back to Li, sharing the same blazed glare.
"If you Kids want to play," He said cooly. "Then let's play."
Li held out his sword in his battle stance and threw up an off-white coloured strip of paper. Strong and heavy flames wound themselves towards the group at the fastest speed they could possibly travel. Both teens jumped out of the way as Kero slid Tsukiko onto his back and took off into the air.
Akatsuki waited behind the river of flames, then threw his own attack on Li with his own powerful flames. His flames clashed with Li's, but broke through and hit him straight on even with the blind eyes Akatsuki had thrown them with. Li was thrown onto his back, skidding across the pavement. He winced, as he struggled to sit up.
Tsukiko, who was flying through the air on Kero's back still, let go of her grip on Kero's fur and put her hands into position as they began to approach Li. Once above him, she screamed out her spell as heavy winds took off from her fingers and pushed Li onto the ground again.
Li quickly became irritated; for some reason, he couldn't push himself up and past the girls wind-spell. But she was just a girl, and compared to him, her magic shouldn't have been that powerful! He was the most powerful person in all the Li Clan! He frowned; well, almost the most powerful. At least one of them.
"Iwakura-kun!" Tsukiko yelled as Kero maintained his composure in the air. "You're turn!"
Akatsuki looked up to her and smiled, quickly nodding. He put his hands together and went through his own ritual, then smiled wickedly before placing his attack on Li.
"Tsuchi RYUUJIN!" He screamed, as the earth began to move under his will. The ground became alive, and clasped itself around Li's wrists and ankles, making him unable to move. He slowly began to approach Li's struggling body, smiling triumphantly to himself.
Kero landed a few feet away from Li. He didn't even make it to a complete stop before Tsukiko had jumped off his back and was making her way to join Akatsuki by the defeated man. She looked over at the emerald eyed boy, who was wearing a smug smile.
"You're beaten, Li-san," Akatsuki said quietly but in a darker tone than usual. "So just give up. We've won, so just leave us alone."
Li stopped thrashing around and looked straight at Akatsuki, his eyes suddenly encased with determination. He smiled one of his smug and disgusting smiles, "You know, you don't know how much you're like him."
"Huh?" Akatsuki narrowed his eyes unwillingly. "What do you mean? Like who?"
"Don't listen," Tsukiko begged. "He's just trying to trick you, get you to ease your magic."
Too late; Akatsuki had let his guard down just long enough for Li to pull his hands free of the strong earth and jump up. He plunged himself towards Akatsuki.
Tsukiko gave a small gasp of surprise when the man had suddenly jumped up, and watched in horror as he moved quickly to be behind Akatsuki and twist his arm back. Akatsuki let out a loud cry of pain, as Li pressed his arm into his back and grinned.
Li snickered and commented about how foolish the boy really was, making Akatsuki curse loudly, then cry out again as Li pressed harder on his arm.
"Temper, temper," Li scolded. "You should really work on that."
Akatsuki tried to break free of the tight grasp he was in, but failed and grunted in pain. Then he cursed again to Li in a low growl, only egging Li on more. He leaned into the boy's ear and chuckled, glancing over at Kero quickly to see him ready to attack any second. If he was going to do this, he only had a few seconds.
He licked his lips sinfully and brought his voice down so low that only Akatsuki could hear him, "You really don't know how much you're like him," He glanced back over at Kero again and grinned. He brought his voice down even lower. "Just like your father."
Akatsuki would have shouted if he wasn't in so much pain. His head whipped around to face Li, who had pulled his face away from his ear and was grinning happily to himself. The boy's jade eyes narrowed, his eyes blazing with angry flames.
"What the hell do you know about my father?" Akatsuki growled. "What the HELL do you know about MY FATHER!?"
Akatsuki jerked away from Li as he felt his grip loosen, even though he was sure Li loosened his hold on him on purpose. He glared at him, his fist balling up at his sides and shaking angrily. He gritted his teeth and bit his tongue to stop himself from swearing very loudly as Li only continued to smile, as if he was pleased to see the boy so confused and upset. Ah yes, a weak spot.
"Iwakura-kun!" Tsukiko called out nervously, knowing better than to run over to him with the tension in the air and a very eager Li so close.
Kero also stood by, keeping between both kids. He was ticked, and if he had had his way he would have killed Li right then and there. But that would cause too much havoc at the moment, so he stayed away. He had heard the boy yell out to Li, and was panicking. Surly this would rise only more questions. Damn Li.
Li's eyes traveled away from Akatsuki and wandered onto Tsukiko. He smiled, seeing the distance Kero was keeping between the two so he could equally protect both kids. He momentarily turned back to the growling boy and grinned evilly.
"Well, I gave you a hint those guardians of yours don't want you to know," He turned back to Tsukiko, "It would only be fair if I made it equal."
Before neither Akatsuki or Kero could react, Li was already across the way and by Tsukiko. She didn't even have time to scream as Li wound himself behind her and had put his blade up to her neck, holding it on a slant just under her chin. She raised her head a bit, trying to escape the sharp feel of the sword, but failed when he pressed it gently onto her skin. A sharp intake of breath escaped her as he brought his lips right up to her ear. She could feel his warm, slimy breath on her skin, making her wanting nothing more than to take a shower and forget that awful feeling.
"Like I said," he whispered into her ear. "I told that boy a secret, and it would only be fair if I told you a secret I have as well, ne?"
"Nanami-san!" Akatsuki yelled, taking a step towards Li and Tsukiko. He began forming his hands together when Kero jumped in front of him to stop him. Akatsuki looked at him like he was mad, and was about to say something when Li spoke and stopped him.
"One step or spell," Li said loudly so Kero and Akatsuki could hear. "And I run this blade along her neck, and let her blood spill."
Akatsuki growled, but stopped when he heard Tsukiko give a small squeak of pain and watched in horror as Li pressed the swords blade into her skin just enough so a small cut formed. Small droplets of rich, red blood began to trickle down her neck and stop at the collar of her blouse, soaking into the pure white fabric thirstily.
"That hurt?" Li whispered hungrily into her ear. "Want to scream? Cry? Beg for me to let you go?"
Tsukiko raised her hands, trying to put them togther but stopped and dropped them back to her sides as she felt him push the blade into her neck again and two more drops of blood left her body. Yet, she refused to cry. She hated being weak, hated being the damsel-in-distress. And she refused to let her emotions show through to the disgusting man behind her.
"Never," She spat, "would I give you that pleasure."
Li sighed, as if almost regrettably. "Well then, if not, I guess I can only kill you. I mean, you're not making this very fun for me you know. That was the only reason I kept you alive in the first place, was to have some fun. But since that's gone. . ."
Tsukiko had to stop herself from laughing; Fun? Was that how he saw all this? As a game? A time when he could play? What the hell was wrong with this man!? She swallowed the urge and settled on rolling her eyes.
"But," he leaned in closer, making Tsukiko squirm in discomfort and disgust. "I did promise, didn't I? That I'd tell you something. I guess I wouldn't be a gentleman if I went against my word."
"And if I don't want to know?" Tsukiko spat.
Li smiled and laughed slightly, "Well, I guess that's too bad." He pressed the blade harder against the same cut, opening it wider. Tsukiko winced, feeling the blade slowly expanding the cut. Larger drops fell, some escaping down her chest, missing the shirts collar completely.
Li leaned in so he was right in her ear, and whispered coldly, "Say goodbye, to your guardians."
Tsukiko looked forward and realized Yue had arrived and was gritting his teeth together angrily, his fist clenched as he shook with rage. She hadn't even realized Yue appearing until then. He was standing a little in front of Akatsuki, to the boys left while Kero was now standing in the same position to Akatsuki's right. The golden beast was also shaking, growling angrily at the man holding their precious younger mistress against her will. Still, neither attacked; the odds of hurting her in the process were extremely high.
"And," Li continued, keeping his eyes glued onto the centre of the group in front of them. "You may also say goodbye to your brother."
Tsukiko's eyes widened, but quickly returned to their normal size. She tried to turn her head towards Li, but found herself scraping against his sharp sword and couldn't. She growled, much to his joy. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nanami-san!" A voice screamed in concern in the distance.
"Such temper is not needed," He laughed slightly to her. "My, my. . .aren't we alike?"
"Answer the question," She ordered sternly.
"Only if you insist," He smirked. His gaze went back to the group, onto the emerald eyed boy, and he repeated himself in a lower, rougher voice. "I said, you may also say goodbye to your brother. I'm sure you heard me the first time."
Tsukiko followed his gaze, and found herself looking at Akatsuki. Her heart pounded uncontrollably in her chest, wanting to explode along with her confused mind. She turned her gaze, just her eyes, back to Li. He was grinning, mostly because of the horror and confused struck look the girl wore. He had clearly gotten her right where he hoped, and now, she knew. He had ruined a portion of their plan.
Li smiled crudely, and raised his hand with the sword, ready to kill her. Well, at least he had given her a parting gift; he laughed slightly at his own joke. Tsukiko closed her eyes, preparing for the worse.
"TSUKIKO!"
Tsukiko's eyes flew open at the unusual usage of her name with the familiar yet unfamiliar tongue. Flames were shooting at fast speeds towards them, and seeing them Li accidently pulled the sword away from the girls slender neck just enough so it wasn't pressing against the skin so much. Tsukiko felt the weight loosen from her neck, and took her chance. She closed her eyes and ducked under Li's arm, then elbowed him hard in the stomach so he stumbled back a bit so she could get away.
Tsukiko crouched as the flames flew above her and towards Li, holding her ears and trying to get the voices to stop screaming at her, the same voices that had been trying to help her and warn her along the way. A raging battle broke out.
Brother? Brother? That's not. . .wait, no. . .not possible. . .can't be. . .
Stop pretending! The voice contradicted itself. You know it has to be true! It all fits together!
Just ask Kero-chan! The voice suggested. And Yue-san.
The voice laughed, Like they'll tell you anything!
They'll have to! The voice spoke strongly. Li-san already killed their chances of keeping it a secret. You have to ask them! They have to tell you!
Two winged creatures flew over her, one yelling at the other that if they got their hands on Li he'd personally make him wish he was never born. Tsukiko recognized this as Kero's voice, with his strong Osaka accent, sending her senses back to their surroundings somewhat.
"Tsu — err, Nanami-san," Akatsuki said softly, crouching beside her and gently resting a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her trembling. "Are. . .are you alright?"
Tsukiko couldn't help but jump by his touch. What was wrong with her? She tried to hide her confusion and forced herself to stop shaking and put on a fake smile. "I'm alright, arigatou."
He didn't seem to completely listen though, as he gently took her chin into his hand and titled it up a bit. Tsukiko winced as the skin became tight on her neck, and pulled the cut. Akatsuki frowned at this, and gently put her head back down.
"You're hurt," he said gently, hurt shining in his own eyes. "And you're still bleeding a bit."
"I-I'm okay," She tried to smile. She brought her fingers up to the cut on her neck and gently dabbed it, then pulled it away to look at it. Fresh blood was resting on her fingertips.
Akatsuki gently shook his head, mumbling about her stubbornness as he undid his tie and slipped it off his neck. He folded it up neatly and lifted her chin gently again, and began dabbing it clean. She winced by the pressure, even though it was small, and Akatsuki quickly noticed and tried to go gentler, quietly apologizing to her.
Tsukiko gently took his wrist and pulled it away, trying her best to smile warmly at him. "I'm alright, really. You should go check on Akimi-chan. She's probably waiting for someone to explain this all to her. And. . .she'll probably want you to do that."
"Demo, you—!"
"Daijoubu," she said gently. "It would mean a lot to her."
Akatsuki stayed for a bit longer, but gave in upon seeing the pleading look in her eyes. He stood up, tucking the tie into his pocket and then gently promising her that he'd be back. Tsukiko smiled, and promised to wait and help explain it all to Akimi in a bit.
He was only a few steps away when Tsukiko had stood up and called out for him to wait. He happily obliged, and turned around to wait for her to catch up to him. She smiled warmly at him, making him blush only slightly.
"You called me 'Tsukiko'," She pointed out, suddenly remembering who had called her name before the flames, and the fact he almost called her it again a few minutes ago. "You called me by my first name."
Akatsuki looked away, blushing a bit more. "I. . .gomen, did you not want me to?"
Tsukiko shook her head, finding it cute that he thought he offended her. "Not at all! I fell like we've become real friends now. Can I call you 'Akatsuki-kun', then?"
Akatsuki looked at her, stunned and began nodding vigorously. "Oh. . .anou, sure."
Tsukiko smiled and thanked him as he turned around and headed for Akimi, who was still sitting by the tree. Tsukiko waited until he was at the tree before letting her smile down, and let the voices argue in her head again. She looked around for their guardians, and quickly found them talking to themselves seriously not too far from her. She walked over, keeping a very straight and determined face on. She was getting answers, no matter what.
When she was close enough to hear them, both guardians stopped talking at once. They turned to her, both sharing the same anxious gaze.
Tsukiko didn't give them a chance to speak before she, "I want answers, now."
"What do you mean?" Yue asked seriously. "I am sure Keroberus has already told you that we can only tell so much, and — "
"I don't care about your promise," Tsukiko said quietly but sternly. "I want answers, and you're going to give them to me."
Yue and Kero exchanged looks, and then Yue spoke in his soft but serious voice. "What did Li-san tell you?"
XxXxXxX
Akatsuki ran the last of the way to Akimi and knelt down in front of her. She was hugging her knee's close to her, looking out into open space and softly crying. She was so confused, and so worried about her friends. How could they not have told her this? How could they have kept something like this from her?
She felt a soft hand touch her arm, and she snapped out of her daze to see large jade eyes looking into her blue ones. She wiped away her tears, trying to hide them.
"Hamamoto-san," Akatsuki began quietly. "Gomen nasai. . .we owe you a huge explanation."
She nodded, and took a large gulp of air before even attempting to talk. Why was she suddenly having problems finding her voice? It wasn't like her at all. "I was so worried. . .that you and Tsukiko-chan. . .you and. . ."
She was forced to stop as fresh tears clouded her vision and began to trickle down her cheek. She slammed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears and bit her lower lip. She could taste the blood slowly seeping into her mouth she was biting her lip so hard, but she didn't care and bit harder; the tears just refused to stop flowing.
Suddenly, she was being crushed against another body. She opened her eyed to realize she was in Akatsuki's arms; he had pulled her into an embrace and was holding her tightly. He was gently soothing her hair, and she couldn't help but close her eyes and take a deep breath. She smiled inside; he smelt so nice, just like some nice spice she couldn't quite name.
Akimi knew he was only doing this in a friendly way, and nothing more, but she couldn't help but take in as much as she could. It felt so good, like heaven, being in his arms. Being that close to him. She wrapped her arms under his, and clutched the back of his shirt in her tight fists. Then burrowed her head into his shoulder again, and inhaled deeply. She felt so safe in his arms. Nothing could hurt her. Nothing could touch her or confuse her.
"Gomen nasai," He apologized again, not realizing the affect he was having on her. He continued to gently sooth her soft black hair, and couldn't help but notice her small scent of honey and wildflower's. "I'll tell you everything you want to know. I promise."
Akimi nodded into his shoulder, and gripped tighter onto his shirt. Her song continued to played gently in her head;
Kimi wa se ni tenshi no hane wo motsu. . . (You have an angel's wings on your back. . .)
XxXxXxX
Tsukiko took a deep breath and looked into Yue's eyes, then into Kero's. She was determined to get the answers she wanted, and nothing less. No offence to their Mistress, but she didn't care about that promise. She had to know.
"So," She took another deep breath. "Is it true or not?"
The two guardians looked at each other, both asking each other the same thing; should they tell her or not? But it was already too late; without knowing it, they had given her her answer. She knew the truth, the one they were tying to hide from her. Or at least, one of the questions.
Finally, Kero spoke. ". . .Yeah, that Kid's your brother."
Tsukiko wanted to scream at them for not telling her before, or even Akatsuki for that matter. Wasn't that something they deserved to know? Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. When her eyes opened again, she looked at them seriously.
"Then were our ages guessed wrong?" She asked slowly. "When my parents found me, and when the orphanage found him?"
"Iie," Yue spoke. "They guess pretty close to your ages, maybe a week off."
"But that means. . ."
"You're twins," Kero finished for her. "Yeah."
Tsukiko ran her fingers through her hair roughly, trying to make sense of everything. Her life was spinning out of control, and she never seemed to be able to stop it. It seemed to be doing that a lot lately. She looked over at the tree where Akatsuki was at with Akimi; he had just pulled her into an embrace. She watched as Akimi hesitantly reached her arms around him and clung onto the back of his shirt.
She turned back to the guardians, "Why did our parents leave us? Didn't they want us?"
Kero looked as though he had been slapped in the face; her face looked so hurt. He hated that look, the look that so resembled his Mistress's. He looked at Yue to explain, and became irritated when he didn't. Well, it wasn't his fault if he said too much; Yue knew he wasn't good with keeping things in place.
"That's not it," Kero told her sternly. "You have to understand that your parents loved you both so much. It was that reason why they had to give you up; because they loved you so much."
"That makes no sense though," Tsukiko told him, trying to keep her voice down. "That make's no sense at all!"
"It does so!" Kero shot back. "Don't you get it!? There's only one reason your parent's would have gone to that extreme! Because Li-san was— !"
"You've said enough, Keroberus," Yue interrupted angrily. "No more."
"Hell no!" Kero yelled at his equal. "This kid's been in the dark for way too long! She's gotten this much, what will a little more knowledge be? It's not like she'll find out what they really didn't want her to know! I'm not keeping her deep in the dark any longer!"
"Keroberus," Yue said in a very alert tone. "I'm warning you— "
Kero ignored him, and spoke quickly and quietly. "Listen here and listen good, Kid, because I never want to hear you speak ill of those two again, hear me? Good. Now, those two would never give up their only children, of which they adored, because they felt like it. That would be stupid. They did it to protect you, to save you. Can't you see? Haven't you realized? Li-san couldn't have just found you guys and not know about your past, or parents. He— "
"Keroberus!" Yue yelled angrily, flying between Tsukiko and Kero. "I said, that will do!"
"She's a smart kid, Yue," Kero said gritting his teeth. "And although she is my friend, and I don't want to hurt her, this Kid is going to find out on her own sooner or later."
Tsukiko watched them quarrel for a bit, as she thought about what Kero had just told her. No, Li had even said that it wasn't her nor Akatsuki's fault directly of why he was out for them. It would only make sense if it was connected to her parents, their parents. But, why did they leave her at a nice house with a pleasant family, while leaving Akatsuki in a horrid orphanage? She could somewhat, somewhat, understand why they had to leave them, but why separate them too? Why not keep them together? Was that so dangerous?
Suddenly, her eyes widened. She cleared her throat, making the arguing stop and the two creature's gazes turn back on her. "You two. . .you two don't just know our parents, do you? They sent you here, didn't they? To watch over us? To protect us? Because we were getting too close, and Li-san found us. . ."
Kero and Yue exchanged looks; Kero looking almost happy and Yue as though he wanted to strangle Kero. Yue looked back to Tsukiko, and looked her straight in the eyes that so resembled her fathers.
"You can't tell your brother any of this," Yue told her firmly. "Any of this. Of your relationship with him, of us. . .any of it."
"Nani!?" Tsukiko raised her voice enraged. "He has every right to know! We both did! Why shouldn't I tell him!?"
After all he had been through; the orphanage, friendless, his crummy parents. . .She couldn't understand why he shouldn't know. He certainly deserved to, maybe even more than she did. At least she was always in a warm house, surrounded by love and complete with plenty of friends while he had nothing. It just didn't make sense!
"Because," Yue began, glaring at Kero again. "Neither of you were supposed to know. And we promised— "
"I already told you that right now I don't care about that promise," Tsukiko said wrathfully. "No offence, but like Kero-chan said; we've been left in the dark for way too long."
"Please," Yue said quietly. "I am begging you. . ."
Tsukiko couldn't help but look at him, shocked, as if he were growing a second head. She had never seen or thought of Yue as being one to beg and plead. And yet, he was. Because of a fact she had finally learned, and the possibility that the other would know.
They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like eternity, before Tsukiko sighed and ran her fingers through her hair quickly.
"Fine," She spat angrily. "I won't tell him, yet. But if you don't tell him soon, I will. That I'll promise."
Yue, although reluctant, settled on that as Akatsuki and Akimi approached them. She was asleep in Akatsuki's arms, her face still stained with tears. Blushing furiously, Akatsuki quickly told Tsukiko about her crying and falling asleep in his arms while he was holding her. He had never gotten the chance to give her any answers what so ever.
Tsukiko sighed, and began to lead Akatsuki towards Akimi's house so they could drop her off. She quickly made up a lie about Akimi not feeling well in school, and falling asleep in the nurses office. Thankfully, Akimi's mother bought it and thanked Akatsuki for carrying her daughter home. Akatsuki, still blushing, said it was no problem at all.
Tsukiko sighed; this was going to be a long week.
XxXxXxX
"Oh, look, she opened her eyes! Isn't she cute, Syaoran?" The woman's gentle voice cooed. Her arms reached out and lifted a baby, cradling it in her arms.
"She's beautiful," a man's deep and husky voice spoke. "Just like you."
The woman seemed to ignore this and kept cooing at the baby wrapped in soft pink blankets in her arms. "She has your eyes."
The man smiled. As he looked at the woman and baby, his face grew soft and gentle. "Yes, but everything else is you."
"Not true," the woman continued softly. Whether she was focusing her attention to the man or the baby more was unknown. "Both have your unruly chestnut hair."
"Is
Akatsuki
awake yet?" The man asked.
"Iie, he's still sound asleep." The woman sighed and continued cooing softly to the swaddled baby girl in her arms. "This one loves sleeping, but not during the day. She's stubborn," she smirked. "Just like her father."
The man reached out his hand towards the baby and began to gently caress her soft, peach cheeks. The baby gave a small smile, making the man's lips turn into an amused smile.
"She's got you wrapped around her little finger already, ne?" The woman smirked.
Syaoran's smile grew. He joined the woman in cooing to the young baby. "They both do."
Just then, a distant crying of a young infant was faintly heard. Both parents stopped to listen to the noise, and Syaoran couldn't help but give a small chuckle. "Look's like he's awake."
"I'll get h—"
"Iie, let me." He leaned down and kissed the small, fragile baby in the woman's arms and smiled. "I'll be back with Akatsuki in a second." He told his wife.
The room became more vacant as he disappeared. Seconds later, it seemed, the crying stopped. Syaoran must have gotten the other baby. A graceful smile was pulled by the woman's luscious pink lips. She turned back down to the bundle; a small childish giggle erupted from it, causing the woman's smile to grow.
"There we go, my beautiful Tsukiko. . .such a beautiful laugh."
Tsukiko's eyes slowly fluttered open, but she didn't jolt up or begin to panic. Instead, her brows hitched close together in a very confused manner as she draped her arm across her forehead in a very relaxed way. Kero was sleeping peacefully by her feet, and she tried to move as little as possible as not to disturb him.
How had she not seen the similarities between Akatsuki and herself before? They had the same chocolate coloured hair, the same smile, the same habits, say running their hand through their hair. Although their eyes were different colours, they still resembled each other. They both shared the same curious glint and large innocence in those round, deep eyes of theirs. And then there was all those 'coincidences'; the charms, the guardians, the same man after them, both being adopted. . .
She mentally slapped herself; how on Earth had she not seen that before? It was so obvious.
And then, she had figured it out and a small smile crept across her lips; that was the mysterious pull between them. That 'natural but unnatural' feeling towards each other relationship wise. Natural to be close, but not natural to be that way close. It was the familiar, sibling pull they had felt. The family-love feeling. Brother to sister love. That was why she felt so safe with him; because of that unknown relationship.
She remembered reading about how twins had a special bond; could this be part of it? Closer than normal siblings because of being born into the world together, as one?
She smiled to herself, suddenly trying to imagine the two people she saw in her dream that she was now so sure was their parents. The same hair. . .the same eyes. . .how did she not see that before, either? She continued to smile, trying to imagine their parents and hoping they'd come back to her in that dream as sleep began to invade her body again.
Then, just before completely falling into the depths of sleep, she frowned.
Hopefully he would realize it, too, before she had to tell him. Although she knew he deserved to know, for some reason she didn't want to make Yue or Kero upset, because that would upset two other people.
This was going to be a long, long week.
XxXxXxX
Haha, I promised it'd be longer, didn't I? Well, I (thank GOD!) didn't have much for homework this weekend, and I was absolutely dying to get this chapter written, so I spent literally all of Friday evening and Saturday afternoon/evening writing this, getting through every writers block as quickly as possible to bring this to you guys quickly, because who knows when I can get chapters up these days.
Please, leave a comment! You all know how much I enjoy those!! And, truly, no exaggeration, they really do make my day and help me.
Again, I'll update ASAP, but don't expect anything to be up this quickly for a while!! Lol.
-Rai
Special THANKS! — Special thanks goes to SilentCynara for, although she didn't realize it, gave me an idea for this chapter through one of her reviews. She brought up about the space I gave to Akimi-chan, and I wasn't going to really make her a bigger character until much, much later. But, although she didn't realize it, Nara-chan gave me the idea to change that! Thanks a million! And, of course, I haven't properly thanked my beta for a bit. So, Tsuki.Senpi, Jade-chan my awesome beta and best friend, thanks a million! Your suggestions, comments and time mean a lot to me, especially since I know how much of a pain/unedited my writing can be.
