The Key

Chapter 14

Yukito hung up.

" Still not answering?" Touya asked from his desk.

Yukito sighed. " Wish I could go over there."

" You could, you know."

Yukito did not point out that Yue would probably object to that show of concern. " Can you ask Kero to check on him?"

" Kero's already put out that he forgot to open the window."

" What if it's for a good reason?" Yukito ran his fingers through his hair. " Maybe someone got him."

Understanding, Touya took out his cell phone. " Well, got nothing else to do." He dialed. " Hey kaijuu, it's me. Kero still there? He's not answering Yukito's calls. You sound put out. He's sick?"

A long pause followed. Sakura's voice sounded a little louder, more hysterical, though Yukito could not tell what she was saying.

" Easy there kaijuu. Why don't you head over and check? Hai. Call me when you find out anything. And be careful! Take Kero with you." Touya hung up. " I guess it's not much of a loss I gave my magic to you. Even if I did sense Sakura in danger, not like I can do much about it now, other than worry."

" And I cannot help Sakura either." Yukito frowned. " She's very resourceful though."

" Haha. A natural interrogator." Touya returned sourly. " Want some beer?"

" Iie." Yukito glared. " I can't believe you got those without telling me."

" You know you want some." Touya smirked. " Too bad I didn't get your true form to drink some. I wonder if he's like you when you're drunk."

" Yue doesn't drink!"

" He drank tea the other night."

" He did?" Yukito blinked, as he headed over to the fridge to get a can. " This is good beer," He looked at the logo, before opening the can and heading over to his bed.

" This is great." Touya was looking up the curriculum for his major. " The hardest classes I have to take are statistics and calc in 3D. Ew." He frowned. " Calc in 3D?"



" Try General Physics for Engineering." Yukito stuck his tongue out at his friend. " But I will admit, I prefer homework than all those clubs you have to attend."

" Hey, clubs mean booze."

" You actually have to do stuff at those clubs though." Yukito cocked an eyebrow. " And mind you, you can get booze anywhere, not necessarily at programs. And you have to learn Chinese."

" Like you don't know Chinese already." Touya sniffed. " You certainly spoke fluently enough to the kid."

" That was Yue." Yukito frowned. " Why hasn't she called yet?"

" She kind of has to…well, get there, first?" Touya raised an eyebrow. " Anyway," He turned back to his laptop. " Ugh. Why do I have to take macroeconomics?"

" That's easy." Yukito waved his hand. " I heard from the upper classmen."

" Well, an easy A. They're all easy. Except calculus. Oh cool, I can take the business version, instead of the math geek version. That's encouraging."

" Calc in 3D?" Yukito hopped up from his bed. " I think I'm taking that."

" Yuki-san, you really should keep track of your classes."

" They signed us up for classes. I didn't have much choice. Physics, electrical engineering, calc in 3D. Yup. To-ya, take it with me."

" Hell no."

" Oh come on!" Yukito whined. " It's either take it with me or take it on your own."

" I'm taking the business version!"

Scowling, Yukito took a huge gulp of his beer. " Cheater."

Touya laughed. " It's okay. I'll give you a good eulogy, I promise."

Yukito glared at him.

" When is your sister going to call?"

" Yukito!"

oO

Lebedeva put up a good fight, but her lack of brute strength cost her dearly. Forrest pulled her by the collar and pushed her against the wall.

" You will help me." He said to her. " Help me find the boy."



Gasping, Lebedeva managed, " I don't see why not."

Forrest studied her, before slowly letting her go.

Taking a moment to recover, Lebedeva asked, " Why kill him, heh?" She rubbed her side, where she was still bleeding. " Why kill the child? You are a guardian."

Forrest glared at her. " It is not your concern. Tell me where the boy is."

" I do not know."

He raised his sword. " You are no match for me." He hissed.

" I am not sure, alright?" Lebedeva glared back.

" Who do you suspect, then?" Forrest snarled, shaking his sword once to emphasize his impatience.

" Suzuki Akira." Lebedeva replied. " Hails from Tokyo, supposedly. You'll find him in the math team after school tomorrow."

Forrest withdrew his sword. " Do not try anything." He disappeared.

" As if I would." Lebedeva rubbed her side, wincing.

oO

It was relatively late at night, but the streetlights illuminated enough that Sakura saw the man in front of Yukito's house before she was anywhere near. Kero rode in her backpack, but Sakura knew the man had noticed her, even if he did not know she noticed him.

She could not stop at Yukito's house to check on Syaoran now, and with the man's attention on her, could not send her guardian to warn Syaoran. Time Card was too risky. What was she going to do?

She walked determinedly past the man, using the opportunity to take in his features. He was a white man, pale with blonde hair. He was wearing a trench coat. He seemed very powerful. As she crossed him, she could sense his aura, heavily repressed with shielding spells. This man was a powerful sorcerer.

Crud. Sakura thought. Why is he just standing there? But if he was standing there, at least that meant he did not have Syaoran. Assuming Syaoran was still inside.

Tomoyo's house was further down. Sakura turned at the end of the block and summoned the Shield Card quickly to mask her aura. She then peered from the bushes.

" Kero-chan, what are we going to do?" She lamented.

" Keep the Shield Card around me." Kero whispered back. " I'm going to warn him. Call Yue."

" Nani?" Sakura stared. " Why?"



" Just in case." The guardian said wisely. " Do it."

Sakura frowned then complied, as she maintained focus on Kero's shield.

" Moshi moshi. You found him?" Touya asked, bored.

" Get Yue on the phone." Sakura whispered.

There was a slight hesitation, then Yukito's nervous voice answered. " What is it?"

" Someone's at your house." Sakura peeked through the bushes again. The man was gone. " Kero's gone over to warn Akira-chan. I don't see him anymore, but he's a sorcerer."

Yukito was silent for a moment. " Darn. Did you get Li out?"

" He's going over there now," Sakura clarified. " I have no idea what's going on. I'm going to sneak over to your house."

" Be careful!"

" I'm leaving the connection on." Sakura said to Yukito. " But give me a minute."

Summoning Shadow, as it was reasonably difficult to sense, Sakura told it to report to her what was going on in the house.

Yukito paced in the dorm. This time Touya was just as nervous as he was.

" Akira-chan is still inside."

" Be careful." Yukito repeated. " There are barriers on the house, you might have more time. Don't go barging in."

Inside the house, someone else was waking Syaoran.

" Child, wake up." Nadeshiko whispered, shaking the boy's shoulder. " I know you are sick, but you better get up." The child slept on, and getting more urgent, she shook his shoulder harder. " Hurry!"

" Mmm." Syaoran groaned, but did not wake up.

" Child," Nadeshiko looked up, noticing Kero at the window. " Xiaolang, hurry!"

" Open the window!" Kero was hissing. " Good grief!"

Nadeshiko's powers were not so great that she could open a window from this plane. The sorcerer was actually dismantling the wards now; any minute and he would be inside the house.

" Xiaolang!"



Kero had darted back to Sakura. " He's breaking in." He told her. " Li's oblivious. He's there, but he's not waking up! I tried banging on the window. Any louder and I think the man will hear."

" What do we do?" Sakura grabbed her head. " Oh this is all my fault! I should have seen this coming!"

" No time!" Kero hissed. " Hurry!"

" I'm trying!" Sakura stared at Kero. " Go create some distraction!"

" What distraction?"

" You fly, right? Go rustle the branches or something!"

" Grr…" Kero sped off, with Sakura's shield still around him.

Sakura ran behind the block, hoping to sneak into the back yard through someone else's driveway. Before she could do so, she felt a twinge of magic and stopped.

Syaoran had finally woken up, and, though feeling horribly sick, managed to understand Nadeshiko's warnings.

" Is he inside?"

" He's about to be."

Strangely, Syaoran hurried downstairs.

" Li-san?" Nadeshiko called, worried. " You have to go through the back door."

The man had stopped dismantling the wards, staring up at the trees. He was stepping away from the door, moving to the area in front of the windows.

" Li!" Nadeshiko cried, when the boy suddenly opened the front door. Then he vanished. The Loop Card glowed a little and dimmed, invisible again.

" Huh." Nadeshiko was taken aback. " That was very smart."

Sakura, sensing the Loop Card activating, sent the Shadow Card to get Kero. This time, the intruder sensed the Shadow Card. Believing it was targeting him, he attacked it. The Shadow Card sailed to Sakura.

Seeing her location was revealed, Kero wasted no time transforming and attacking. Sakura grabbed her phone.

" Kero-chan's under attack!"

Touya cursed, as he heard that report.

" Where is the kid?" Yukito asked.



" He escaped. Used the Loop Card." Sakura began running in the direction of the apartment. " Not sure what's going on. I'm going to boost Kero randomly, hopefully that will confuse him. Uh, rain, thunder, Thunder!" She released the card, causing lightning to strike in front of Yukito's house. It materialized into its true form. Sakura prayed it would help Kero even though she had no idea what it was doing. The card soon came back to her though; it was not able to promote the fight without her guidance. " Dang it!"

She stopped, thinking quickly. If Kero was defeated, she could very well lead this man to Syaoran. That cannot happen. She probably stood a better chance if she faced him head on. She turned back. " I'm going to help Kero. Stay on!" She tucked the phone into her bag. " Fly!" She summoned, and headed straight toward the house.

Sakura's shield was still around Kero, as it did not need much guidance to surround him, and was serving to protect him from more than detection. The stranger was surrounded by a bluish aura, interspersed with waves of purple and white. He was attacking at Kero's shields, which were starting to give.

" Sakura!" Kero called, as he saw her arrive. " I can't hold it much longer!" Even with his own force field the shield was starting to give.

Sakura took out the Ghot Card. " Who are you?" She demanded, as she hovered over him.

" Name's Volkov." The man sneered. " I see your pet lion has been snooping around lately."

Once he uttered his name, the Ghot Card activated, and a stream of golden light shot toward the man. He dodged, but it was fortunate that the Ghot Card grew increasingly more powerful and fast at every attempt.

With the Ghot Card distracting him, Kero was able to contribute his own attacks. Though nowhere as fast, the man was too flustered by dodging the Ghot Card to defend himself properly. The flames hit home, followed by the Ghot Card itself. Blood splattered the pavement. Realizing he was outmatched, Volkov quickly disappeared.

Sakura tried to stop him, but he was gone before she could move.

" Kero-chan!" She hurried to the guardian, who transformed into his false form. " Are you alright?"

" I'm fine." Kero panted, for he had exerted himself to maintain the shield. " What about the kid?"

" He's at the apartment, I think." Sakura looked up at the sky. " Should I risk flying?"

" I'll fly over. You walk. Better safe than sorry. You'll know if something's wrong." Kero zipped through the air and Sakura lost sight of him.

oO



Syaoran's head was pounding in pain. Nadeshiko stayed beside him, rubbing his back. It was a new experience for her, being able to touch someone who was alive. She silently thought about her own children. As she sensed Kero approach, she slowly faded away.

" Kid!" Kero called out, swooping down in front of Syaoran. " Hey, what ever happened to our deal? I was supposed to stay with you!"

" Gomen ne," Syaoran rubbed his head, " Forgot." He coughed a wet cough. He was cold, and felt very dizzy.

Kero settled on his shoulder and sent magical warmth through him. " Sakura-chan is coming." He told the boy. " Hang in there."

Sakura arrived about ten minutes later. " I never realized how far away you were." She panted. " Are you alright?"

Syaoran nodded, still coughing, and he realized there were disadvantages to not having tissues when one needed them.

" Ugh, gross!" Sakura complained at his slimy hands, and avoided touching them. " I'm taking you to my house, okay? You think you can make it there?"

" Hai." Syaoran nodded. " Arigatou," He coughed again.

Steering him by the shoulders, Sakura began guiding Syaoran home. She reached into her bag to talk to Yukito. In the scuffle she had accidentally hung up on him. There were two missed calls.

" Is everything alright?" Yukito was too worried to be angry.

" Hai, he made it out. The guy escaped." Sakura sighed. " I'm taking Akira-chan home. We need to work on those barriers around your house this weekend."

" This weekend? What about before this weekend?"

" Akira-chan is sick. I'm not going to leave him by himself. Kero-chan is going to take care of him at my place. Right, Kero-chan?"

" Oi, er, of course." Kero poked at Syaoran, who was swaying. " Hey, don't faint on us, kid, okay?"

" Yue's really worried. Should we head over now?"

Sakura could almost hear it in her head. I did not say 'really'. Or I was not worried. She had more than Yue's pride to consider. " Tell him he probably should get over here. It does not seem like we'd be having a quiet night."

oO



Actually, it turned out to be a quiet night. Yue arrived, and both Kero and Sakura agreed it was probably best not to point out the amount of time between hanging up the call and his arrival meant Yue had been speeding through the skies in an atypical mother-hen fashion. Syaoran, half delirious with high fever, mistook Yue for Yukito at first and, with an expression of relief, cried out, " Yukito-san!" and hugged him. Unnerved, Yue had roughly pushed the boy off.

" What are you doing?" He exclaimed, horrified.

" Oh." Embarrassed after he realized his blunder, Syaoran hung his head. " Gomen nasai."

" Easy there," Kero warned. " Kid's sick, in case you haven't noticed.

" Have some honey milk, Akira-chan." Sakura handed him a cup. " It always makes me feel better. Then you can get some rest. Take these." She handed Syaoran some pills. " It would help with the fever and symptoms."

" Arigatou." Still feeling awkward after that show of affection, Syaoran avoided Yue's gaze while wondering what the guardian was doing here.

The honey milk was soothing, and as Syaoran blinked he was unable to open his eyes, or hear anything, for that matter. Realizing he had fallen asleep, Sakura looked at Syaoran in dismay; he was still on the couch.

" Yue," Kero broke in before Sakura could say anything, " Carry the boy up, will ya?"

" Why should I do it?" Yue demanded.

" Well you can't ask Sakura to do it." Kero glanced over at the mortified Sakura. " And I can't carry him without waking him up. Well, we can do a lot of magic tricks, but it would be easier if you would just do it."

With a glare in Kero's direction, Yue slowly maneuvered the child into his arms. The boy was so small and light, Yue realized; still thin and bony from stress and depression. Now sick, his pallor was very unhealthy. He looked miserable.

Kero understood his fellow guardian more than Yue gave him credit for. Once Yue placed Syaoran on the bed in Touya's room, Kero dragged Sakura away from the room (she had followed him) and turned out the lights.

" You keep an eye on the kid." Kero called out through a mouthful of Sakura's collar.

" Nani?" Yue scowled. " You are kidding yourself."

Kero did not answer, merely telekinetically shutting the door.



The guardian wavered a long time in the dark room, but his indecision was forgotten as he looked at the boy. They had nearly lost him today. Sakura beat the man, but it was still a close call, in its own way. And now, with the door shut, there was no way for anyone to know whether he left or stayed.

But it is not about that. He thought. It is about whether staying meant he really loved this child. This child, who should be nothing to him.

You stay to keep him safe. He told himself. Because Sakura would be sad if anything happens to him. Despite what he told Touya, he was still surprised by Sakura's tactics with the crow. You stay for her sake. Hai, you stay for Sakura's sake. Just because you came here does not mean you actually care about this boy. He is just another unfortunate soul. There are so many unfortunate souls.

Still, he looked at the child and could still recall the feel of the boy's arms around his waist, that gesture of genuine joy upon seeing him. It was for Yukito though. The boy had even uttered the name. To Yue, he felt afraid. He scares me.

Why should he feel anything for the boy? Syaoran liked Yukito, not him. Yue sat down studying the child, watching and listening to him breathe. He did not even react when Nadeshiko appeared next to Syaoran's bed, and place her glowing hand on his forehead to lower the fever.

" For another mother." Nadeshiko murmured. She did not look at Yue, disappearing directly.

Yue did not react when she left, keeping steady watch over the child, though nothing happened for the rest of that night.