3-6: Potential Threat

It was an argument that Reios knew he would never win. The glaring afternoon sun shining right into his eyes as they left the school's front entrance behind wasn't helping with his thinking process, either.

"Your performance with Mr. Akita was utterly amazing!" Sakura exclaimed, "You're a really good flutist!"

Reios was still trying to be modest about the whole thing, hence the whole "argument" concept. Once again he attempted to shrug it off, "It wasn't anything overly special. That wasn't even a difficult composition, to begin with. You can't judge someone's skill by such low-grade works like that."

To his surprise, Tomoyo was the one to counter him this time, "No, she is right. That piece you performed with the teacher was really moving. It was a wonderful display of emotion and technique, low-grade or not. I am sure that the entire class enjoyed it, too."

He then attempted to hide the fact that he now felt authentically proud of himself by adjusting the black nylon flute bag that was shoulder-strapped alongside the ever-present wooden staff on his back. While fiddling around with it, he added onto the conversation, "Well, it's fortunate then, that Mr. Akita knew how to perform the duet piece. It really surprised me when he suddenly started playing as an accompaniment on the piano, too, much to the point that I almost stopped playing. Though I guess he was somehow impressed with me, because he invited me back as a guest performer for the school choir's first recital. Sometime at month's end, I think he said."

The faces of the two girls lit up, with another chance to listen to him having presented itself. Reios noted their enthusiasm, but continued, "I didn't want to intrude on a position that I thought should have been given to a student, but then I was told that I would be performing in place of another guest musician who had always taken up the role in previous years. I guess he's on some kind of extended tour with a jazz band, this time around, or something.

"At any rate, Mr. Akita said that the plan so far was for both the song we had displayed for the class, as well as one other with a solo vocalist, to be a part of the 'guest performance'. I guess he liked our piano-and-flute duet that much. And the best part of it all, is that there's a very good chance that Tomoyo here will be that vocalist. Apparently he had heard high praises from one Ms. Tsujitani, and was intent on hearing it for himself. And once I heard about that little detail, there was just no way I could refuse."

Sakura's face brightened all the more, "So, then the both of you will be performing together? It sounds like fun!"

Tomoyo nodded with an equivalent enthusiasm to Sakura's, though inwardly she was quite surprised. Mr. Akita wasn't supposed to announce the soloist for their month-end recital until the Friday of next week, by which point he would have had a chance to fully evaluate all the participating students. That her teacher had confided that she would likely be the one to perform it gave her high hopes of being able to sing before her friends again, and that she would likely be the one to sing alongside the accompaniment of Reios's flute artistry made it all that much more exciting.

The three of them passed the school gates and turned the corner, heading up the street and towards the park for their everyday walk home. Her curiosity finally got the best of her, however, causing Tomoyo to turn and ask, "What song did Mr. Akita say we would be performing, or did he tell you?"

Unfortunately, Reios merely shrugged off the question, "Can't say that I know, except that it would be an easy piece to learn. At least for me. He said that it was a beautiful piece in its own right, however."

Tomoyo quietly turned herself back ahead, slightly dismayed that she couldn't begin practicing right away. It was at that moment that she caught sight of two student figures waiting up ahead along their path, one of which was leaning against the cement wall of the school perimeter. She grew immediately worried as to who they might potentially be, considering what she had asked Reios to do for her earlier in the day (and he had done it. He had even went so far as to give her a signed self-restraining order agreement from the two suspects), but Sakura recognized their true identities immediately, even over such a long distance.

So she called out to them, "Ah, Eriol, Syaoran!" and then turned back to urge her two companions onwards, "Come on, let's catch up to them!"

They stepped it up into a jog-like pace at that request, easily and quickly closing the distance between their two groups. Sakura flashed a grin and a wave at the two boys as she came to a stop, but after a moment her grin flipped over into a frown of confusion. They weren't responding to her at all, and if anything, they seemed more concerned about something else behind her. Syaoran had even tensed up to the point that he was about to pull into some kind of martial arts stance. She turned about to see what had so locked their attention, only to have the audible cry of singing metal escaping from its home make her all the more aware of the flashing silver that had crossed into her view.

She stepped back in a half-stumble while pulling Tomoyo away with her, panic starting to overrun her. She was unable to believe that Reios was now standing against them, his katana drawn and its sharpened point aimed directly against Eriol. The fiery look that was in his eyes told her that he was dead serious about intending to attack, too, which had her desperately seeking a reason for the sudden tension in the air, "Hey, wait, what's going on? Reios, what are doing!?"

"Step away from him," Reios hissed, his words deep and venomous, "I've been feeling something in the air all afternoon. A powerful... darkness, for a lack of a better term, and now I find that they've been coming from this 'Eriol'," he indicated Eriol with a small tipping of his katana.

"What the hell are you doing?" Syaoran hissed back viciously, "Put that away before someone notices us!"

Reios ignored the command, and instead kept his gaze deadlocked onto the other foreigner of the group. The stare that he received back in turn was not one that he would have expected, though. Most smart people, if he were to face them with the same situation that he had now placed this Eriol person into, would either be bug-eyed and scared stiff, begging for their lives, or outright running for their lives. Instead, the primary source of those dark emanations merely stood there smiling as though all the world mattered little to him. The utter calmness that the man's aloof grin was also letting off was wholly irritating.

A tense moment passed within the group before Eriol finally chose to answer, "That you could sense my inner power, though I normally do my utmost to hide it... Well, from everything you have studied, I suppose a natural proficiency to your new found power is to be expected. Regardless of that, the reason that you feel dark energies flowing within me is because that is the source of my power. I draw from the Moon and the night's darkness, much like how you draw from the Sun and the day's shining light. I suppose your senses are more keen than most to my power because you are my spiritual opposite."

"Opposite... wh... aah, say... that again?" Reios asked with a stutter, more confused than he was surprised of such an unexpected response, to say nothing of the fact that that this total stranger (at least to him) knew of his study habits. While he had not a single clue of what this Eriol had just said, at the same time he was also getting the distinct feeling that he already knew what it meant anyway. The contradictions that were running through his mind were creeping him out something fierce. It was enough of a shock for him to lower his guard, at least, his sword-point dropping slowly towards the ground as his mind became notably set onto other tasks. Everyone around him released a collective sigh of relief at that.

"If you would walk with us, I shall gladly explain everything. Without any further distractions to impede us, I can now reveal everything I know of our current situation, as well as answer the questions that I am sure are running through your minds. Come. It is a beautiful afternoon for a walk in the park."

And without even waiting for any type of response, Eriol turned and continued on in the direction that Sakura and her part of the entourage had originally been heading. Not wanting to be left behind, both Sakura and Syaoran rushed on ahead to take up spots beside him, with Tomoyo quickly in tow behind Sakura.

Reios, on the other hand, stalled for a moment as he unconsciously studied Eriol's backside. The continued feeling of those dark vibrations from him was quite unnerving. There was a strange foreboding hanging about the man, to be sure, and Reios found it difficult to believe that he was the only one who could sense it. But other than that, and lacking any better terminology for it, Reios couldn't really sense anything overly sinister about him. As a result, his mind wanted to find an excuse for his actions just now, but there just wasn't anything there for it to process. His only recourse was to accept that he had just made a complete and utter fool out of himself. Again.

Before long, though, he decided to choose knowledge over suspicion. After replacing his sword, he jogged off to catch up with the rest of the group.

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