Cards, Love, war, and rebellion
Chapter 8
Authors note: ok warning ahead for you readers out there, any Eriol/Tomoyo shippers out there you will get disappointed with this. I won't make that relationship in my story because according to the wiki Eriol is romantically involved with Kaho Mizuki. But don't worry I'll give Tomoyo a good guy to, in fact SPOILER ALERT: I'll give you a teaser of him in this chapter and we'll meet him in the next. I'm sure he'll surprise you all. An now back to our program.
POV: Tomoyo
Recording Sakura chan meeting Li kuns family was quite something to see. Though I feel sorry for her to deal with Li kuns sisters, as I was in the fire line of their fawning myself. Meiling and I decided to go to the meeting hall and see how everything goes in the guise of taking a tour. Kero chan followed the two love birds and when he found me and Meiling chan, he decided to join us. When we saw Sakura going through the gates with flower petals flying through got the elders flabbergasted by her beauty. I was so happy that Sakura chan got accepted by Li kuns mother, though I must admit I am a bit jealous of Li kun for making Sakura a potential bride but I'm happy for the both of them. Looking at them like that I wish I have a love life like that. I really wish that there is someone who would look at me like how Li kun and Sakura chan look at each other. Of course when we made our presence known in the hall all hell went loose when Ryouma san was mentioned by Li kun. To make matters worse Meiling chans father came in and he decided to have a word with Meiling. I didn't know what happened but by the afternoon she was out exhausted as she had to explain what Li kun meant. Of course I helped comfort her as she start to confess her feeling for Ryouma san as she realized how she felt for him. Now all of that aside I hope that we can do good here and get rid of these demons before summers end.
It's been 3 days since we've arrived in Hong-kong and we immediately went demon hunting on the streets. Many of my friends asked me how I have kept a naginata on my luggage; even Bao kun asked me how I did it. Well a girl has got her secrets right? We were battling the demon at the square and let me tell you, there is a hoard of them. Boa kun and his friends are really good at fighting demons and even they are struggling with the numbers. We didn't come up with a plan but we just charged in straight into the fray.
"Firey!" Sakura chan shouted using her firey care
"Raitei shourai!" Li kun yelled.
"Thanks for helping us!" Bao kun yelled out. Gods everyone here are good today. I would be lying if I would say I wasn't scared but deep down I was shaking in my knees. I've seen how Sakura chan bravely took on the Clow cards head on but to be doing it myself was a different story. When fighting against humans even if it was a one sided beat down they would surrender. But these things are scarier than the human opponents I've faced. They have no conscience, no sense of self survival. These demons are like mindless beasts compared to the goons I've beaten up a few weeks ago. As I cut one down I noticed one demon running straight to an un suspecting bystander who seems un aware of the chaos going on. I had no time to think so I sprinted up to this man and started to shout.
"Watch out sir!" I yelled as I tackled him out of the way. Lucky for us the demon jumped right past us just inches away from my back. When we landed we were in a surprisingly awkward position me on top of him. As I looked into his eyes I was surprised by his image, he is a pretty boy and these types of guys are always easily mistaken for girls. The screech of the demon snapped us out of our staring so I quickly stood up naginata in hand. As the demon charged up I gave a quick thrust and skewer the demon right through the head. As the demon disintegrated I turned to pretty boy san to give him an apology
"Gomenasai sir, but please stay out of these fights." I took of back into the chaos. I never asked him for his name but right now that doesn't matter. I Have some demons to take care of and some friends to help.
The next day sometime later after the fight we were in Boa kuns favorite restaurant where they serve really good noodle bowls. Wheat noodle in Han-cho are allot more common than in Ni-hon-kaido and have more variants than we do. While we were eating Shi wrote something on her tablet
[is it just me or are the demons getting larger in numbers?]
"You're not the only one thinking it Shi." Boa kun assured
"She's got a point though." Li kun added.
"It's almost like someone is bringing in more." Sakura chan speculated.
"that is a really good point Sakura. . . if I recall demons don't slip into the mortal realm that quickly in such large numbers unless someone is pulling the strings Or in this case opening a bridge." Kero chan added. The atmosphere was so tense that we don't even know what to talk about any more.
"Why don't we change the subject for a moment to get our minds off of this tense atmosphere?" Meiling chan asked, and we all agreed
"so Sakura chan I see that you are wearing the outfit Li kuns sisters bought you." I said to Sakura chan. The suit she was wearing was an orange cheongasm style shirt that has slits on the sleeves at the top and up to the hips as well as a red capri pants (AN: Think the china clothes from the first OVA) it looked really cut on her. She the older girls went on a shopping spree to buy Sakura chan man Han-cho style clothing and many of them made her look cute.
"Tomoyo chan you to look good in that blue dress of yours." Sakura chan answered. My dress was a blue cheongasm that was also a gift to me from Li kuns sisters.
"Arigatogosaimasu." I thanked.
"Well speaking of family I heard that Meling here has got some father troubles." Shanyuan popped. Normally Bao or Shi would give him a good which upside the head but we all looked at Meiling chan with concern. Meiling seem to blush as she looked down on her bowl of beef noodles.
"It's. . . not what. . . everyone thinks." She said hesitantly.
[You can tell us Meiling] Shi's tablet read.
"Thank you Shi. Well you see guys after Xiao langs outburst at the meeting hall my dad wanted to know who Ryuoma is." Meiling confessed.
"Hey you and Tomoyo decided to record everything and I was frustrated with my sisters and you two seeing and recording the whole thing got me fuming." Li kun said "but still I'm sorry though Meiling."
"It's ok, I wanted to tell mom and dad about Ryouma a little later but know he wanted to meet him. . . I told him that we should wait a few day till he's in Hong-kong. I already have a few people watching the port to keep an eye out for him." Meiling chan answered.
"Demo you have your feelings of him straight now?" Sakura chan asked.
"I do, and I like him allot. So much so that I want to marry him" Meiling said dreamilly. When she realized what she said it was already too late. She hasn't been like that since she was engaged to Li kun. To see the old and pushy Meiling return like that causes some old memories to return.
"Wha-what did I say?" Meiling asked confused with a blush on her face.
"You just confessed your feeling for Ryouma san Meiling chan." I answered.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Meiling chan screamed when she ran out. we all looked at the direction where Meiling chan went out the door.
"She has her kawaii moments." I commented.
"More like creepy moment." Shanyuan corrected me.
[she really likes this Ryouma person doesn't she?] Shi wrote.
"you should have seen her on the boat. She was with ryouma the entire time." Bao explained
"Demo at least she has found someone she likes." Sakura added. With that we laughed at what we had just experienced.
Two hour went by and I was by myself while looking around the market. I was thinking of a new outfit for Sakura chan and maybe make a matching set for Li kun. I've already made one for them years ago but now I want to make another one of them. As I walked into a fabric store I was surprised by the sheer number of varieties and colors, all from silk and cotton to leather and lace. I am so happy to see all of these lovely fabrics just waiting to be turned into kawaii outfits. As I looked and searched through the fabrics I started to get the feeling that someone is watching me. I decided to look around me to be sure that I wasn't hallucinating. I looked around to be sure and I saw no one so I shrugged it off. I went to the clerk and bought a few fabrics and asked them to bring it to the Li clan compound which they agree to. As I walked out of the shop happily I felt a piece of cloth tied around my mouth and before I knew it everything went black as a hood was thrown over me. Next thing I knew I was being forced down and tied up. Am I being kidnapped? What's going on here?
"You will pay for what you did yesterday young lady, I'm sure the emperor will agree." A deep yet angry voice said. This got me scared, I don't know what to do but I tried to call for help. I hope my friends will help me.
POV: Meiling
I sat on a bench near the docks looking out at the sea. I just couldn't believe what I just said. I confessed my feelings for Ryouma and now I'm a mess of emotions. I finally got my feelings for Ryouma straight but now I'm too embarrassed to see my friends at this moment. I feel like I was 10 years old again, day dreaming and not caring about everything else. I want a beautiful relationship like the one Xialang and Sakura are having but I just couldn't help but feel jealous of them. I wouldn't say that I'm not jealous of Sakura taking my cousin as a lover but I have been for years yet I'm still happy and supportive of them. And now I met a guy who is willing to wait for me and can read me like an open book. Sure I want Ryouma to be a potential marriage partner but I don't want my father to judge him as inferior. As I sat at the bench looking at the sea I felt a presence coming closer. Oddly enough if felt warm, loving and friendly.
"It's been a while Meiling." I looked to see Ryouma freshly dressed and cleaned after a long voyage at sea.
"Ryouma." I said dreamingly with a smile.
"You ok?" He asked. I didn't answer and didn't think of the consequences. I wrapped arms around his neck and claimed his lips, it took him a while to recover but he kissed me back as well. When we separated I quickly confessed and he accepted it. As we looked at the ocean right in front of us we talked about allot of things. He got his permit a few days ago and just got into port yesterday. Then I told him what happened recently and that my parents want to meet him.
"You've got some interesting friends Meiling."
"I Know. And I'm proud of them. But they can be very silly at times." I told him
"But still I'm glad you are here." Ryouma assured.
"I don't know what my parents will say about you or if you even have anyone else in your life." I asked.
"Hey don't worry, I am nervous to. Also you are a member of a prestigious clan. I'm just glad I got the chance to see you today."
"Really?" I asked
"Yeah." He assured
"So how are things back at your village?" I asked.
"This may sound as a shocker to you but I just recently got a message from my mother." He said grimly.
"What happened?" I asked
"My twelve year old sister wants to marry the son of the village head who is around her age." He said annoyed.
"What?" I shouted.
"I know and my mother had her voiced her concerns to both the head and my sister." He continued
"Hold up is it common for kids her age to marry at a young age?" I asked.
"In certain rural areas it is, but it's a practice I frown upon." He answered.
"wow." I said ammazed.
"And not just me, half of the village frowns upon this practice as well" He added. I know that his village is in the sticks of the archipelago but this is ridiculous. At least some people in his village has a good sense of morals.
"We have a good movement to end that practice but there are still a couple of suborn one who still cling to the old traditions but even they are starting to see sense." Ryouma confirmed.
"I'm glad things are going to become interesting in your village." I told him with glee.
"Can you show me around? I've got plenty of time. I just don't know who I should trade with around here." Ryouma asked.
"Sure!" I answered happily as I stood up from the bench. Ryouma stood up and I took his hand and we hurried off.
"Whoa you sure are pushy!" Ryouma commented.
"I know and I've realized that years ago" I answered
"Don't worry, I may not be good with pushy girls but I like them, Shows that they are determined." He assured.
"Careful what you for, or else I might try something naughty on you." I teased. The moment he start to blush I began to laugh. It doesn't suit his rough good looks but it shows a cute side of him. I want to marry him right away but from what I have seen from Xiao lang and Sakura the most important part of a relationship is patience, trust, and development. Also it goes both ways so I can't be the selfish girl I used to be as a child. Until he gets my parents approval I'll hold back until then. We've toured the city for a while now and we've just finished touring the bird market. There were many exotic birds that were bought for various reasons. The most common on is as pets for rich households. As we got out of the market area we heard a distinct shouting. We looked towards where the shouting is coming from to see Xiao lang and Sakura running towards us. They have worried looks on their faces.
"Sakura, Xiao lang, What's going on?" I asked.
"Li san, Kinomoto san, How's it going
"Hey Ryouma but there's no time for greeting. We need to hurry!" Xiao lang said with a hasty tone
"What?" I asked.
"Tomoyo is taken by some men in black masks, we have to help her!" Sakura shouted.
"WHAT!?" both me and Ryouma shouted.
"We already have Keroberos tracking them so we must hurry." Sakura added.
"What are we waiting for let's go!" Ryouma said, and we ran like maniacs to see where Tomoyo was taken to. I sure hope that she will be alright.
3rd POV
In the dark meditation chamber in the Long clan compound the shadowy figure sat drinking tea. A servant was next to him keeping his head down and made sure not to look at him.
"Good tea." The shadowy figure said.
"Elder Long Chang I also have news." The servant said.
"Go ahead." Chang ordered.
"The boy young prince survived our assassination attempt. The demon was slaughtered by the Li clan." The servant said.
"Who saved him." Chang asked.
"one of the girls from the archipelago. The one with the black hair."
"The princess huh? I hope the young prince is as stupid as he seems. Rumor has it that despite his feminine looks he's a smart one. I just hope that the rumor is nothing more than just some fool trying to make him look good. In my experience rumors tend to be the opposite of what it was. And feminine looking boys are the idiots of society." Chang chuckled.
"Are you saying it'll be an international incident?" the servant asked.
"IT will and it would make my plans easier, let's hope that the prince is as stupid as he looks." Little did Long Chang knew of how wrong he was.
Meanwhile at the cities imperial guest house where the local governors use to house any member of the imperial family while they are visiting a commotion can be heard from the outside out the compound.
"YOU MORON!" Shouted a voice.
BANG
Inside the building one of the leader of the men in the black cloths and masks was bleeding from the top of his forhead.
"huh?" the leader wondered as he knelt down. One his men ran up to him to stabalized
"Your majesty what have we done wrong? We just apprehended the one who dared to touch your heavenly body!" the soldier said.
"You mean you don't know you morons?" the young man yelled. He looked apologetically to the captive who is now being freed and tended to by his maids. The captive was Tomoyo, she was scared, confused, surprised, yet glad at the situation. The man the men in black called his majesty must have been a member of the imperial family. And he's berating them on their behavior for what they have done, and he continued to yell at them for their idiocy..
"You have hurt the one who saved me from death by demons yesterday! You idiots!"
Authors note: sorry for the cliff hanger every one. I swear I'll tell you who he is in the next chapter. I've got dinner to make for my family and I'll be sure to update ya'll on the next chapter. Until then see you in the next chapter.