Author's Note: This has a lot of history in it. I don't think that's it that hard to follow. Just try to keep the people straight.
And thanx to all who reviewed for my last chapter. I usually don't write stuff like that . . .
A reviewer asked if I made up the names I use in my stories. Well, I made up Sunni, Klein and Sanori but the others (including the ones in this chapter) came from a site called 200, 000 Names form Around the World. (I guess u could say I cheated.)
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Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.
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*~* Chapter Five *~*
History Lesson
Syaoran paced around his apartment building, hacking his brain for any possible connection between Sakura and the mysterious Nyoko. Touya had just called him and told him that more roses had appeared in Sakura's room. Now he was really worried.
Syaoran got his car keys and raced over to the mansion where his family was staying. He wanted to ask them about this Li Nyoko.
Once past the gate of the mansion, Syaoran parked his car in the semi-circle and hopped out. He knocked on the door.
To his amazement, Sunni answered the door. "Well, isn't this a surprise! Where's your cute little fiancée?"
"I'm here about her, actually. Are Klein and Mother in?"
Noticing the urgent tone in Syaoran's voice, Sunni nodded and let him in. He led Syaoran to the library where Klein and Sanori were playing cards with Kero.
"Hahahahaha! I win again! Yo' money is MINE!" Kero bellowed, struggling to scrape up his large pile of winnings.
Klein groaned. "I swear . . . that stuffed animal is using his magic to cheat . . ."
"Hey, watch it! And I don't need to cheat- you guys are the worst card players I've ever seen in my hundreds of years!" cried Kero.
Sanori smiled at her son. "Syaoran! I'm glad you decided to pay us a visit."
Syaoran eyed Kero with curiosity. He wasn't even going to ask what he was doing at the mansion. " I need some help. It's about Sakura."
Kero immediately became concerned. "What about Sakura?"
Syaoran told them about Sakura's dream. "This guy called her Li Nyoko. That name is so familiar to me . . ."
Klein looked at Sanori. She paled.
"N-Nyoko? Did you say Li Nyoko?"
Syaoran nodded, watching his mother. "Yes."
"S-she was my great-grandmother. The reason why you've probably heard of her is because she was the strongest female Li that ever existed in the Clan," Sanori told him. "Yes, she was very, very powerful. Your Sakura would easily match her power, maybe even exceed hers."
"So why did this guy call her Nyoko?"
Sanori closed her eyes. "Hmmm . . . I never realized it, but Sakura looks a lot like my great-grandmother. Besides the hair color, of course." She paused. "His name was Yukio . . ."
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The Past
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Nyoko stood on the top of the sliding ladder in the Li Clan library, reaching for a book. Curse it! Why does this book have to be at the very top? She stood on her toes. Just . . . a bit . . . further . . .
Nyoko let out a tiny gasp and closed her eyes as she felt herself slipping from the ladder. She began to scream as she fell backwards.
Instead of hitting the hardwood floor of the library, she plopped into someone's arms. She opened one eye and stared at a handsome young man who was smiling down at her.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Um . . . you can put me down now."
He carefully set her down on her feet. "What's your name? And did you honestly think you could fly?"
"What?"
"I was just wondering if you thought you could fly because you were carelessly reaching for that book and not paying any attention to your footing." He grinned. "I'm sure the Elders wouldn't like it if you got blood and guts all over their precious, ancient, dusty old books."
Nyoko glared at him. "Well! If you'll excuse me, I think I'll-"
"Aww, come on! I didn't mean to make you upset! What's your name?"
She reluctantly turned to him. "Nyoko."
"Oh, so you're the gem the 'peaceful one' keeps talking about," he muttered.
Nyoko was confused for a moment. "Oh, you mean Yasuo!" She knew that Yasuo's name meant 'peaceful one'.
"Yeah, him. I'm Yukio, his cousin. Pleased to meet you." He stuck out his hand and she shook it.
"Are you and Yasuo good friends?" She wanted to know about the mysterious cousin of her fiancé. After all, she'd never heard of him before.
He grunted. "You could say that."
Nyoko eyed the dark haired man with curiosity. "Well, thank you for saving me. Maybe we'll see each other some time later?"
He nodded. As she walked towards the door, he called out, "Wait! Don't you want your book?"
She turned to him and smiled. "Oh, I won't risk going up there again. I'll just ask Yasuo to get it for me."
"I'll get it." Before she could protest, the book she'd been reaching for floated down form the shelf and stopped right in front of her.
Her eyes grew wide as she took the book. "Y-you know magic?"
Yukio nodded.
She smiled at him. "Thank you. See you later."
Yukio watched her go. Damn you, Yasuo! You always were the fortunate one . . .
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The Present
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"No one knew it then, but Yukio . . . he had plans for the family," whispered Sanori.
Syaoran was now sitting next to his mother. "You know, this story sounds like what happened between Alan and everything. I bet that Yukio was jealous of Yasuo because of the fact that Nyoko was going to marry him."
She nodded. "The wedding plans were starting to come along. Everyone was so excited about it, except Yukio, of course. He was waiting for the right time to strike. Meanwhile, he had been sending my great-grandmother strange gifts . . ."
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The Past
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Nyoko headed downstairs to the ballroom to check out the plans for the decorations. She and Yasuo were planning to have their wedding in the garden and their reception in the grand ballroom.
On her way there, a young maid stopped her. "Oh, Miss Nyoko, there's a package waiting for you in the foyer."
"Who's' it from?"
The young lady shrugged. "There was no address on it but yours."
"Thank you." Anxious to see what the package contained, she quickly made her way to the foyer. Indeed there was a large box sitting there.
Nyoko began to rip the box apart. She gasped when she saw the contents of the box. It was a huge crimson teddy bear with black swirls on it. Its face didn't have the regular cute innocent bear look. Instead it was a twisted scowl.
She frowned. It was a weird bear.
"Hey, Nyoko, what have you got there?"
She quickly tried to close the top to the box. "Oh, Yasuo, n-nothing!"
Yasuo came up behind her and lifted her away from the box. He opened it and frowned. "What a strange bear. And the power radiating form it . . . it feels evil . . ."
"I-I know. I don't like it much," she whispered.
"Who is it from?" he demanded
She shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't say."
Yasuo lifted the box into his arms. "If you don't mind, I'll have someone get rid of it."
She shook her head. "I don't mind. Go ahead."
When Yasuo was gone, she let out a huge sigh. The swirl pattern on the bear was the same as on the strange roses she'd found on her bed the other day. So they were obviously form the same person. But who?
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The Present
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Klein took over. "And then she often talked about how she heard voices in her head, telling her things. It almost drove her to the brink of insanity until the day came when the identity was revealed of the person who'd been tormenting her. That was the day before her wedding . . ."
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The Past
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Why'd you let him destroy my gift to you, Nyoko? My beautiful bear . . . Didn't you like it?
Nyoko grasped her head in her hands. Why wouldn't the voices stop? "Go away! Leave me alone!"
I want an answer . . .
"Alright!" she gasped. "You want to know why I let him destroy the bear? Because I HATED IT! It was ugly and twisted!"
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!! I never expected so much insolence from you . . . I see that when we are finally together, I will have to correct that . . .
"When we're together!" She spun around the room, her dark hair flying around her face. "I'm marrying Yasuo! MY fiancé!! Tomorrow!"
Not if I can help it . . . Yes, today is the day that everything will begin . . .
"What will begin?" she cried. "WHAT? What are you planning to do?"
Why, just take what I want. And I always get what I want! It's my nature.
Nyoko's eyes grew large. 'Gets what he wants . . . Yukio . . . that's what his name means . . . one who gets what he wants . . . But I mustn't let him know that I know his identity now. I need to tell Yasuo.'
"Fine!" she shouted. "But I will never truly be yours!"
Hahahahaha! Believe what you want to, my gem.
Nyoko stood in silence until she was sure he was gone.
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The present
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"And so my great-grandmother went and told Yasuo and when Yukio came to take Nyoko away later that night, Yasuo was ready for him . . . or so he thought . . ."
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The Past
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Nyoko sat on her bed, her covers pulled up to her chin. She took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down. Yasuo has everything under control. Everything will be fine . . .
Yasuo was hiding in her closet, ready to attack Yukio when he appeared. She hadn't been too thrilled about his 'brilliant plan' when he'd first told her about it. Nyoko reluctantly agreed after several minutes of persuasion form her fiancé.
So now she was waiting for Yukio to come and take her away so that Yasuo could spring his surprise attack.
She hummed to herself. Where is he? Did he catch on to our plan?
As soon as she thought those thoughts, there was a theatrical puff of smoke. Yukio was standing there. "Surprised, Nyoko?"
"Oh! What are YOU doing here?!" she cried with a false tone in her voice. "Go away!"
He twirled his silky cape around his body. "You're coming with me."
"I don't think so."
A/N: Isn't this cheesy?
"Yes ME. I'm here to take you out!"
Nyoko watched in horror as the two men began a sword fight. Her fiancé was loosing. Soon he was knocked unconscious.
Yukio turned to Nyoko and grinned. "You are mine."
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The Present
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Syaoran was on the edge of his seat. "Well? What happened?!"
Klein smiled at Syaoran. "Well, no one's sure. All we know is that Yukio took her some place. The Li Clan searched the planet for Nyoko but she was nowhere to be found. Then, all of a sudden, Nyoko appears on the Li estate three months after she was kidnapped! Imagine how the Elders felt! She refused to tell anyone where Yukio had taken her. All she said was that she'd defeated Nyoko and that was that. The family really doesn't talk about it that much . . . it's still a mystery."
"Why wouldn't she tell anyone where Yukio had taken her?"
Sanori shrugged her shoulders. "It's believed that she herself didn't know where she was at that time. Of course, I don't believe that. My great-grandmother, the woman who defeated the 'all might Yukio' would naturally figure out where she stayed for three months."
Sunni eyed Syaoran. "You'd better keep an eye on Sakura. Yukio is dangerous."
Sanori nodded. "Please keep her safe."
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Touya hauled the trash bag full of the warped roses outside, heading for the trash can. He paused as Syaoran's car pulled up in front of his house.
Syaoran got out of the car. "Is Sakura here?"
Touya nodded. "She's not feeling well, though. She found some strange plants in her room and she seems kinda out of it . . ."
Syaoran frowned. "Were they black and red roses?"
Touya nodded, eyeing the younger boy suspiciously. "What do you know about it?"
"I might as well tell you and Sakura the story at the same time," replied Syaoran. "I'll wait for you and then we can go up to Sakura's room together."
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Five minutes later, Syaoran and Touya were climbing the stairs to Sakura's room. Touya knocked softly on her door.
"Come in."
The two boys stepped inside her room. Sakura lay on the bed, attempting some homework. Her face was pale and her eyes were red.
"Syaoran! What are you doing here?"
"I've got some news about the recent . . . happenings." He turned to Touya. "You might want to sit. This is a long story . . ."
Author's Note: Whew! Okay! What do u think? Please R+R.
