The Desease that Killed Love

Chapter 1- Tomoyo

Li-kun didn't really explain much, as I remember it. We probably wouldn't have gone with him if it wasn't for Sakura, I mean. Eriol-kun and I both knew how much Li had loved her, sort of, and we thought that, of course, it was one of the cutest things there was. So we sort of persuaded Sakura to agree to go with Li to Hong Kong. Bad mistake.

Touya had the grace to disagree, for he didn't really like Li. But Sakura has this talent with puppy eyes, and so do I, so we drove him crazy with it. Kinomoto san let his children come with Li, and Eriol and I went as well. Yukito, having nothing to do, and since Eriol lied to him that Hong Kong would be much cooler than Tomoeda and has a lot less mosquitoes, which he actually believed.

There was nothing special about the flight. We got there within twenty four hours. It was quite uneventful, save that Kero kept on wanting to try the food. Bad idea. The cheese was disgusting. The only thing that was good was the soda. Li was pale all through the flight. Sakura was worried, of course. But other than that, there wasn't much to tell.

It was a lot cooler when we reached the Li Mansion. Perhaps because Hong Kong is cooler, or because the clouds were covering the sun. The ozone layer must be strong here, or else we probably would have melted like ice cream. The breeze was comforting, and everything was the bright green of spring, perhaps some magic was at work. There were actually flowers still blooming at this time of the year. The grass was so green it bewilders the eyes. But Li became paler, and stumbled into Touya, who whirled around in alarm. Li said nothing, and Touya cocked his head, but was silent.

We were welcomed in very uneventfully, as before. Yelan was a kind woman, and we were showed to our rooms. But Li seemed paler than ever, and that evening when all of us gathered he did not show.
" What do you think happened to him?" Sakura-chan asked, as worried as she was on the plane, perhaps more.
" I don't know." Touya stared at Yukito. " He seems sick. Why are we here anyway?"
" He didn't say." Eriol answered, shrugging.
" Where is he?" I asked. " He looked as pale as snow. This is not like him."
Yelan appeared, calling on Yukito, which puzzled us all. When they left, we were silent for a moment. That moment, I remember, was as tense as if we were about to be killed. Then we all began to talk at once.

That lasted quite a while. I think we must have been quite entertaining to watch, although not to hear. When we all finally quieted down, there was a more sensible conversation.
" Why do you think she was interested in Yukito?" Sakura asked.
" Hmph." Touya snorted.
" Something with Yue?" I suggested.
" Who's Yue?" Touya asked.
" Nothing." We all said, and they all glared at me. I sweatdropped.
" I think there's something very fishy about this," Eriol rubbed his chin. " I'm going to check on Syaoran."
" Me too." Sakura jumped and went with him. Touya growled.

That was it for that day. But the next day came with a big surprise.



It was a cheerful morning, as I remember. I was looking into the window when I woke up. There were leaves brushing against the glass. A nice day. I laid on the bed for a while before I sat up and went out of bed. It seemed like a little paradise. I got dressed and went out into the hallway.
" Ohayo, Daidouji-san!" One of Li's sisters, Fanren I think, called.
" Ohayo, Li-san!" I called. " How was your sleep?"
" Good." She chuckled. " I was supposed to ask that. And yours?"
" Good." I answered. " How do you manage to drown out the noise?"
" It's far from the highway!" Fanren joked. " How do you manage to sleep so long, Daidouji-san? The birds woke me up at six thirty."
I laughed. " Yes, that's why they have roosters as alarm clocks. They're one of the louder ones."
We parted in good humor. I went over to Sakura's room to see if she was awake. She was, and Kero was flying about, free from his bag since Touya did not share a room with his sister-quite a chaotic scene it would have been then if they did.
" Ohayo Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura greeted me. " This place is so nice. I have never slept so deeply!"
" That's because you don't have to go to school, unless you wish to learn Chinese." Kero snorted.
Sakura threw a pillow at the guardian. " So Tomoyo-chan, when's breakfast ready?" She asked.
" I don't know. Li-san never told me." I said. " Should we ask Li-kun?"
She knew who I meant. " Syaoran?" She sighed. " I'm worried about him. He doesn't seem well, and when I checked on him with Eriol, he denied everything. But when we closed the door we heard a soft groan and something that sounds like plopping on the bed."
" Maybe he's just tired from his long flight." I suggested. " He got really sick in the middle of it."
" I wish." Sakura muttered.

Sakura and I went out into the hallway and met the rest of our Japanese group in the living room. This time, Li was there. None of us asked any questions, because judging from the annoyed expressions on everyone else's faces we could guess that those questions have already been asked. Touya and Li probably were engaged in a glaring contest, but when we entered they had both settled back. There was a talk going on between Touya and one of the older sisters-Fuutie I think. Though I'm not sure if that's her name. Was it Feimei? I don't know. Anyway, Touya and Fuutie/Feimei were talking, Yelan and Yukito were talking. We sat down next to Li.

The strange thing was, Li was listening intently to what his mother and Yukito-san were saying. And when we listened, we heard why.
" The last time you came here something happened." Yelan was saying. " I know you learned a lot about modern life...but, well, it's hard to say..."
" What happened?" Yukito asked. " What happened when Yue was here?"
" We..." Yelan swallowed, and sighed. " We had a child."
" Nani?" Yukito choked. " How?" He was starting to look half Yue.
" I don't know." Yelan answered. " I became pregnant. It was enough to believe the whole story about Madonna. I don't know how it happened, but it was definetely yours, because...he carried your aura."
He. That was the key word. He. Syaoran leaned forward, and it was then that Yelan saw him.
" What happened?"
All then was silent. Fuutie paled, and since it was the first time Syaoran spoke, we all listened. All of us.
Yelan swallowed. Yukito transformed to Yue and stood up.
" Is he the one?"
Yelan was silent.
" You two had a child?" Syaoran stared. " And Yue was here before?"
" You mean that Syaoran was the child?" Yue shook his head. " Be careful what you say, Li-san."
" You've got to be kidding me!" Syaoran stood up, paler than ever. " That is my father? That's the father I've been dreaming about all my childhood? You mean my father is Sakura's guardian? You've got to be kidding! He can't be my father! He doesn't even have a gender! Is that how I got it, Mama?!"
" He can't be him." Yue shook his head. " Are you sure, Li-san?"
" You better not be sure!" Li went to his mother. " Please mother, tell me he's not it! Tell me he's a normal man who I can trust and love and laugh with and all! He can't make children, good god! He can't be my father, it's impossible!"
" Xiao lang..." Yelan sighed. Fuutie swallowed and waited for her mother's next words. The words that will shatter everything.
" Your father is Yue."



Silence.

Silence. Touya's eyes were wide. Sakura looked at me, worried, hoping that there was some mistake.
" When you showed the symptoms," Yelan began, " I knew it was so for sure. This was why immortals cannot blend with mortals. If they do, they get extremely ill. Because the immortal and mortal forces starts fighting with one another, destroying everything. When I felt a shadow upon my heart, I knew that you do not have...much time."
" So it was because of him then." Li's eyes blazed with hatred. " He gave me this desease, isn't that so? He's the reason I was born. He's the reason I fail everything!"
" Didi, that's not true." Fuutie reached for her brother. " It's not Yue's fault, he didn't know, and you didn't fail!"
" He's the reason why I have to drink that bitter draught every morning and every night! He's the reason I failed the Final Judgement, right? Because Sakura's healthy and I'm not. I thought I was a Li! It turns out I was...something! Nameless!"
They were starting to speak in Chinese, but I could get a rough trace of what they were talking about. We couldn't speak, couldn't comfort him, and Yue was no help either.
" He's not my son." he said defiantly. " My son would not turn out like that, and as he said, I can't have any."
Sakura looked at me for help, as Kero looked at Yue. But there was no help to give. We can't expect the two of them to just accept this news. As funny as it may seem, it is too difficult. And with all respect to him, Yue so far does not seem very caring to anyone but his master. And that master is Sakura-chan. Not Li.