Chapter 22-Tomoyo
I saw Syaoran a few days after Yukito found him. He looked like a ghost. He was skinny and pale, with his eyes lowered, his lashes-how long they were, covering his eyes. He took every chance to hide behind Yue. Every chance. But Yue didn't let him.
" Stand still, don't fidget." I heard him whisper.
" Did Eriol find anything?" I asked.
" Aiya!" Someone yelled. That, of course, was Eriol.
" What's wrong?" I asked, seeing that Eriol was not in the room but in another.
Yue suddenly held his head with both hands. Eriol appeared, looking very
frustrated.
" I found out what the heck happened." He muttered. " The reason why Syaoran's
alive at all, is because Sakura already took his place. So that leaves Yue with
choices-to kill Syaoran so Sakura could come back, or save Syaoran so Sakura
could stay dead."
" Amazing." Syaoran muttered. " Xuyan mentioned that when he called."
" He called?" I asked.
" Hai." Syaoran said solemnly. Then he looked at Yue. " Are you okay?" He asked.
" Daijoubu?"
" Hai, I'm alright." Yue nodded, withdrawing his hands. He drew Syaoran to him.
" I guess it can wait." Eriol said slowly, watching Yue carefully. " You heard the
voices, no doubt."
" What voices?" I asked.
They ignored me. " Come on Yue. You looked stressed out, especially after
the five days of looking for Jingxi."
Yue just clutched his son tighter with his eyes closed.
Eriol, having raised his hand out to Yue, lowered it, and waited for a bit.
" Yue-san," He began quietly. " Syaoran is here. You needn't worry. We'll ask
Touya to watch over him."
" Touya-?" Yue choked out. He stared at Eriol blankly. " Not Touya." He said
quietly. " Touya will not. He's closest."
For the first time I remembered looking at him and I started. He looked so
worn, so tired, so frightened, like a child, yet like a father. I'll never forget that
image.
" Eriol and I will look after him." I offered. " You go get some rest."
Yue hesitated, then slowly let go of Syaoran. Syaoran looked up at him. For a
moment, Father and son stared at each other. Then Yue turned, and there was a
blind light...
The wind whispered eerily and Syaoran bent over and held his head.
" Daijoubu?" I asked.
" Hai." Syaoran nodded.
I sighed. " You clutched your head. What's wrong?"
" Headache." He mumbled. Then he lifted his head and gasped.
" Sakura!"
" Nani?" I cried, looking forward. There's no one there.
" Sakura, matte!" He cried, running forward. Eriol-kun grabbed him and hung on.
" Curse the years!" He squeezed tightly. " The symptoms. He's seeing things." He
suddenly threw his weight onto Syaoran and both boys fell to the floor.
" Syaoran! Jingxi!" Eriol turned him over and pinned him. " Jingxi, listen to me.
She's not real. She's not here..." Eriol fell silent as Syaoran began to cry. He cried so
much now, and pink blood poured out of his mouth.
" Tomoyo-chan." Eriol called me. " Napkin! Or towel! Whatever!"
It took me a while to react.
" Promise you'll keep quiet." Eriol had his hand over Syaoran's mouth. " Do you
want to wake Yukito?"
Syaoran reluctantly sighed, and Eriol cautiously withdrew his hand. He
helped Jingxi sit up.
" ' At a boy." Eriol murmured, tipping Syaoran's head over between his legs. He
held him like that for a while.
" Feel better?" He asked. Syaoran nodded.
" Light fever." Eriol muttered.
" What was that about?" I asked.
" It appears he saw Sakura." Eriol muttered to me quietly. " It's not real. I didn't
sense her aura. He is seeing things. I wonder how long he had been throwing the
herbal medicine out. It's not good for him."
I gulped. I guess that was obvious.
For once we get to go out without much trouble. No need for cards, no aces,
no kings, no jacks. We are the two jokers, Eriol and I, and we don't need the rest of
the deck ( supposedly).
Eriol was showing me the three envelopes he had sent out to the sorcerors. I
was reading the poor grammared Japanese but good grammared Chinese.
" Each one agreed." Eriol muttered. " But they had never been asked before."
" That does not make sense." I remember saying.
" It does." Eriol replied, to my surprise. " Yelan knows who they are. But she never
had communications with them."
" Is she some sort of leader?" I asked as I handed the envelopes back.
" Actually, iie." Eriol stared at the letters for a minute. " She is actually the more
powerful of the Lis, because she's the descendant of Clow. But that does not mean
she is actually the leader."
I was silent for a minute. " Wouldn't that make Syaoran really powerful? I
mean, he's the descendant of Clow, and he's the son of Yue."
" They're arriving next week." Eriol muttered. " Actually, that does not really relate
to Syaoran's abilities, Tomoyo-chan. To tell you the truth, your magic does not
depend on who's your ancestor. It actually depends on what soul you carry. Neither
Nadeshiko nor Fujitaka Kinomoto had any magic when Touya or Sakura was born,
yet both Touya and Sakura had magic. It had nothing to do with Fujitaka being half
of Clow Reed, because Fujitaka had nothing to lend to them. It all really depends on
who Syaoran is."
" Do you think the sorcerors are powerful enough to help him?"
" Doesn't take power, Tomoyo." Eriol answered. " So far. It takes a lot of
intelligence. Power won't help on this one. Come, I'm going to the library, which I
hope is still open. By the way, Xuyan's coming."
" Nani?" I cried, but Eriol wouldn't speak of it, even when we reached the library.
If Xuyan had been jealous of Syaoran, then he's no longer bothering,
considering that Syaoran suddenly became quiet and contained. The poor cousin of
his tried his best to bring out the " real" Jingxi, but it didn't come out.
Plus the fact that he met someone who is as healthy as he is that he could never never beat. Eriol Hiriingaziwa, Reincarnation of Clow Reed, Master of Wisdom and Magic and a genius at the piano. I seriously don't know what's wrong with Xuyan, he seems to be competing against everyone he meets. But at least he left Syaoran alone, so that's a start.
We were very anxious about Syaoran's health. I guess we all got over the shock of Sakura's death, however soon it might have been, because we were in grave danger of losing another. Syaoran was never quite the same after we had all dumped our heads in our own sorrows and blamed everything on him. The hard won trust had suddenly shattered. Syaoran was cautious and alert of everyone, even Yue. That boy would not let anything or anyone hurt him again.
Eriol had nodded when I told him of my worries. In any case, Syaoran was once in love with my Sakura-chan, and I have only him to treat like her. " It will take some time," He said to me. And unfortunately he is right. But we don't have that much time.
The sorcerors, Junxiu, Guofeng, and Zishi, arrived several days before the
date in their letter. Eriol seemed relieved for some reason, and I never noticed that
he was anxious. He went and talked with the three of them in Japanese, and he
came out really happy.
" Syaoran is our little precious, as the Gollum had said! The boy can bring things
back to life! How come I never knew that?"
" What are you talking about?" I asked.
But Eriol was so happy he was acting like a five year old.
" That baka! He doesn't even know it himself? No wonder the dead favor him! And
Sakura! Sakura can come back, once Jingxi figures out how...but in any case, this is
a bundle of news, no mistake! I'll have to digest this a while. You go look after him,
Tomoyo-chan. I am going to the books."
I always forget he's eleven years old, with that brain of his. But unfortunately he is, so I say for him, SO THERE!!
Obviously, Sakura didn't come back anytime soon, because Syaoran had no
idea what any of the sorcerors were talking about. I would be just as confused as he.
And since he was suddenly so mistrustful, he always sought protection from Yue,
who did his best to protect and to reassure him, which turned out to be quite
difficult. Syaoran obviously didn't like the newcomers, as much as they were fond of
him.
I remember thinking, Syaoran's worse then when we first met him.
I still think that way about that time even now.
