Resounding Ripples
Chapter Four: The Tour
by: Mel
E-mail: LightofFaeries@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Of course I own it. Of course I'm CLAMP. NOT. But wishes I did.
Little Author's note: SORRY I took so long to get this chapter out. I get very few chances at the computer because of homework. But thank you all for those encouraging review!
Syaoran made it quite nicely through dinner considering he was sitting in front of a certain green-eyed girl. All he could think was what she was doing there. Sakura, totally oblivious to his internal turmoil, smiled and talked happily. She was thinking how nice it was that she was now neighbors with Syaoran who had helped so much in capturing the Cards. His sisters were extremely nice, thought they cooed rather excessively, and Sakura almost glowed with happiness. She was thoroughly enjoying herself.
Touya was not as happy. Throughout the dinner, he kept glaring at Syaoran who was staring at Sakura. He felt that Syaoran had no right to look at his younger sister so. Several times, Syaoran glared back.
Fujitaka was completely heedless on what was going on. He thought his neighbor and her family were perfectly wonderful and he was happy that Sakura had someone her age to talk to. The food was delicious and he found that Yelang had quite a wealth of knowledge. He enjoyed talking to her.
Yelang was impassive through dinner. She watched everything that went on at her table with a critical eye and made no comments. Her eyes rested on Sakura for a brief moment. 'So this is the Card Mistress,' she thought. She felt Sakura's aura flow around her and for a split second, they made eye contact. Sakura stared and then smiled innocently, going back to her conversation with Yue Xing. Yelang was thoughtful for a moment, then Fujitaka's voice drew her attention and she went back to their conversation.
After dinner, Yelang led them into another room, this one with beautiful sofas and high polished tables.
Sakura finally had the courage to ask, "Are all the rooms like this?"
Yelang looked at her for a moment, then turned to Syaoran, " Xiao Lang, would you please show Sakura around?"
For a minute, Syaoran hesitated, fighting down his sudden panic. Why was he like this?
Yelang raised a slender eyebrow at her youngest child. He immediately replied, bowing, "Of course, Mother."
Yelang slightly inclined her head.
Sakura, thinking she was being a bother, quickly said, "Bu yong, bu yong! (There's no need, there's no need) I don't want to be a burden."
Yelang turned slightly toward Sakura, "You are not. Besides, Xiao Lang wants to."
Touya scowled at that comment and Syaoran turned a deep red. Sakura just looked rather confused, but then smiled, "Hao ba! (Okay then!) Let's go Syaoran!" Syaoran nodded rather awkwardly, then schooled his face to calmness and pushed his emotions to the back of his mind. He heard a few teeters from his sisters. Ignoring them, he marched out of the room with Sakura following happily behind him.
Sakura was in awe. The house was just so magnificent. Syaoran had shown her nearly every room in the house and every one of them was beautiful. Even the servants had large, spacious, and decorated rooms. She had just seen Yue Xing's room which had been done in dark colors with stars, mirroring the night sky.
The next room had a green curtain partly covering it. Syaoran was reluctant to show it to Sakura, but he did anyway, pushing back the curtain and opening the door. Sakura peered in.
The first thing that hit her was that it was green, extremely green. The walls were done in pale green with gold etchings just below the ceiling. The curtains that draped over full-length windows were a darker green. The four-poster bed had green draperies and covers that matched the curtains.
Along one side of the wall was what a normal teenager might have. A table, though it was very big and looked like solid oak, several bookshelves, which all looked to be solid oak, and a lamp. The wall exactly opposite was another story. There was an assortment of weapons. Swords lay on hooks in the wall, some ranging from arm length to full-body length. Glaives stood in racks and daggers and dirks hung from the wall.
"Wwwow!" Sakura exclaimed. "Is this your room Syaoran?"
Syaoran nodded, "Yes…."
"It's so….so….COOL! How did you get your mother to put so many weapons in here?"
"I practice a lot with different weapons. It helps me to be able to fight with all the weapons so I don't get too dependent one weapon. Ma-ma thought it would be easier if I just moved all my weapons in here so I can practice whenever I like instead of having to wait to get into the training room. Anyway, the training room is normally for magic use since it's warded."
Sakura's mouth formed into a silent o before she clapped her hands together. "That's so great Syaoran-kun!"
Syaoran blushed. "Come, I'll show you the training room."
They made their way back downstairs with Syaoran wondering all the way why he still acted like this around Sakura and why she was here. He was so deep in thought that when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he kept walking until he almost hit the wall. Sakura managed to get his attention at the last second.
"Are you okay Syaoran-kun?" Sakura asked in Japanese, puzzled. "I didn't know you were the type of person to bump into walls."
"I'm not," Syaoran muttered. He had never bumped into a wall before accept in training where he was thrown. They walked on in silence, or at least Syaoran did. Sakura fluttered about and remarked how this was pretty or that was so kawaii. She had never seen a house like Syaoran's in her life. Tomoyo had a big house but, though there were very pretty things, everything was modern and Sakura was used to it. In Syaoran's house, many things looked to be very ancient and the whole house had a different style.
At last, after they had walked through an interconnecting hallway that connected the house to another building, they arrived at a set of double doors. Sakura tried to open one, her small hands gripping tightly onto the golden loop that was a door handle. She pulled with all her might, but could not budge the door. She tried again, with Syaoran looking on with fond amusement. Finally, panting, Sakura gave up and turned to Syaoran in time to see a slight smile on his face.
Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura stamped her foot, pretending to be angry and mock glaring at Syaoran. "Fine, you try it and see it you can do any better."
Syaoran smirked and walked over to the door handle. Without appearing to exert much strength, he opened both doors. They slid smoothly outward, causing Sakura to step back lest she get crushed between the wall and the door.
Sakura gasped, "How did you do that?"
Syaoran smirked again, "I guess I'm just a lot stronger than you."
"That's not fair!" Sakura cried indignantly.
Syaoran shrugged, "I've been training all my life."
Sakura turned serious, "Is training hard?"
"It used to be," was all Syaoran said. His eyes had a far away look, as if he were remembering something.
Sakura looked thoughtfully at him for a moment. He had changed, she could see that now. He moved as simply as possible, every movement a careful extension of power. His hair had lightened slightly, taken on amber hues in the brown. He was a lot taller, that was for sure, maybe a full head taller than her now. Sakura was a little sad, he was so different from the little boy she had once known. Then she brightened. Well, she could make friends with him all over again.
Syaoran had walked into the training room. Sakura hurried in after him and gasped. The word "room" was not a good description of it. It had no furniture except of a wooden bench on the far end. The floor was made completely out of gleaming metal, though there was a huge blacken spot in the middle. The walls were pure black, but shiny so that Sakura could see her reflection in it. But the most significant feature was its size. The place was immense. Sakura felt like an ant.
"Wow," she whispered. "Syaoran-kun, how can people not notice from the outside? And what are the walls made of?"
"We use magic to make this room appear much smaller from the outside. Only magic users or people who are in training with the martial arts, like Meiling, are allowed in here. The walls are made of pure obsidian. Obsidian and metal help ward magic so that it only stays in this room," Syaoran explained.
"Oh." Sakura moved towards the center of the room, looking down at the black area on the floor. "Syaoran-kun, what happened here? Why is there a huge black spot?"
"What? Oh, that. Eh, I got really mad one day and sorta slammed all my magic into the floor." Syaoran said sheepishly.
"Wow, you must have been really mad," Sakura commented.
"Well, yes." Syaoran didn't tell her that it was the day he got back from Japan. He had been training with all his might, trying to forget Sakura. He had realized he might never see her again and that was what had caused his anger. His mother couldn't clean away the spot, even with her magic. Finally she had just left it there, wondering at her son.
"We better go back," Syaoran said, trying to change the subject. "We've been gone quite a while. Your dad might start to worry."
"Okay," Sakura said, practically skipping out of the room.
As Syaoran closed the double door behind them, Sakura turned to him. "I'm really glad you're my new neighbor Syaoran," she said with child like innocence, a bright smile upon her face and her head tilted slightly. Syaoran caught his breath, she was so beautiful and pure it made his heart ache. He felt himself starting to blush.
Sakura looked at him, puzzle, "Are you all right? You're all red." She put a hand on his forehead, causing him to blush even more. "You don't have a fever."
"I-It's just the heat," Syaoran said, turn and walking quickly away. "Let's go."
"Matte! (Wait!)" Sakura cried, running to catch up with him. "If you go too fast, I'll lose you and get lost in this big house. Matte!"
Syaoran and Sakura finally found their families. They had just gotten back from their own tour of the house. Syaoran was a bit peeved, why had his mother made him take Sakura on a tour of the house if she was going to take her family on a tour anyway?
Just then, two little girls rushed into the room, "Yelang a yi! (Aunt Yelang!) Wo he Yun Fie xian…(me and Yun Fie want to…)" The words died on the small girls lips as she saw that Yelang had guests.
Translations:
'Bu yong': 'There's no need' (Chinese)
'Hao ba': 'Okay then' (Chinese)
'Matte': 'Wait' (Japanese)
'A yi': 'Aunt' (Chinese)
Author Notes: So, whatcha think. Sorry I had to stop there or else I'll get no homework done, but at least I got the ball rolling (ahh, nevermind). Strange things will be starting to happen in the next chapter, hehehe. Thank you all for those encouraging reviews, I had a down day. But Thanksgiving break sure cheered me up! Please review and I'm sorry I don't get a chance to e-mail you guys. It's hard enough trying to get the next chapters out. If I get a chance, I'll e-mail all my reviewers back (if I can get the e-mail address of course). And because people have requested to know when the next chapter is posted, I've decided to have a mailing list. If you want to know when the next chapter is up, please say so in your review.
Thank yous to Kate, Avalon, Lyn/Lin, pinkuser (how did you know!?! well, I think you can guess who the little girl is), Star, kirei crystal, Jared (thank you for that suggestion!), Jesus Freak (thank you for the names! Now I'll know them for future stories), Eriol's bear, Erin, Truewind, fabi-chan, KaWaIi^-^tEnShI, ultima, Little Blossom, cherryblossomgoddess, S+Sfan, cherryblossumangel, Blazing-moon, amy, SwitSakura, and Danielle Ngo. I really appreciate your reviews! You guys really made me get a move on. Thank you again SOOOOO much! You guys are the best!
December 1, 2002
~Mel~