A CCS Fanfic By Card Captor Schlueter (a.k.a. Syaoran-kun)
Memo From The Legal Dept.
We don't own this stuff and we don't care because we have disclaimers. Try to sue us and we'll shred you into coleslaw, got it?
Interlude: Eriol
Eriol Hiiragizawa was far more perceptive than most people. Of course, most people aren't inhabited by the powers of Clow Reed either. He had always made it a point to be aware of everything that went on around him.
So, naturally, he was paying very close attention to the matter of Li Syaoran's new Clow book. Being a highly powerful and highly skilled magic-type person, Eriol could sense what was happening fairly easily. His perceptions were surprisingly accurate most of the time. He could predict what would happen next on one of Tomoyo's tapes as though it were a bad Hollywood genre picture. He could probably make a lot of money working for "The Psychic Friends" network.
Of course, had Li Syaoran known that Eriol was spying on him with magic he probably would've tried to strangle him for it. But, if he knew, it wouldn't be spying, now would it?
"I still don't see why that brat deserves to get his own set of Clow cards." Ruby Moon grumbled.
"Do you actually think that?" asked Eriol "Or are you just saying that because it's what Touya believes?"
He had her on that one. If Ruby Moon had a biased against someone or something it was generally because Touya had the same biased. Well, there you go.
"Well, you have to admit, he is pretty obnoxious." Ruby Moon replied.
Eriol shrugged and headed back inside the house. "I don't know about that." he said.
"What are you talking about?" said Ruby Moon. "He's a mean snarling little jerk."
Eriol seemed amused by that remark. "It's all a matter of perspective. Oh, it's true that he can be pretty abrasive sometimes."
"Sometimes? How about all the time?"
Eriol waved off Ruby Moon's witticism. "There's a lot more to it. The Li clan has more or less set it's entire fate on Syaoran's success or failure. They have their reasons, of course, but the truth is that Syaoran is the Li clan's only male heir and as such there's a lot hinging on how he leads his life. The truth is that Li Syaoran, if he gets all the cards, will have more magical power than Sakura does. It has nothing to do with the card themselves. The fact is that Syaoran knows a lot more about the Clow cards and sorcery in general than Sakura does and he probably always will. On the other hand, he hasn't had what could be called a normal childhood or any childhood really. His magic studies have occupied his life and cut him off from the outside world. He's only twelve and he has the responsibilities of his family, his magic studies, the Clow cards and then they send him off to live by himself. That's a lot to put on a kid's shoulders. He's been put in a role that he shouldn't be put in until he's much older and that most people couldn't handle at any stage of their life."
Eriol sat down before continuing. "He's grown up, more or less alone, and has no one he can really trust but himself. The side of himself he shows the world, `the brat' as Touya would say, is nothing but a hollow persona. It's a defense mechanism. He holds himself as someone who is always prepared to lash out at people both verbally and physically so they won't disturb his solitude, so they can't get close enough to hurt him. Almost everything he says and does are all a part of the act. I doubt that Syaoran himself is consciously aware of it. Maybe he believes that's what he really is too. I don't suppose you've noticed how he acts around Sakura?" "Who wouldn't?" Ruby Moon replied. "Only Sakura Kinamoto would be naïve enough to miss it."
"I suppose that's true."
"I just don't understand why he doesn't just spit it out already." Ruby Moon grumbled.
"There are reasons for that too." Eriol replied. "For starters, he probably feels guilty about it."
"Guilty? What for?"
"Think of it this way. He shows up to lay claim on what he has been told should rightfully be his, having sacrificed most of his short life studying for it, only to discover that someone else has gotten to it first. Not only that, but the person who has claimed it has no magical background and she's got all of the things he had to give up."
"Okay, so that explains why Syaoran was so ticked off with her." said Ruby Moon.
"Exactly." Eriol replied. "So what does he do? Well, first he tries to take the cards by force. That doesn't work so he tries a constant stream of verbal abuse. He tells her she's hopeless, pathetic, that she has no talent as a Card Captor. But instead of giving up, Sakura tries to reason with him. She tries to be his friend despite his cruel remarks."
"So, he falls in love with her bcause she's nice to him even when he acts like a jerk?"
"I can't say that for certain, Nakuru." Eriol said. "But he feels guilty about it because he knows he's still supposed to hate her. The bigger factor is probably that confessing what he feels for her would be throwing away all his defenses. The fact that he seems to trust Sakura and Tomoyo is definitely progress." He paused to think. "I believe Syaoran will eventually tell her. If the capturing of the cards made Sakura stronger in her magic skills, maybe it will help Syaoran with his people skills."
"What about Yue?" asked Ruby Moon "Will we need another judgment from him once Syaoran capture the cards?"
"No. I think not." Eriol replied. "No sense disturbing Yue just yet. Besides, if the whole thing is a fluke then it's pointless. And if something really bad is coming, it might not be a good time to be worrying about Yue's judgment anyway."