Normal text
"Speaking"
[[Thinking]]
*Location *
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, but I own David and Umisa.
And Now....... ON WITH THE FIC!!!
A long time ago, in a place called Hidora, eight magical rings of great power existed. These rings, which have a mind of their own, enable the wearer to possess great power. And together, these rings enable Hidora to be a peaceful land that prevents invaders to invade. But one day, a crafty wizard came and destroyed the Kinomoto Family, who were the rulers of Hidora. He found the rings and was shock of their powers. But before he can destroy them, the rings disperse themselves all over Hidora. From that day onwards, the people of Hidora suffered terribly. Until one day the eight magical rings became active again in their hiding place as they have found their rightful owner and they began plotting on how to let themselves be found.......
Legend of the Rings By: XiaoBai
Chapter 10:
ONE: The Great Green Forest and the Big Blue Sea.
--
--
Part One: The Great Green Forest.
--
Eriol, Tomoyo, Aiko, Nakuru and Spinel stared at the little path, which is, in reality, the road to this great green forest that is standing in front of them.
Aiko looked up at the trees in awe.
"Sugoi...these trees are gigantic!"
Eriol's expression was rather serious. He stepped forward to have a closer look at the forest and said, " These trees are radiating a certain level of magic......"
" Which grade, Eriol-sama?" Nakuru asked, skipping beside her master.
Eriol smiled and said, " I think it's about grade B....."
Tomoyo then interrupted them, " Excuse me, but there are grades in magic?"
Eriol nodded and smiled at her, " As a matter of fact, there is. I read all about it from the books in our school library. There are a total of about 6 magical grade levels. The highest is the grade S, followed by grade A, then the grade B, which is then followed by grade C and then grade D. The lowest is the grade E. Those with grade E magic is mostly minor spirits or and some other exception."
" What other exception?" Aiko asked, looking around the surroundings.
Eriol shrugged and said, " Well, some humans and some ghosts.....and even animals."
Eriol then continued, " As for grade D and C, mostly are animal spirits and element spirits such as the water spirit and the fire spirits. These spirits, although weak, can be a real headache."
" Following that is grade B. Grade B magic usually comes from old tree spirits such as these trees we are looking at now, and elves and fairies and some other magical folks. Oh yeah, not to mention those black unicorns we met last time."
Aiko made a face at the thought and muttered, " Now that you've reminded me....."
Tomoyo laughed and Eriol continued on, looking with interest at Nakuru and Spinel, who were fighting again, " Grade A magic only comes from sorceress and sorcerers. That one eye octopus we saw is considered a low-class grade A monster. And finally, grade S. Oh, and you won't want to mess with anyone with grade S magic. He or she could just let you fly off with a flick of a finger. Grade S magic are very rare, and strong. They only come in people with potential in magic. But that also mean training in magic, this and that. Some elf queens and kings possessed grade S magic, and some other sorcerers and sorceresses."
Nakuru stopped stuffing sugar into Spinel's mouth and asked Eriol, " So, which grade are we now?"
Eriol looked surprised at the question, but answered it, " Well....if I am not wrong, we are in the grade B middle-class."
Tomoyo looked disbelieving at Eriol, " You sure about that? You mean, we are quite powerful now?"
Eriol looked up into the sky, and then sighed.
" I'm not kidding. We are in grade B, and we need to get stronger."
--
--
" Hookay. This forest is....dark......" Aiko muttered.
Eriol looked around then surroundings for a moment and then pulled Tomoyo closed to him suddenly. Tomoyo looked surprised at him and yelped.
Eriol hold his finger to his mouth and whispered, " We are being followed. Be on you guard." (A.N: Ok, I'll admit it! Eriol is starting to act like Syaoran..-_-)
The group stood in a circle, their rings ready to produce weapons. Just when Eriol was going to attack, someone said.
" Koniichiwa!"
Eriol looked up, and on one of the trees, grinning happily was a blond haired boy. Strangely enough, Eriol felt that he is kinda familiar, like someone he met before when he was very young. Shaking his head, he smiled back and greeting the boy.
--
--
"Konnichiwa!!"
Eriol looked up while Aiko, Tomoyo, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun spurned around.
There, standing with ease on one of the trees was a boy that was smiling like-
Tomoyo looked at the boy, then at Eriol.
The boy was smiling EXACTLY like Eriol, who was smiling back. The boy looked scarily like Eriol too, only that he had blond hair.
Tomoyo raised and eyebrow and stared at the boy as he jumped gently down from the tree.
The blond guy smiled happily again and said cheerfully.
" Konnichiwa!! My name is Umisa!"
" Umisa-kun!" Aiko squealed and hugged him. " It's a long time since I saw you!"
Umisa smiled and patted Aiko's shoulder. " I missed you too, Aiko-chan."
Tomoyo raised and eyebrow and asked, " You know him, Aiko-chan?"
Aiko nodded, but Umisa cut her in, " She was my classmate when we were attending the magic school. I still remember that she was the best student in our-uff!" Umisa yelped as Aiko covered his mouth and smiled uneasily.
" Well, let's introduce ourselves to him, guys!" Aiko said, as she let Umisa go, who was now gasping for breath.
Ruby Moon bounded forward and greeted cheerfully
" My name is Ruby Moon, but you can call me Nakuru. And this kawaii little cat here is call Suppi!"
Spinel Sun glared at Ruby Moon and retorted, " Do I look little to you? And my name is not Suppi. I'm Spinel Sun."
Tomoyo smiled and said politely, " Daijouji Tomoyo. Nice to meet you."
Aiko then winked at Umisa and pointed at Eriol, who was smiling at her, " And that guy over there is-- "
Umisa finished Aiko's unfinished sentence, " Hiragizawa Eriol."
Eriol looked surprised at Umisa, who smiled mysteriously back.
" How did you-" Eriol began, but was cut short by Umisa, who smiled at the group and said.
" Let's get on with the journey, guys. You'll need a guide from here onwards."
--
--
Umisa was right about needing a guide.
We came across many junctions and mazes in that ever so big forest, and Umisa led us all safety to this lake. He then said that we could rest.
Eriol was now looking at Umisa with a little suspicion. I wouldn't blame him, cause anyone would be suspicious of ANYONE who knows their names even if they had not met before.
I arched an eyebrow at the two guys, and then sat down beside the lake, munching on some food.
As I sat there munching and fiddling around with my long purple hair, I began to think. I always had that bad habit of thinking deep and serious thoughts when I had something to munch and something to stare at. Sakura- chan was rather annoyed ever time I did it, cause, she said, she had a hard time trying to get my attention.
I began to think about this journey. This journey to search for the ring- bearers. Although it seems like an easy thing to do, there are so many questions and mysteries that can't be solved.....There is the mystery of Sakura-chan......The mystery of the Legend....And who the heck is the enemy anyway? Hmm.......
I guess we might be able to find the answer to it soon......
I narrowed my eyes.
Then shaking my head, I lifted my head and stared at Eriol and Umisa. The two boys were talking again. Probably Eriol asking questions. Speaking of which, Umisa and Eriol seemed very alike.....
I smiled a little.
[[Maybe they were brothers in their previous life]] I thought absentmindedly.
--
--
Eriol cast a sidelong glance at Umisa, and then asked carefully.
" Er.....Umisa-san?"
Umisa carried on munching on his food and answered cheerfully.
" Nani?"
Eriol arched an eyebrow and continued.
" I was just wondering.......how did you know my name?"
Umisa looked amused for a moment, and then replied.
" I just guessed."
Eriol, clearly not believing this simple answer, pestered on.
" You can't just guess my name, Umisa. I mean......my name is....er....not.um...guess-able?"
Umisa smiled a little then, taking another big bite out of his food, answered.
" Well, let's just say that I know you, Eriol."
Eriol choked into his food and spluttered.
" You know me?!"
Umisa nodded solemnly.
Eriol then asked.
" In what way?"
Umisa considered this question for a moment and then said.
" Well......In a way that I know you when you were a little boy?"
Eriol's eyes narrowed.
" Who are you?"
Umisa smiled gently and then added softly.
" I'm someone whom you had known when you were a little boy, Eriol. Only that....you might not remember me."
Eriol didn't believe what Umisa had said.
" How can you remember me?! You are about the same age as me, right?"
Umio just smiled knowingly.
" I'm older than you think I am, Eriol."
Eriol then asked, once more, a little desperately.
" Who are you?!"
Umisa looked deeply at Eriol then asked.
" You really want to know?"
Eriol nodded anxiously.
Umisa sighed.
" I'm your...."
He stopped, sighed again, then said.
" You will know the answer in time, Eriol. In the meantime, just treat me as your elder brother. You don't have an elder brother, right? And from what I had known about you, you will like a elder brother......."
Eriol's eyes widened.
" How did you-"
Umisa stopped Eriol and smiled softly.
" Like I had said, imoto-chan, I know you."
Not far from them, Aiko sighed slightly as she heard her ex-classmate speak.
[[You are a bad liar, Umisa-kun]] She thought silently.
//
Part Two: The Big Blue Sea
//
Syaoran groaned out loud and cursed.
" Damn it. After all that walk, we got stopped by this stupid lake." He muttered. Sakura looked reproachful at him for his language and walked closer to the lake (which looked more like an ocean) and said, " Miiko- chan, is there anyway to get pass here using magic?"
Miiko, whose hands were holding up a large map of Hidora, looked up, considered for a moment, and said, " Well, there is, but we'll have to have first class grade B magic to do it."
Sakura (After Miiko explained about the grades of magic) lifted an eyebrow and asked again, " What is our current grade?"
Miiko thought for a moment before replying, " About middle-class grade B."
Syaoran groaned again, " We can't gain up to first class within a such a short period, Miiko."
" I know." Miiko added mildly.
The group of five (Sakura, Syaoran, Miiko, Kero and Yue), which had been walking for hours, was now stuck by this lake that prevented them from moving on to the next town: Owinder.
" Well, is there any other way then?" Sakura asked.
Miiko lifted her eyebrows and shrugged, " We either find another route, or swim across then." Then, considering yet again, she added, " well, we could also swim to the water city down there" She pointed at the lake, " And get the people there to help then."
Kero and Yue, who had been silent for the whole journey since they separated from Eriol and he others, immediately said, " Never!"
Syaoran laughed, " What. Don't tell me you two guardians were afraid of water."
Sakura sighed and said, " Well, Syaoran-kun, in fact, they were terrified about water. I always had a hard time trying to get Kero-chan to bath, not to mention Yue-san too."
Miiko lifted an eyebrow and suggested, " Well, we can put you in a water bubble, then you guys won't get wet."
Kero and Yue shook their head vigorously and cried at the same time, " No! Never! I won't go down there even over my dead body!"
Sakura sighed. Turning to Syaoran, she said, " Every time I told them to bath, they will say the same sentence." She sighed again, " Then, always, I have to bath them after putting them to sleep."
Syaoran sighed, " Great, now we are stuck here cause this two freaks hate water."
" Agreeable."
Syaoran was about to nod when he realize that this was a male voice. The three ring-bearers and two guardians spun around and saw a boy of about the same age as Miiko, smiling uneasily at them.
" Um.hi?" He said.
//
//
" So your name is David and you are a traveler?" Syaoran concluded.
David nodded and sipped his soup. The group decided to rest for a moment and have their dinner while listening to David's story (Kero and Yue were somewhere else, doing something).
" Well, which town do you came from?" Miiko asked, munching on her potato. There were actually a total of 20 towns in Hidora and 2 major cities. One of the cities was, of course, being taken by the Dark Lord. David blinked twice and said, " Um, actually I come from one of the major cities."
" Nani?!" Syaoran cried. He leaned closer David, who back off a little, and said in a rather threatening voice, " Which city do you cam from?"
David sweatdropped, " Uh, I came from Icecarl, the one beside the Great Forest."
Sakura whistled, " That city is very rich, David-san. From what I heard from stories of Icecarl, people there don't travel much. In fact they are so rich that some merchants built castles for themselves!"
David sighed, " That was a long time ago. Now, the city was in ruins."
Miiko's eyes widened, " Ruins? How did it become ruins? The defenses in the city walls were heavy, you know. I mean, even the troops of the Dark Lord can't get pass them!"
Sakura shuddered, " You are wrong, Miiko-chan. The other city, the capital," Sakura winced, " The capital had much better and heavier defenses than Icecarl, but in the end, it had fallen into the hands of the Dark Lord."
Syaoran patted Sakura shoulder comfortably, who was now shivering, and asked, " Well, what happened? From what I had heard, Icecarl should be indestructible."
David shook his head, " Icecarl was destroyed by a simple word: Greed." His eyes sadden and he continued, " My father was a very successful business man. As a businessman, he will have many jealous rivals. One of them was a rice dealer, the same business my father does. Every day he fought with my father, accusing my father of snatching his customers. The truth is that the people buying didn't like that person's attitude. He was short-tempered, impatient, stubborn and dishonest." David then sipped his soup again and continued, " One day, that person hired a sorcerer to curse my father. He told the sorcerer to make my father turn bad or something. Well, the spell worked, but some one told my father to burn the whole city down.......and he did. My mother and I had barely escaped the fire. Father had come to his senses the last minute and had got us out of the city. He had died instead."
" Few days later, mother died of depression. I was left alone with a ring mother gave me before she passed away. From that day on, I lived as a traveler, going round Hidora to earn and at the same time, explore."
Syaoran narrowed his eyes and asked, " Do you know the name of the sorcerer?"
David's eyes narrowed as he tried to recall. " I think it is Elvis something."
Sakura's eyes widened and shot up. Syaoran's frown narrowed. But Miiko turned and stared at David, " David, can you show me your ring?"
David looked surprised, but he nodded and pulled out a chain from his clothes. Then he handed it over to Miiko. Miiko studied it for a moment before grabbing David's hand and push the ring on one of his fingers. Immediately, there was a burst of orange light. Every shield their eyes while Kero and Yue came rushing in.
" What happened?" Kero asked anxiously.
Miiko rubbed her eyes and smiled, " Guys, I think we had found the seventh ring-bearer."
//
//
XiaoBai: FINALLY!! It is DONE! YES! This is something like a separated section kind of chapter. Anyway, hope you guys like it!
Kero: *Rolls eyes* You took long enough.
XiaoBai: Hey! I had a lot of stories to finish, okay? Besides, I still had my holiday homework to deal with! What do you expect me to do, eh?
Kero: *Sigh * Okay, okay. Fine with me. Oh yeah, why is there less appearance of me? Huh? And why am I afraid of water?! And Sakura DID not makes me sleep to bath me!
XiaoBai: You complain some more and I'll kill you in the story.
Kero: Okay! Anyway, it is time for.....KERO-CHAN CHECK!!
Today, we shall talk about the grades of magic then. As you can read from what Eriol had said, the various grades of magic are: S, A, B, C, D and E. Grade S is the greatest, of course and so on. Now let us see what grades our heroes and the other people are.
Sakura: B- middle class Syaoran: B- first class (He had learnt his Ultimate spell. Read Chapter 6) Tomoyo: B- middle class Eriol: B- middle class Aiko: Unknown Miiko: Unknown David and Umisa: Unknown The guardians: B- first class
Dark Lord: S- middle class (He is one powerful guy) Elvis: A- low-class Florianda: A- low class
Okay, now what is going to happen next? Will our heroes manage to defeat their three powerful enemies? Find out in the following chapters!
XiaoBai: Okay. Now that is done, can you guys guess how is Umisa related to Eriol? And I wanna thank the following people:
Pika: Well, you are actually correct. You know, I went to read my stories over again, and I found out that it is rather silly. That's why I begin trying to make it, um, un-sillier? Ah well, thank you for your comment, though. ^_^ I appreciate it!
Animecrazy: Well......this is sort of a crossover. At least, that is what I had intended to be. ^^; My sis suggested that I do crossover with many other manga. But after that, I found out that it gives no plot. Anyway, thanks for your review! I love it!
MapleCharisma: Well, I'll like to write an anti-S/S or anti-E/T. But I just can't bear myself to do it, or at least I can't think what to write and how to write it. And, SS and ET are not annoy, girl! ^_^ Just kidding. And your reviews are not bad at all!! *nods* I love your reviews man! Thanks anyway for reading this.
Cherry Lee: Ooohh!!! I so love you so much!!! Thank you for reviewing my other stories too!! ^_^ I was actually wondering whether I should rewrite this or take it down, but you encourage me to go on!! ^_^ Love you so much!
Lotus fyre faerie: Azn-chan!! Thank you for your review!! Don't worry, I'll try and post the next chapter up soon!!
The Evil One: Thank you for you comments!! ^_^ Thank you so much!!
Some one (barhia@yahoo.com): Thank you for your review!! Sorry for the waiting, anyway. Hope you will like this chapter!
Thank you guys, once again. Hope you'll review this chapter!! Wait, REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!
Kero: Remember to review. And stay tune for the next chapter where there'll be more action, more adventure and more fun!
XiaoBai and Kero: So till next time, same story, same author and different chapter! HON NA NA!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, but I own David and Umisa.
And Now....... ON WITH THE FIC!!!
A long time ago, in a place called Hidora, eight magical rings of great power existed. These rings, which have a mind of their own, enable the wearer to possess great power. And together, these rings enable Hidora to be a peaceful land that prevents invaders to invade. But one day, a crafty wizard came and destroyed the Kinomoto Family, who were the rulers of Hidora. He found the rings and was shock of their powers. But before he can destroy them, the rings disperse themselves all over Hidora. From that day onwards, the people of Hidora suffered terribly. Until one day the eight magical rings became active again in their hiding place as they have found their rightful owner and they began plotting on how to let themselves be found.......
Legend of the Rings By: XiaoBai
Chapter 10:
ONE: The Great Green Forest and the Big Blue Sea.
--
--
Part One: The Great Green Forest.
--
Eriol, Tomoyo, Aiko, Nakuru and Spinel stared at the little path, which is, in reality, the road to this great green forest that is standing in front of them.
Aiko looked up at the trees in awe.
"Sugoi...these trees are gigantic!"
Eriol's expression was rather serious. He stepped forward to have a closer look at the forest and said, " These trees are radiating a certain level of magic......"
" Which grade, Eriol-sama?" Nakuru asked, skipping beside her master.
Eriol smiled and said, " I think it's about grade B....."
Tomoyo then interrupted them, " Excuse me, but there are grades in magic?"
Eriol nodded and smiled at her, " As a matter of fact, there is. I read all about it from the books in our school library. There are a total of about 6 magical grade levels. The highest is the grade S, followed by grade A, then the grade B, which is then followed by grade C and then grade D. The lowest is the grade E. Those with grade E magic is mostly minor spirits or and some other exception."
" What other exception?" Aiko asked, looking around the surroundings.
Eriol shrugged and said, " Well, some humans and some ghosts.....and even animals."
Eriol then continued, " As for grade D and C, mostly are animal spirits and element spirits such as the water spirit and the fire spirits. These spirits, although weak, can be a real headache."
" Following that is grade B. Grade B magic usually comes from old tree spirits such as these trees we are looking at now, and elves and fairies and some other magical folks. Oh yeah, not to mention those black unicorns we met last time."
Aiko made a face at the thought and muttered, " Now that you've reminded me....."
Tomoyo laughed and Eriol continued on, looking with interest at Nakuru and Spinel, who were fighting again, " Grade A magic only comes from sorceress and sorcerers. That one eye octopus we saw is considered a low-class grade A monster. And finally, grade S. Oh, and you won't want to mess with anyone with grade S magic. He or she could just let you fly off with a flick of a finger. Grade S magic are very rare, and strong. They only come in people with potential in magic. But that also mean training in magic, this and that. Some elf queens and kings possessed grade S magic, and some other sorcerers and sorceresses."
Nakuru stopped stuffing sugar into Spinel's mouth and asked Eriol, " So, which grade are we now?"
Eriol looked surprised at the question, but answered it, " Well....if I am not wrong, we are in the grade B middle-class."
Tomoyo looked disbelieving at Eriol, " You sure about that? You mean, we are quite powerful now?"
Eriol looked up into the sky, and then sighed.
" I'm not kidding. We are in grade B, and we need to get stronger."
--
--
" Hookay. This forest is....dark......" Aiko muttered.
Eriol looked around then surroundings for a moment and then pulled Tomoyo closed to him suddenly. Tomoyo looked surprised at him and yelped.
Eriol hold his finger to his mouth and whispered, " We are being followed. Be on you guard." (A.N: Ok, I'll admit it! Eriol is starting to act like Syaoran..-_-)
The group stood in a circle, their rings ready to produce weapons. Just when Eriol was going to attack, someone said.
" Koniichiwa!"
Eriol looked up, and on one of the trees, grinning happily was a blond haired boy. Strangely enough, Eriol felt that he is kinda familiar, like someone he met before when he was very young. Shaking his head, he smiled back and greeting the boy.
--
--
"Konnichiwa!!"
Eriol looked up while Aiko, Tomoyo, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun spurned around.
There, standing with ease on one of the trees was a boy that was smiling like-
Tomoyo looked at the boy, then at Eriol.
The boy was smiling EXACTLY like Eriol, who was smiling back. The boy looked scarily like Eriol too, only that he had blond hair.
Tomoyo raised and eyebrow and stared at the boy as he jumped gently down from the tree.
The blond guy smiled happily again and said cheerfully.
" Konnichiwa!! My name is Umisa!"
" Umisa-kun!" Aiko squealed and hugged him. " It's a long time since I saw you!"
Umisa smiled and patted Aiko's shoulder. " I missed you too, Aiko-chan."
Tomoyo raised and eyebrow and asked, " You know him, Aiko-chan?"
Aiko nodded, but Umisa cut her in, " She was my classmate when we were attending the magic school. I still remember that she was the best student in our-uff!" Umisa yelped as Aiko covered his mouth and smiled uneasily.
" Well, let's introduce ourselves to him, guys!" Aiko said, as she let Umisa go, who was now gasping for breath.
Ruby Moon bounded forward and greeted cheerfully
" My name is Ruby Moon, but you can call me Nakuru. And this kawaii little cat here is call Suppi!"
Spinel Sun glared at Ruby Moon and retorted, " Do I look little to you? And my name is not Suppi. I'm Spinel Sun."
Tomoyo smiled and said politely, " Daijouji Tomoyo. Nice to meet you."
Aiko then winked at Umisa and pointed at Eriol, who was smiling at her, " And that guy over there is-- "
Umisa finished Aiko's unfinished sentence, " Hiragizawa Eriol."
Eriol looked surprised at Umisa, who smiled mysteriously back.
" How did you-" Eriol began, but was cut short by Umisa, who smiled at the group and said.
" Let's get on with the journey, guys. You'll need a guide from here onwards."
--
--
Umisa was right about needing a guide.
We came across many junctions and mazes in that ever so big forest, and Umisa led us all safety to this lake. He then said that we could rest.
Eriol was now looking at Umisa with a little suspicion. I wouldn't blame him, cause anyone would be suspicious of ANYONE who knows their names even if they had not met before.
I arched an eyebrow at the two guys, and then sat down beside the lake, munching on some food.
As I sat there munching and fiddling around with my long purple hair, I began to think. I always had that bad habit of thinking deep and serious thoughts when I had something to munch and something to stare at. Sakura- chan was rather annoyed ever time I did it, cause, she said, she had a hard time trying to get my attention.
I began to think about this journey. This journey to search for the ring- bearers. Although it seems like an easy thing to do, there are so many questions and mysteries that can't be solved.....There is the mystery of Sakura-chan......The mystery of the Legend....And who the heck is the enemy anyway? Hmm.......
I guess we might be able to find the answer to it soon......
I narrowed my eyes.
Then shaking my head, I lifted my head and stared at Eriol and Umisa. The two boys were talking again. Probably Eriol asking questions. Speaking of which, Umisa and Eriol seemed very alike.....
I smiled a little.
[[Maybe they were brothers in their previous life]] I thought absentmindedly.
--
--
Eriol cast a sidelong glance at Umisa, and then asked carefully.
" Er.....Umisa-san?"
Umisa carried on munching on his food and answered cheerfully.
" Nani?"
Eriol arched an eyebrow and continued.
" I was just wondering.......how did you know my name?"
Umisa looked amused for a moment, and then replied.
" I just guessed."
Eriol, clearly not believing this simple answer, pestered on.
" You can't just guess my name, Umisa. I mean......my name is....er....not.um...guess-able?"
Umisa smiled a little then, taking another big bite out of his food, answered.
" Well, let's just say that I know you, Eriol."
Eriol choked into his food and spluttered.
" You know me?!"
Umisa nodded solemnly.
Eriol then asked.
" In what way?"
Umisa considered this question for a moment and then said.
" Well......In a way that I know you when you were a little boy?"
Eriol's eyes narrowed.
" Who are you?"
Umisa smiled gently and then added softly.
" I'm someone whom you had known when you were a little boy, Eriol. Only that....you might not remember me."
Eriol didn't believe what Umisa had said.
" How can you remember me?! You are about the same age as me, right?"
Umio just smiled knowingly.
" I'm older than you think I am, Eriol."
Eriol then asked, once more, a little desperately.
" Who are you?!"
Umisa looked deeply at Eriol then asked.
" You really want to know?"
Eriol nodded anxiously.
Umisa sighed.
" I'm your...."
He stopped, sighed again, then said.
" You will know the answer in time, Eriol. In the meantime, just treat me as your elder brother. You don't have an elder brother, right? And from what I had known about you, you will like a elder brother......."
Eriol's eyes widened.
" How did you-"
Umisa stopped Eriol and smiled softly.
" Like I had said, imoto-chan, I know you."
Not far from them, Aiko sighed slightly as she heard her ex-classmate speak.
[[You are a bad liar, Umisa-kun]] She thought silently.
//
Part Two: The Big Blue Sea
//
Syaoran groaned out loud and cursed.
" Damn it. After all that walk, we got stopped by this stupid lake." He muttered. Sakura looked reproachful at him for his language and walked closer to the lake (which looked more like an ocean) and said, " Miiko- chan, is there anyway to get pass here using magic?"
Miiko, whose hands were holding up a large map of Hidora, looked up, considered for a moment, and said, " Well, there is, but we'll have to have first class grade B magic to do it."
Sakura (After Miiko explained about the grades of magic) lifted an eyebrow and asked again, " What is our current grade?"
Miiko thought for a moment before replying, " About middle-class grade B."
Syaoran groaned again, " We can't gain up to first class within a such a short period, Miiko."
" I know." Miiko added mildly.
The group of five (Sakura, Syaoran, Miiko, Kero and Yue), which had been walking for hours, was now stuck by this lake that prevented them from moving on to the next town: Owinder.
" Well, is there any other way then?" Sakura asked.
Miiko lifted her eyebrows and shrugged, " We either find another route, or swim across then." Then, considering yet again, she added, " well, we could also swim to the water city down there" She pointed at the lake, " And get the people there to help then."
Kero and Yue, who had been silent for the whole journey since they separated from Eriol and he others, immediately said, " Never!"
Syaoran laughed, " What. Don't tell me you two guardians were afraid of water."
Sakura sighed and said, " Well, Syaoran-kun, in fact, they were terrified about water. I always had a hard time trying to get Kero-chan to bath, not to mention Yue-san too."
Miiko lifted an eyebrow and suggested, " Well, we can put you in a water bubble, then you guys won't get wet."
Kero and Yue shook their head vigorously and cried at the same time, " No! Never! I won't go down there even over my dead body!"
Sakura sighed. Turning to Syaoran, she said, " Every time I told them to bath, they will say the same sentence." She sighed again, " Then, always, I have to bath them after putting them to sleep."
Syaoran sighed, " Great, now we are stuck here cause this two freaks hate water."
" Agreeable."
Syaoran was about to nod when he realize that this was a male voice. The three ring-bearers and two guardians spun around and saw a boy of about the same age as Miiko, smiling uneasily at them.
" Um.hi?" He said.
//
//
" So your name is David and you are a traveler?" Syaoran concluded.
David nodded and sipped his soup. The group decided to rest for a moment and have their dinner while listening to David's story (Kero and Yue were somewhere else, doing something).
" Well, which town do you came from?" Miiko asked, munching on her potato. There were actually a total of 20 towns in Hidora and 2 major cities. One of the cities was, of course, being taken by the Dark Lord. David blinked twice and said, " Um, actually I come from one of the major cities."
" Nani?!" Syaoran cried. He leaned closer David, who back off a little, and said in a rather threatening voice, " Which city do you cam from?"
David sweatdropped, " Uh, I came from Icecarl, the one beside the Great Forest."
Sakura whistled, " That city is very rich, David-san. From what I heard from stories of Icecarl, people there don't travel much. In fact they are so rich that some merchants built castles for themselves!"
David sighed, " That was a long time ago. Now, the city was in ruins."
Miiko's eyes widened, " Ruins? How did it become ruins? The defenses in the city walls were heavy, you know. I mean, even the troops of the Dark Lord can't get pass them!"
Sakura shuddered, " You are wrong, Miiko-chan. The other city, the capital," Sakura winced, " The capital had much better and heavier defenses than Icecarl, but in the end, it had fallen into the hands of the Dark Lord."
Syaoran patted Sakura shoulder comfortably, who was now shivering, and asked, " Well, what happened? From what I had heard, Icecarl should be indestructible."
David shook his head, " Icecarl was destroyed by a simple word: Greed." His eyes sadden and he continued, " My father was a very successful business man. As a businessman, he will have many jealous rivals. One of them was a rice dealer, the same business my father does. Every day he fought with my father, accusing my father of snatching his customers. The truth is that the people buying didn't like that person's attitude. He was short-tempered, impatient, stubborn and dishonest." David then sipped his soup again and continued, " One day, that person hired a sorcerer to curse my father. He told the sorcerer to make my father turn bad or something. Well, the spell worked, but some one told my father to burn the whole city down.......and he did. My mother and I had barely escaped the fire. Father had come to his senses the last minute and had got us out of the city. He had died instead."
" Few days later, mother died of depression. I was left alone with a ring mother gave me before she passed away. From that day on, I lived as a traveler, going round Hidora to earn and at the same time, explore."
Syaoran narrowed his eyes and asked, " Do you know the name of the sorcerer?"
David's eyes narrowed as he tried to recall. " I think it is Elvis something."
Sakura's eyes widened and shot up. Syaoran's frown narrowed. But Miiko turned and stared at David, " David, can you show me your ring?"
David looked surprised, but he nodded and pulled out a chain from his clothes. Then he handed it over to Miiko. Miiko studied it for a moment before grabbing David's hand and push the ring on one of his fingers. Immediately, there was a burst of orange light. Every shield their eyes while Kero and Yue came rushing in.
" What happened?" Kero asked anxiously.
Miiko rubbed her eyes and smiled, " Guys, I think we had found the seventh ring-bearer."
//
//
XiaoBai: FINALLY!! It is DONE! YES! This is something like a separated section kind of chapter. Anyway, hope you guys like it!
Kero: *Rolls eyes* You took long enough.
XiaoBai: Hey! I had a lot of stories to finish, okay? Besides, I still had my holiday homework to deal with! What do you expect me to do, eh?
Kero: *Sigh * Okay, okay. Fine with me. Oh yeah, why is there less appearance of me? Huh? And why am I afraid of water?! And Sakura DID not makes me sleep to bath me!
XiaoBai: You complain some more and I'll kill you in the story.
Kero: Okay! Anyway, it is time for.....KERO-CHAN CHECK!!
Today, we shall talk about the grades of magic then. As you can read from what Eriol had said, the various grades of magic are: S, A, B, C, D and E. Grade S is the greatest, of course and so on. Now let us see what grades our heroes and the other people are.
Sakura: B- middle class Syaoran: B- first class (He had learnt his Ultimate spell. Read Chapter 6) Tomoyo: B- middle class Eriol: B- middle class Aiko: Unknown Miiko: Unknown David and Umisa: Unknown The guardians: B- first class
Dark Lord: S- middle class (He is one powerful guy) Elvis: A- low-class Florianda: A- low class
Okay, now what is going to happen next? Will our heroes manage to defeat their three powerful enemies? Find out in the following chapters!
XiaoBai: Okay. Now that is done, can you guys guess how is Umisa related to Eriol? And I wanna thank the following people:
Pika: Well, you are actually correct. You know, I went to read my stories over again, and I found out that it is rather silly. That's why I begin trying to make it, um, un-sillier? Ah well, thank you for your comment, though. ^_^ I appreciate it!
Animecrazy: Well......this is sort of a crossover. At least, that is what I had intended to be. ^^; My sis suggested that I do crossover with many other manga. But after that, I found out that it gives no plot. Anyway, thanks for your review! I love it!
MapleCharisma: Well, I'll like to write an anti-S/S or anti-E/T. But I just can't bear myself to do it, or at least I can't think what to write and how to write it. And, SS and ET are not annoy, girl! ^_^ Just kidding. And your reviews are not bad at all!! *nods* I love your reviews man! Thanks anyway for reading this.
Cherry Lee: Ooohh!!! I so love you so much!!! Thank you for reviewing my other stories too!! ^_^ I was actually wondering whether I should rewrite this or take it down, but you encourage me to go on!! ^_^ Love you so much!
Lotus fyre faerie: Azn-chan!! Thank you for your review!! Don't worry, I'll try and post the next chapter up soon!!
The Evil One: Thank you for you comments!! ^_^ Thank you so much!!
Some one (barhia@yahoo.com): Thank you for your review!! Sorry for the waiting, anyway. Hope you will like this chapter!
Thank you guys, once again. Hope you'll review this chapter!! Wait, REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!
Kero: Remember to review. And stay tune for the next chapter where there'll be more action, more adventure and more fun!
XiaoBai and Kero: So till next time, same story, same author and different chapter! HON NA NA!!!!!!!