Note: Hi all! Thanx for the few who reviewed, I appreciate it! Anyway, here is another uh...exciting and rather confusing chapter for everyone! Don't worry, everything will be revealed soon and oh yes, the truth about Jiro is FINALLY revealed in this chapter!
Chapter 7 - Truth Uncovered
For a brief moment, there was silence, but each knew that the screams were coming from the inside of their heads. It was getting chilly inside the room and Eriol found himself clutching his arms tightly around Tomoyo, who had collapsed in his arms so suddenly after Jiro spoke those few words. He couldn't understand what was going on. Jiro kept on insisting that he should know the young magician, but he didn't. He had no idea who this boy was, much less remember anything about him.
"How could you not remember?!" Jiro spoke out loud so suddenly that Eriol almost jumped on his feet. Young eyes stared into his own, now red in vengeance and hate. "You took away the only family I had ever known! BAKA!" He lifted up a hand, forcing to lift Tomoyo's lifeless body as well. Eriol panicked, picking up his staff into his hands and repelling Jiro's magic force with a shield to keep Tomoyo on the ground. Jiro gritted his teeth in annoyance. Eriol's magic force was much stronger than his own.
Eriol felt Clow Leed's presence earlier, however, not in the boy's magic force, but inside the boy's soul. He felt the boy's magic force was from a very powerful dark power. This boy has been toying with black magic and that the magic itself was eating away Jiro's soul. "This is black magic you are using! Where did you get it?"
Jiro frowned. "It doesn't matter! Once I kill you, you won't have to worry about it anymore! You took away my parents and Kaho from me."
The young man winced. Kaho? "What are you talking about? You took away Kaho from me!" He lifted up his staff over his head and frowned at the boy. "You have no right to claim that Kaho was yours in the first place." He heard a moan beside him. Eriol quickly glanced to his right to find Tomoyo stirring from her consciousness. Cautiously, Eriol created a magic field around the both of them and kneeled down beside her. "Tomoyo-san... Are you all right?"
Tomoyo blinked, opening her eyes to find Eriol looking down on her with a worried look. "Eriol-san? Nani?" She looked around, trying to remember exactly where she was.
Eriol sighed quietly, glad that Tomoyo was fine. He had to get her away from here quickly before she gets in any more danger. He felt Sakura's aura nearby. He had to get her and Tomoyo out of here. "Tomoyo-san, I want you to hang on to me, all right?" He didn't give Tomoyo time to answer as he took the girl's right arm and wrapped it around his neck as he leaned closer to her. He took her other arm and wrapped it in the same place and smiled down on her reassuringly. "I want you to hang on tight," he whispered in her ear.
Tomoyo blushed and nodded. "Hai," she whispered back, looking into his eyes.
Jiro's eyes glowed. "NO!" He attacked with what seemed like wind, but Eriol's strong magic repelled that and absorbed some into his shield. Eriol stood up, putting an arm around Tomoyo's waist and looked at Jiro angrily. Jiro was utterly confused. Eriol would not fight back. The young reincarnation of Clow Leed was only concerned about the girl's safety. With one quick move, Eriol blast him an ice magic, enabling Jiro to move his arms in order to cast magic. Jiro hissed, screaming and cursing Eriol's name. Eriol quickly used Wing over Jiro and Transport to bring them to Sakura's room.
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"Hoy, Spinel-sun! Will you be able to bring me up that window?" Spinel walked over to him and followed Syaoran's finger to a window just above their heads. He stared at him with a confused expression.
"But I thought you said we could not get inside, because of the magic?" the large beast asked, licking at his paws. He rubbed his already wet paw at the side of his face, but was interrupted by Syaoran's sword in his throat to keep him from finishing his bath.
"The best we can do right now to get Sakura is to at least try!" Syaoran hissed, placing the sharper side of his sword closer, yet gentler towards the blue beast.
"There's no need for that!" Nakuru yelped, glaring at Syaoran. She slapped Syaoran's sword away from Spinel's neck and changed into her real form, her butterfly wings expanding as far as fifty meters. She glanced back at Syaoran and folded her arms across her chest. "Since our master is there as well, we intend to go in there with you."
Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned his head back towards Spinel. "Are you still giving me a lift up there?"
Spinel-sun sighed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," he replied.
SMASH!
Small bits of crystal glass shattered above them. The three looked up and noticed three bodies, one hairy, jumping out the window with glass shards forming around them as they flew. At least two of them were carrying someone in their arms and Syaoran could easily recognize all the long white hair, the large wings and the serious expression of Yue, with Sakura still unconscious in his arms. Not far behind him flew Keroberos, catching up to the three that were flying and to Syaoran's outmost shock, just ahead of the two, was Eriol, with his staff held high and Tomoyo held in one arm, her arms around his neck. They flew over their heads, farther into the trees and out of sight, but Syaoran could still sense them. They were heading somewhere and his guess was somewhere where no magic could reach them.
"Master!" Spinel-sun called.
"They're heading for the nearest Temple," Syaoran spoke. Tightly with his sword in his hands, he began to run to where the three had gone off. Ruby Moon and Spinel-sun followed as well, not realizing that the man who had cause all this trouble was watching them from the window just below Sakura's bedroom.
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"I'm sorry to have caused you all this trouble, Tomoyo," he said, looking down on her face. She was an angel when she slept. He wasn't sure if she heard him, but he didn't want to stay long enough to find out. He had to get back to where Jiro was and finish this fight once and for all. Tomoyo and Sakura would both be safe here. He planted a soft kiss on Tomoyo's forehead, as a form of apology.
"You did cause all this trouble," came a deep voice from behind him. Eriol turned his head to find Syaoran walking towards him with a towel and a bowl full of water in his hands. "You can go now."
Eriol frowned and nodded. He knew he had to. He couldn't keep Tomoyo with him anymore and he could no longer be by her side. Without a second thought, he leaned over to her ear and whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you with your sadness, Tomoyo. Remember to be true to yourself and not let yourself down so much. You may think that you are not worth anything to anyone, but you are worth everything to me and..." He paused and glanced at Sakura. "You are also worth everything to Sakura and your mother." He leaned back and smiled, then stood up. "Please take care of her," he spoke, not looking at Syaoran. "I warn you Syaoran, if you hurt her, I'll come back for you."
Syaoran blinked, gripping his hand tightly around the towel. "Are you threatening me, Hiragizawa?!"
The taller boy turned and placed a serious face. "So what if I am? Is that so bad to make sure that Tomoyo doesn't get hurt by you?"
The younger boy faltered, releasing his grip on the towel and frowned. "Why would you think that I would hurt her?" He glanced at the angelic face of Tomoyo and then at Sakura. "I would never hurt any of them. I love Sakura and I love Tomoyo as a sister."
Eriol nodded. "I see. Have you told Tomoyo that?"
Syaoran stared at him, confused, but said nothing.
The blue haired boy, though still curious if Syaoran knew about Tomoyo's love for him, walked pass his 'cute' descendant and walked out of the building to find Keroberos, Yue, Nakuru and Spinel all waiting in the temple courtyard. Yue was leaning his back against a tree still in his true form, while Keroberos lay next to him. Nakuru sat on the other side of Yue in her false form, as Spinel, with his false form as well, sat on Nakuru's shoulder. They were quiet as Eriol noticed, with no words to speak to each other.
Nakuru was the first one to notice Eriol coming and quickly sprung up on her feet, forcing Spinel to topple off of her shoulder. Eriol could hear Spinel call Nakuru 'Baka' with three of four exclamation marks.
"Eriol-sama! How is Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan?" Nakuru asked, stopping in front of him. Eriol paused from walking and looked over her shoulder to find Yue and Keroberos walking up to them. Spinel was still struggling to stand on his own four feet from the fall. Ten years ago these four would never have gotten along if Sakura hadn't pass the tests he gave her. There was no way either for him to survive, if he didn't have anyone to pass Clow Leed's cards to.
"They will be fine," Eriol replied. As soon as he said that, he heard loud heavy sighs of relief from all four of them. He was surprised to find Spinel already up on Nakuru's shoulder. "Though, Sakura-chan's cards are fading away. Without her magic, the cards are unable to make contact with her."
"What does that mean, master?" Spinel asked.
"It means Jiro has taken away her magic for reasons that I do not know about. He somehow hers and combine it with mine. Since I have given half of Clow Leed's magic to Sakura, he vows to get it and take my life so he can have mine." He paused, staring ahead of them in a deep thought. "He is connected to Clow Leed somehow."
"Connected?" came Yue's curious voice. "How?"
Eriol glanced at his creation and shook his head. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter; I need to find the answers from him fast and soon. Sakura's life is in danger and Kaho..."
"You're not worried about Sakura. You're worried about Kaho. He knows where Kaho is, is that right, Hiragizawa?" All five turned to face a flustered Syaoran, unsheathing his sword from his side. With a quick pace, he placed his cold blade upon Eriol's neck and glared at him. "You never cared to visit Tomoyo in Japan nor will you ever care to protect Sakura! All you cared about was getting Mizuki-sensei back!"
Eriol looked at him. "What makes you think that?"
Syaoran gritted his teeth. "Isn't that what I just you heard you say earlier, Eriol? You mentioned Mizuki-sensei's name! Why don't you finish that sentence, Hiragizawa!"
The taller boy looked away. "You're worried about her, that's good," was all he said, before turning around from him. "You are something, Syaoran. You worry so much about Sakura. When will you stop to think that you should worry about Tomoyo too?"
Syaoran dropped his arms down and stared after him. He watched as Eriol walked down the steps of the temple, followed closely by the false forms of Nakuru and Spinel-sun. He couldn't understand what Eriol was talking about and for a few seconds; he didn't care at the moment, until after he came back inside the temple to hear a faint cry from another room. He glanced at Tomoyo's room and went inside, finding her crying in her sleep. He could only hear a few words she spoke and most of them had everything to do with her mother. He was about to leave the room, when he heard his name being called by her.
"Syaoran-kun... Why won't you love me? I have always loved you." Tears flowed down her pretty face as she turned her head from side to side, her closed eyes furrowing in sadness. Syaoran paused by the door, turning around slowly to look at her. She whimpered, alarming Syaoran. He has never seen the smiling face of Tomoyo fall into sadness before. "Syaoran-kun... Syaoran-kun..."
Syaoran kneeled down beside her, feeling awkward for watching her like this, but he was concerned this time. She whimpered again. Syaoran couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up in a sitting position. "Shhh," he whispered in her ear. "It's okay now, Tomoyo. I'm here, I'm right here."
Tomoyo was dreaming and that is all it was. She could see herself being held in Syaoran's arms and being comforted by him. "Syaoran-kun? Will you stay here with me? Please?"
Syaoran pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were still half asleep and he could tell that she thought she was still dreaming. "Tomoyo, it's okay, I'll be right beside you. I'll stay here for a while, okay?"
Tomoyo nodded and closed her eyes again. Syaoran pushed her gently back down on the makeshift bed and sat by her, wiping her face away with her tears. She went back to sleep once more as Syaoran watched her. He stood up and frowned. Tomoyo... tears... It was a rare thing for him to have witnessed, but he saw it with his own eyes and it was too late to back down now.
"AHHH!" He heard a scream from Sakura's room. Syaroan quickly turned and left the room, without a moment's hesitation towards the young, weeping girl. His main concern now was Sakura's health and her disappearing magic. She was screaming out and he needed to be there for her.
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"I see you're back now. Still want to see Kaho?" Came Jiro's deep voice from around the room. Eriol looked around, finding a shadow not far ahead of him at the top of the stairs.
"Shut up, Jiro! It will take you forever to let me figure out who you really are and why you're here, but I suggest you tell me what's going on before I use all my magic on you until my dying breath!"
"Ooh, a threat! That's something I have never heard from you for a long time, Clow. Then again, you were always so tolerant of others, pretending to smile like you were some kind of Saint!" Jiro floated down the steps and came face to face with Eriol in his child form. "I've always known you had this kind of temper, but never in a million years have you ever used it on a family member!"
Eriol gasped. Family member?
"That's right, Eriol! I happen to be Clow Leed's brother, YOUR brother! Well, at that time, I could never call you my brother, because we were never blood related. If you had never come, then this would have never happened! It's your fault for taking away Otousan and Okasan from me!" He glared into his eyes. "YOU! You never deserved it! I was their first son! But I became their second son when you came along!"
Eriol blinked. He remembered now. He remembered it all clearly....
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He was just a little boy four hundred years ago, a little boy trying to find a home. This boy was an orphan, watching from outside of windows at the happy family eating their dinners together. He was about to give up his search for a new home, when a couple, holding a little boy in their arms found him almost dead. They took care of him and loved him like their own son and called him Eriol. No one knew, except for himself or herself, that this boy would grow up to be a powerful magician, destined to become the next Clow Leed, next to his adopted father. Eriol became popular with the women, especially to a young girl named Kaho. When he heard of this, their youngest son, Jiro was enraged. HE was their blood son! HE deserved to be praised as the next powerful magician. HE deserved to have Kaho, not him. However, no matter how hard he tried, Eriol would learn faster than him with magic, while Jiro fell two places behind him and Eriol was the one who impressed Kaho. His jealousy and hatred brought him farther behind from his 'older brother.' When his father found out about Jiro's failed attempts and his reasons behind it, Clow gave part of his own magic to Eriol. He knew that Eriol had more potential, for Eriol had the type of heart that his magic deserved. He was disappointed, however, that his own blood son did not have the same heart as their adopted son.
"This is unfair, father!" Jiro hissed, glaring at the man he has known all his life.
"What is unfair is that you have become someone else I did not expect you to be. Your heart is no longer in the right place that I wish you to be. My magic cannot hold that type of heart when you are full of jealousy and rage."
"It's because you treated me as a stranger! You rely on Eriol as much as myself!"
"Well, if you wish so much to take the title as Clow Leed, then you shall make appointments to have a Competition to see who has the highest potential in magic." Clow looked at both his sons and received a nod from them. "Good. Then tomorrow, it will begin." He glanced at Jiro. "I expect you to do well on this, Jiro. After all, you are my blood son and blood sons can have the right, if you do not fail that is."
Jiro knew he did not have enough magic abilities to win against Eriol in the competition. Determined to set his father straight and to beat Eriol, he secretly met with a woman, who claimed to know everything on how to beat a powerful magician such as Eriol. She gave him much more power from her own concoctions and as soon as Jiro received it, he was concealed within a power of darkness. The woman was really a witch, using black magic for her own personal gain, who despised Clow Leed very much. Using Jiro as her puppet and Jiro using her for her magic, Eriol was finally defeated, but not before Clow Leed realizing that Jiro was using forbidden magic unused by many of his descendents, until now. The dark powers were too much inside Jiro that he was unable to take it away from his own son's fallen body. He had no choice but to banish the witch, along with his son into another world, where no one can ever see them again. After all this time, Clow Leed was still willing to give the magic to Jiro, if only he had not used dark magic. So, he gave the title of Clow Leed to Eriol and gave him access to all his creations before vanishing from the Earth forever.
***************
"I don't know how you managed to escape, Witch!" Eriol spoke, speaking now that he had remembered everything. "But you'll never take anything away from me. You took advantage of Jiro and... and..." He paused. A familiar figure began to walk down the stairs with an eerie glow. Long hair flowed like waves behind the figure and he could tell she was long legged and skinny, yet she was VERY familiar. "No... it couldn't be."
"Yes, it is!" Jiro chuckled and turned to reveal a shocking revelation. Kaho stood behind him... alive! Eriol wanted to run to her and comfort her from her sadness, but all he could see was a cold, calculating look. Her eyes were not the same as he remember her to have, but it became more icy blue, than the soft tones he was used to seeing.
"How...? Kaho?" Eriol called, too shocked to move.
"Who is that, love?" Kaho spoke, placing a hand on Jiro's shoulder.
"Kaho, it's me!"
"She doesn't know you, Clow! She doesn't remember who you are! Too bad for you, because before I had to erase all her memories, she was calling out your name." Jiro snickered, placing a hand over Kaho's delicate fingers. He picked her hand up and kissed the back of it gently. "I told you she was mine now. She deserved to be mine. If you hadn't come, then she would have fallen for me! Time to give back what rightfully belongs to mine! Hand it over now, Eriol and no one gets hurt! Not even that girl you have grown so fond of."
"I'll never hand anything to you! You are using dangerous magic, Jiro! This woman has completely taken over your soul! You're not like this! You were never like this! Have you forgotten everything about us when we were just little children? Who take care of you when you were sick and when otousan and okasan were not there to watch over you? Who put a band-aid over your wound when you fell from the tree? That was all me, Jiro! Remember that?"
Jiro's eyes became soft, but the witch came back to hiss some profanities towards him and the young boy's eyes became bloody red. "SHUT UP!" She losing a battle from the young Clow Leed and Eriol could tell. Jiro stepped back, grabbed Kaho's hand and vanished into thin air.
Eriol ran to where they stood and looked around. He couldn't feel them anymore. They simply vanished without leaving a trace.
GoodGurl: Whew! This was something! It took me hours to finally finish this one! Well I hope you all enjoyed this! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE r/r! Arigatou!
Chapter 7 - Truth Uncovered
For a brief moment, there was silence, but each knew that the screams were coming from the inside of their heads. It was getting chilly inside the room and Eriol found himself clutching his arms tightly around Tomoyo, who had collapsed in his arms so suddenly after Jiro spoke those few words. He couldn't understand what was going on. Jiro kept on insisting that he should know the young magician, but he didn't. He had no idea who this boy was, much less remember anything about him.
"How could you not remember?!" Jiro spoke out loud so suddenly that Eriol almost jumped on his feet. Young eyes stared into his own, now red in vengeance and hate. "You took away the only family I had ever known! BAKA!" He lifted up a hand, forcing to lift Tomoyo's lifeless body as well. Eriol panicked, picking up his staff into his hands and repelling Jiro's magic force with a shield to keep Tomoyo on the ground. Jiro gritted his teeth in annoyance. Eriol's magic force was much stronger than his own.
Eriol felt Clow Leed's presence earlier, however, not in the boy's magic force, but inside the boy's soul. He felt the boy's magic force was from a very powerful dark power. This boy has been toying with black magic and that the magic itself was eating away Jiro's soul. "This is black magic you are using! Where did you get it?"
Jiro frowned. "It doesn't matter! Once I kill you, you won't have to worry about it anymore! You took away my parents and Kaho from me."
The young man winced. Kaho? "What are you talking about? You took away Kaho from me!" He lifted up his staff over his head and frowned at the boy. "You have no right to claim that Kaho was yours in the first place." He heard a moan beside him. Eriol quickly glanced to his right to find Tomoyo stirring from her consciousness. Cautiously, Eriol created a magic field around the both of them and kneeled down beside her. "Tomoyo-san... Are you all right?"
Tomoyo blinked, opening her eyes to find Eriol looking down on her with a worried look. "Eriol-san? Nani?" She looked around, trying to remember exactly where she was.
Eriol sighed quietly, glad that Tomoyo was fine. He had to get her away from here quickly before she gets in any more danger. He felt Sakura's aura nearby. He had to get her and Tomoyo out of here. "Tomoyo-san, I want you to hang on to me, all right?" He didn't give Tomoyo time to answer as he took the girl's right arm and wrapped it around his neck as he leaned closer to her. He took her other arm and wrapped it in the same place and smiled down on her reassuringly. "I want you to hang on tight," he whispered in her ear.
Tomoyo blushed and nodded. "Hai," she whispered back, looking into his eyes.
Jiro's eyes glowed. "NO!" He attacked with what seemed like wind, but Eriol's strong magic repelled that and absorbed some into his shield. Eriol stood up, putting an arm around Tomoyo's waist and looked at Jiro angrily. Jiro was utterly confused. Eriol would not fight back. The young reincarnation of Clow Leed was only concerned about the girl's safety. With one quick move, Eriol blast him an ice magic, enabling Jiro to move his arms in order to cast magic. Jiro hissed, screaming and cursing Eriol's name. Eriol quickly used Wing over Jiro and Transport to bring them to Sakura's room.
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"Hoy, Spinel-sun! Will you be able to bring me up that window?" Spinel walked over to him and followed Syaoran's finger to a window just above their heads. He stared at him with a confused expression.
"But I thought you said we could not get inside, because of the magic?" the large beast asked, licking at his paws. He rubbed his already wet paw at the side of his face, but was interrupted by Syaoran's sword in his throat to keep him from finishing his bath.
"The best we can do right now to get Sakura is to at least try!" Syaoran hissed, placing the sharper side of his sword closer, yet gentler towards the blue beast.
"There's no need for that!" Nakuru yelped, glaring at Syaoran. She slapped Syaoran's sword away from Spinel's neck and changed into her real form, her butterfly wings expanding as far as fifty meters. She glanced back at Syaoran and folded her arms across her chest. "Since our master is there as well, we intend to go in there with you."
Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned his head back towards Spinel. "Are you still giving me a lift up there?"
Spinel-sun sighed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," he replied.
SMASH!
Small bits of crystal glass shattered above them. The three looked up and noticed three bodies, one hairy, jumping out the window with glass shards forming around them as they flew. At least two of them were carrying someone in their arms and Syaoran could easily recognize all the long white hair, the large wings and the serious expression of Yue, with Sakura still unconscious in his arms. Not far behind him flew Keroberos, catching up to the three that were flying and to Syaoran's outmost shock, just ahead of the two, was Eriol, with his staff held high and Tomoyo held in one arm, her arms around his neck. They flew over their heads, farther into the trees and out of sight, but Syaoran could still sense them. They were heading somewhere and his guess was somewhere where no magic could reach them.
"Master!" Spinel-sun called.
"They're heading for the nearest Temple," Syaoran spoke. Tightly with his sword in his hands, he began to run to where the three had gone off. Ruby Moon and Spinel-sun followed as well, not realizing that the man who had cause all this trouble was watching them from the window just below Sakura's bedroom.
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"I'm sorry to have caused you all this trouble, Tomoyo," he said, looking down on her face. She was an angel when she slept. He wasn't sure if she heard him, but he didn't want to stay long enough to find out. He had to get back to where Jiro was and finish this fight once and for all. Tomoyo and Sakura would both be safe here. He planted a soft kiss on Tomoyo's forehead, as a form of apology.
"You did cause all this trouble," came a deep voice from behind him. Eriol turned his head to find Syaoran walking towards him with a towel and a bowl full of water in his hands. "You can go now."
Eriol frowned and nodded. He knew he had to. He couldn't keep Tomoyo with him anymore and he could no longer be by her side. Without a second thought, he leaned over to her ear and whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you with your sadness, Tomoyo. Remember to be true to yourself and not let yourself down so much. You may think that you are not worth anything to anyone, but you are worth everything to me and..." He paused and glanced at Sakura. "You are also worth everything to Sakura and your mother." He leaned back and smiled, then stood up. "Please take care of her," he spoke, not looking at Syaoran. "I warn you Syaoran, if you hurt her, I'll come back for you."
Syaoran blinked, gripping his hand tightly around the towel. "Are you threatening me, Hiragizawa?!"
The taller boy turned and placed a serious face. "So what if I am? Is that so bad to make sure that Tomoyo doesn't get hurt by you?"
The younger boy faltered, releasing his grip on the towel and frowned. "Why would you think that I would hurt her?" He glanced at the angelic face of Tomoyo and then at Sakura. "I would never hurt any of them. I love Sakura and I love Tomoyo as a sister."
Eriol nodded. "I see. Have you told Tomoyo that?"
Syaoran stared at him, confused, but said nothing.
The blue haired boy, though still curious if Syaoran knew about Tomoyo's love for him, walked pass his 'cute' descendant and walked out of the building to find Keroberos, Yue, Nakuru and Spinel all waiting in the temple courtyard. Yue was leaning his back against a tree still in his true form, while Keroberos lay next to him. Nakuru sat on the other side of Yue in her false form, as Spinel, with his false form as well, sat on Nakuru's shoulder. They were quiet as Eriol noticed, with no words to speak to each other.
Nakuru was the first one to notice Eriol coming and quickly sprung up on her feet, forcing Spinel to topple off of her shoulder. Eriol could hear Spinel call Nakuru 'Baka' with three of four exclamation marks.
"Eriol-sama! How is Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan?" Nakuru asked, stopping in front of him. Eriol paused from walking and looked over her shoulder to find Yue and Keroberos walking up to them. Spinel was still struggling to stand on his own four feet from the fall. Ten years ago these four would never have gotten along if Sakura hadn't pass the tests he gave her. There was no way either for him to survive, if he didn't have anyone to pass Clow Leed's cards to.
"They will be fine," Eriol replied. As soon as he said that, he heard loud heavy sighs of relief from all four of them. He was surprised to find Spinel already up on Nakuru's shoulder. "Though, Sakura-chan's cards are fading away. Without her magic, the cards are unable to make contact with her."
"What does that mean, master?" Spinel asked.
"It means Jiro has taken away her magic for reasons that I do not know about. He somehow hers and combine it with mine. Since I have given half of Clow Leed's magic to Sakura, he vows to get it and take my life so he can have mine." He paused, staring ahead of them in a deep thought. "He is connected to Clow Leed somehow."
"Connected?" came Yue's curious voice. "How?"
Eriol glanced at his creation and shook his head. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter; I need to find the answers from him fast and soon. Sakura's life is in danger and Kaho..."
"You're not worried about Sakura. You're worried about Kaho. He knows where Kaho is, is that right, Hiragizawa?" All five turned to face a flustered Syaoran, unsheathing his sword from his side. With a quick pace, he placed his cold blade upon Eriol's neck and glared at him. "You never cared to visit Tomoyo in Japan nor will you ever care to protect Sakura! All you cared about was getting Mizuki-sensei back!"
Eriol looked at him. "What makes you think that?"
Syaoran gritted his teeth. "Isn't that what I just you heard you say earlier, Eriol? You mentioned Mizuki-sensei's name! Why don't you finish that sentence, Hiragizawa!"
The taller boy looked away. "You're worried about her, that's good," was all he said, before turning around from him. "You are something, Syaoran. You worry so much about Sakura. When will you stop to think that you should worry about Tomoyo too?"
Syaoran dropped his arms down and stared after him. He watched as Eriol walked down the steps of the temple, followed closely by the false forms of Nakuru and Spinel-sun. He couldn't understand what Eriol was talking about and for a few seconds; he didn't care at the moment, until after he came back inside the temple to hear a faint cry from another room. He glanced at Tomoyo's room and went inside, finding her crying in her sleep. He could only hear a few words she spoke and most of them had everything to do with her mother. He was about to leave the room, when he heard his name being called by her.
"Syaoran-kun... Why won't you love me? I have always loved you." Tears flowed down her pretty face as she turned her head from side to side, her closed eyes furrowing in sadness. Syaoran paused by the door, turning around slowly to look at her. She whimpered, alarming Syaoran. He has never seen the smiling face of Tomoyo fall into sadness before. "Syaoran-kun... Syaoran-kun..."
Syaoran kneeled down beside her, feeling awkward for watching her like this, but he was concerned this time. She whimpered again. Syaoran couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up in a sitting position. "Shhh," he whispered in her ear. "It's okay now, Tomoyo. I'm here, I'm right here."
Tomoyo was dreaming and that is all it was. She could see herself being held in Syaoran's arms and being comforted by him. "Syaoran-kun? Will you stay here with me? Please?"
Syaoran pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were still half asleep and he could tell that she thought she was still dreaming. "Tomoyo, it's okay, I'll be right beside you. I'll stay here for a while, okay?"
Tomoyo nodded and closed her eyes again. Syaoran pushed her gently back down on the makeshift bed and sat by her, wiping her face away with her tears. She went back to sleep once more as Syaoran watched her. He stood up and frowned. Tomoyo... tears... It was a rare thing for him to have witnessed, but he saw it with his own eyes and it was too late to back down now.
"AHHH!" He heard a scream from Sakura's room. Syaroan quickly turned and left the room, without a moment's hesitation towards the young, weeping girl. His main concern now was Sakura's health and her disappearing magic. She was screaming out and he needed to be there for her.
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"I see you're back now. Still want to see Kaho?" Came Jiro's deep voice from around the room. Eriol looked around, finding a shadow not far ahead of him at the top of the stairs.
"Shut up, Jiro! It will take you forever to let me figure out who you really are and why you're here, but I suggest you tell me what's going on before I use all my magic on you until my dying breath!"
"Ooh, a threat! That's something I have never heard from you for a long time, Clow. Then again, you were always so tolerant of others, pretending to smile like you were some kind of Saint!" Jiro floated down the steps and came face to face with Eriol in his child form. "I've always known you had this kind of temper, but never in a million years have you ever used it on a family member!"
Eriol gasped. Family member?
"That's right, Eriol! I happen to be Clow Leed's brother, YOUR brother! Well, at that time, I could never call you my brother, because we were never blood related. If you had never come, then this would have never happened! It's your fault for taking away Otousan and Okasan from me!" He glared into his eyes. "YOU! You never deserved it! I was their first son! But I became their second son when you came along!"
Eriol blinked. He remembered now. He remembered it all clearly....
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He was just a little boy four hundred years ago, a little boy trying to find a home. This boy was an orphan, watching from outside of windows at the happy family eating their dinners together. He was about to give up his search for a new home, when a couple, holding a little boy in their arms found him almost dead. They took care of him and loved him like their own son and called him Eriol. No one knew, except for himself or herself, that this boy would grow up to be a powerful magician, destined to become the next Clow Leed, next to his adopted father. Eriol became popular with the women, especially to a young girl named Kaho. When he heard of this, their youngest son, Jiro was enraged. HE was their blood son! HE deserved to be praised as the next powerful magician. HE deserved to have Kaho, not him. However, no matter how hard he tried, Eriol would learn faster than him with magic, while Jiro fell two places behind him and Eriol was the one who impressed Kaho. His jealousy and hatred brought him farther behind from his 'older brother.' When his father found out about Jiro's failed attempts and his reasons behind it, Clow gave part of his own magic to Eriol. He knew that Eriol had more potential, for Eriol had the type of heart that his magic deserved. He was disappointed, however, that his own blood son did not have the same heart as their adopted son.
"This is unfair, father!" Jiro hissed, glaring at the man he has known all his life.
"What is unfair is that you have become someone else I did not expect you to be. Your heart is no longer in the right place that I wish you to be. My magic cannot hold that type of heart when you are full of jealousy and rage."
"It's because you treated me as a stranger! You rely on Eriol as much as myself!"
"Well, if you wish so much to take the title as Clow Leed, then you shall make appointments to have a Competition to see who has the highest potential in magic." Clow looked at both his sons and received a nod from them. "Good. Then tomorrow, it will begin." He glanced at Jiro. "I expect you to do well on this, Jiro. After all, you are my blood son and blood sons can have the right, if you do not fail that is."
Jiro knew he did not have enough magic abilities to win against Eriol in the competition. Determined to set his father straight and to beat Eriol, he secretly met with a woman, who claimed to know everything on how to beat a powerful magician such as Eriol. She gave him much more power from her own concoctions and as soon as Jiro received it, he was concealed within a power of darkness. The woman was really a witch, using black magic for her own personal gain, who despised Clow Leed very much. Using Jiro as her puppet and Jiro using her for her magic, Eriol was finally defeated, but not before Clow Leed realizing that Jiro was using forbidden magic unused by many of his descendents, until now. The dark powers were too much inside Jiro that he was unable to take it away from his own son's fallen body. He had no choice but to banish the witch, along with his son into another world, where no one can ever see them again. After all this time, Clow Leed was still willing to give the magic to Jiro, if only he had not used dark magic. So, he gave the title of Clow Leed to Eriol and gave him access to all his creations before vanishing from the Earth forever.
***************
"I don't know how you managed to escape, Witch!" Eriol spoke, speaking now that he had remembered everything. "But you'll never take anything away from me. You took advantage of Jiro and... and..." He paused. A familiar figure began to walk down the stairs with an eerie glow. Long hair flowed like waves behind the figure and he could tell she was long legged and skinny, yet she was VERY familiar. "No... it couldn't be."
"Yes, it is!" Jiro chuckled and turned to reveal a shocking revelation. Kaho stood behind him... alive! Eriol wanted to run to her and comfort her from her sadness, but all he could see was a cold, calculating look. Her eyes were not the same as he remember her to have, but it became more icy blue, than the soft tones he was used to seeing.
"How...? Kaho?" Eriol called, too shocked to move.
"Who is that, love?" Kaho spoke, placing a hand on Jiro's shoulder.
"Kaho, it's me!"
"She doesn't know you, Clow! She doesn't remember who you are! Too bad for you, because before I had to erase all her memories, she was calling out your name." Jiro snickered, placing a hand over Kaho's delicate fingers. He picked her hand up and kissed the back of it gently. "I told you she was mine now. She deserved to be mine. If you hadn't come, then she would have fallen for me! Time to give back what rightfully belongs to mine! Hand it over now, Eriol and no one gets hurt! Not even that girl you have grown so fond of."
"I'll never hand anything to you! You are using dangerous magic, Jiro! This woman has completely taken over your soul! You're not like this! You were never like this! Have you forgotten everything about us when we were just little children? Who take care of you when you were sick and when otousan and okasan were not there to watch over you? Who put a band-aid over your wound when you fell from the tree? That was all me, Jiro! Remember that?"
Jiro's eyes became soft, but the witch came back to hiss some profanities towards him and the young boy's eyes became bloody red. "SHUT UP!" She losing a battle from the young Clow Leed and Eriol could tell. Jiro stepped back, grabbed Kaho's hand and vanished into thin air.
Eriol ran to where they stood and looked around. He couldn't feel them anymore. They simply vanished without leaving a trace.
GoodGurl: Whew! This was something! It took me hours to finally finish this one! Well I hope you all enjoyed this! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE r/r! Arigatou!