"You decided to
hideout from the sunlight
It's too bright and it just doesn't sit right
With the way you're feeling today
You're cloudy and gray"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Chasing the Sun Away"
5
Syaoran's Apartment. Tomoeda, Japan. December 2002.
It was unbearably hot, Syaoran decided, even though it was snowing heavily outside. But he didn't seem to be in Japan. The room he was in looked as if it belonged in England, perhaps several centuries ago, as did his black velvet dress robes. He wasn't sure how he had wound up here.
"Valentine! Come, join us!"
Syaoran turned around in the direction of the voice (which had a conspicuous British accent), towards the fireplace, where he saw a group of teenagers in chairs all wearing dress robes. They were chatting amiably with each other, their excitement prominent on their faces.
"Are you not lonely in that corner?" continued the voice. He saw now that it belonged to Daidouji.
"Daidouji, is something the matter with you? You seem to have adopted a British accent and forgotten my name," said Syaoran, sitting down in the empty chair beside her.
Daidouji laughed. "Are you trying to be funny? Have you forgotten my name? I suppose that Christmas has affected your mind somewhat."
Christmas?
He took a closer look at his surroundings. Standing several feet away from him was a gigantic Christmas tree that had surely been enlarged with magic. It was adorned with archaic glass ornaments and candles, which caused him to wonder why the tree hadn't yet caught on fire. A nearby table was laden with food, all of which was traditional western holiday fare.
But hadn't Christmas been about two weeks away, last time he checked?
"Valentine?" Daidouji waved her hand in front of his face. "Care to share your thoughts?"
"Everything seems so strange here," he muttered. Syaoran then noticed that there was something different about Daidouji as well. For one, she seemed to be wearing sienna-colored contacts, but there was something else. After a few moments of studying her intensely, he realized that it was her aura. It had been a serene lavender color without a trace of magic just the day before. Now it was an electric azure color that crackled with its power.
"What here is strange?" she pressed.
"Well, there's you, for one. I didn't think that you had…"
Then the idea struck him.
Maybe Daidouji's aura hadn't changed at all.
Maybe it wasn't Daidouji who was sitting next to him, but someone else entirely.
Rap. Rap. Rap.
Being a light sleeper, Syaoran woke immediately at the rapping noises on his window.
"Coming," he grumbled, mildly irritated because his sleep had been interrupted. Dragging himself out of bed, he mustered all of his energy and slid the heavy glass window open.
An small owl, snowy in color, flew in like a ghostly blur. It dropped its letter onto Syaoran's head and flew back out the window before he could retaliate.
"Stupid owl," Syaoran muttered darkly, sliding the window shut and tearing the letter open.
In messy Chinese characters, there was an invitation:
I was thinking that it might be fun to spend the day in Tokyo, maybe going Christmas shopping or something. It's been a while since we all did something as a group. Meet us at the base of the hill that has my school on top of it at 9.
Meiling
PS: I invited Daidouji-san and Kinomoto-san too. You do want to be friends with her again, right?
PPS: Hiiragizawa's coming too. I used his annoying owl to send this letter, so he said he had a right to come with us. Self-righteous bastard idiot.
Syaoran scowled, tearing up the letter. If Hiiragizawa was going, he most certainly would not.
Sorry, Meiling.
Hill. Tomoeda, Japan. December 2002.
"He's late," Sakura-san remarked with a smirk. "We should leave without him."
Meiling-san shook her head, looking mildly irritated. "I'm sure he'll come. He won't let me down."
And she was right. Moments later, a boy with short brown hair was visible in the distance, appearing to be running rapidly. Minutes later, he was bent over before them, breathing heavily.
"Are you all right, Li-kun?" asked Daidouji-san.
Li stood up straight. "Yes," he said unsteadily, "I'm fine."
"You're late," said Meiling angrily, poking him violently in the chest with her finger, despite the fact that he was a good 12 cm taller than her.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I changed my mind at the last minute."
"And why weren't you going to come?" she demanded.
"Because you said that Hiiragizawa would be coming. But I don't see him," said Syaoran, puzzled.
"Have you no eyes?" asked Eriol in amazement.
Li glared, recognizing him once he spoke. "Yes, I have eyes, thanks for asking. You just don't look like your normal self, that's all."
Eriol stifled his laughter. All he had done was take a Youthfulness Potion, so he now looked to be about fifteen. Apparently, it had been enough to fool even his "descendant."
"Why don't we go now?" Meiling-san suggested. She began to walk briskly in the direction of the bus stop; the rest of them had no choice but to follow.
Movie Theater. Tokyo, Japan. December 2002.
It was only just past noon, but Sakura was already bored. They had stopped for lunch at a ramen restaurant after several hours worth of shopping, and were now deciding on which movie to watch. She was pleased to see the expression of discomfort on Li's face. Meiling-chan had to drag him into the stores; he would have been perfectly content to sit outside and wait for them had she not done so.
"So, what movie do you guys want to see?" asked Meiling-chan.
"Nothing romance," said Li and Sakura in unison. Sakura sent him a scowl, while he turned tomato-red and looked away.
"But Daidouji-san and I wanted to watch a romance movie." Meiling-chan grinned, eyeing Eriol-kun. "You haven't decided yet, Hiiragizawa."
An expression identical to Meiling-chan's appeared on Eriol-kun's face. "I agree with Daidouji-san and Li-san. Let's watch a romance movie."
"I'm not willing to subject myself to such torture," objected Sakura.
"Neither am I," said Li.
"Then you two can go do something else. We'd like to see a movie," Meiing-chan declared.
"Fine with me. Let's go, Li." Sakura left in the direction of the shops, gesturing at Li to follow her.
"We'll meet up with you at the kissaten down the street later!" she called back to them.
They left, and awkward silence followed. Sakura didn't know what to say to this boy; she could appear cool and collected on the outside, but inside she was still unsure of herself, still angry. She had never expected him to show his face in Japan again. What was he doing here, anyway?
"Li?" Sakura began tentatively. "Why did you come back?"
He shrugged. "Mother insisted I come. Meiling's supposed to be in some sort of danger, but so far I haven't noticed anything."
She was about to ask what kind of danger when she felt it.
Kinomoto froze.
"What's wrong, Kinomoto?" asked Syaoran.
"Can't you sense it?" she said quietly. "That pitch-black aura…it feels like a Clow Card, but it can't be. No Clow Card would be so cold, so…empty."
"I must remind you," he said dryly, "that it isn't as easy for me to sense something as it is for you. You might not have tried it for awhile, but that ease is still there. What direction is it coming from?"
She shuddered. "I don't want to focus on it."
"You have to," he urged her.
"Have to?" said Kinomoto in that same quiet voice. "Do I?"
Syaoran dared not say anything.
"If you knew what it was like, would you ask me to try to locate it? As appalling as it is? You don't care at all—but wait. You're not supposed to care," she sneered. "Not after the sealed card took your feelings."
Kinomoto stalked angrily out of his sight, and he was left wondering what to do about her.
Kissaten. Tokyo, Japan. December 2002.
He found her in the group's meeting spot.
Outwardly, there were only minor changes. Her hair was still auburn, though it was much longer now. She was a few inches taller than the last time he had been to Japan, but she was still shorter than him by half a head. Scowls were her facial expression of choice, with the occasional neutral smile, and her eyes were still as green as ever.
"Get away from me," she hissed.
Ignoring her, Syaoran sat down in the seat opposite her.
"Didn't you hear me? Go away," she said.
"I heard you. I'm choosing not to obey."
"A foolish choice, seeing as how I have my cards with me." Almost nonchalantly, Kinomoto pulled out her deck of Sakura Cards and began to flip through them. "I could drown you with Watery, bury you alive with Earthy, burn you to a crisp with Firey, and suffocate you with Windy. I would blind you with Light and imprison you in Dark forever."
"Maybe if you'd been using magic regularly, you could. But right now, you're weakened. You couldn't override the cards' benevolent nature," he objected.
"You're underestimating me again," she stated simply.
"Am I? Tell me, when was the last time you actually used one of the Sakura Cards?"
"August."
He smirked. "Four months. I rest my case."
For the second time that day, Kinomoto stormed off in a huff.
Syaoran quickly went outside, trying to follow her, only to see that it had begun to rain. A tiny piece of paper, miraculously dry, floated down to him from the sky.
December.
Shopping District. Tokyo, Japan. December 2002.
Eriol smiled to himself as he walked, carrying the load of shopping bags Daidouji-san and Meiling-san had heaped upon him. The three of them hadn't actually gone to see a movie, as they had led Sakura-san and Li to believe. Instead, they were going shopping again, which was what they had planned to do all along. If their plan had worked, then the two former cardcaptors would be reconciling at the moment.
Rain began to fall, merely a light drizzle, and he looked up at the sky, puzzled. Any rainfall should have become hail.
"Impervius," he murmured as he took out his wand, tapping it on the shopping bags. Noting that his companions had fled for shelter, Eriol joined them in the bookstore where they sought refuge.
"Hiiragizawa!" Meiling-san rushed over to him. "Why didn't you come in sooner? Now our stuff is all…dry?"
Upon closer inspection, she had noticed that there wasn't a speck of water on their purchases.
"A simple waterproofing spell, Li-san," he explained.
She sent him a scowl, then relieved him of his burden and joined Daidouji-san in the Young Adult section.
Outside, the rain began to fall more heavily, and lightning danced across the sky. The street was deserted, as everyone had hurried inside—except for one person. It was a very soaked Sakura-san who dared to walk outside, sans umbrella and raincoat.
Eriol did not hesitate in racing outside. "Sakura-san!"
"Is something the matter?" she said calmly, as if she weren't standing in the middle of a raging storm.
He gaped at her. "Is something the matter? Look around you!"
"It's raining," Sakura-san observed. "Matches my mood perfectly."
"What happened between you and Li?"
"Nothing, really," she began. "All he did was boss me around then insult me."
"And where is he now?"
She shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I left him at the kissaten."
"What kissaten?" Eriol was becoming more than a little exasperated.
"The one that the entire group was supposed to meet at," said Sakura-san pointedly. "What are you doing here, anyway? You're supposed to be at the movie theater right now."
"The movie ended already," he lied. "We were on our way to the kissaten when we were caught in the rain."
"Liar."
Busted.
"Why don't you believe me, Sakura-san?" He sent her what he hoped was a winning smile. Believe me, believe me.
"Because even I'm not that stupid, Eriol-kun. The movie lasted less than half an hour? As if."
His hand itched to just take out his wand and obliviate her, but he stopped himself from doing so.
Sakura-san dug into her pockets, and pulled out the Libra card. "Would you rather I forced you into telling me?"
It was then that he noticed that she was holding something behind her back, and that she was trembling slightly, not shivering as he thought she was.
"What are you hiding from me?" he demanded.
"Nothing."
This time, he did take out his wand. "Accio!"
The novice staff flew out of her hand.
"Sakura-san!" he scolded. "You're the one who caused this storm!"
"Damned straight," she muttered darkly. "Now give me my staff back, if you want me to end it."
Reluctantly, he handed it back to her, and she called back the Storm. The sky turned from gray back to blue, the rain stopped, and Sakura-san collapsed from sheer exhaustion. It had been such a long time since she'd used her cards that using only a couple of them took up all her energy. Eriol helped her up, and she stood unsteadily, supporting herself by leaning on his arm.
"I think it's about time we headed home," said Eriol.
Author's Note:
I have no idea why this retarded chapter took so long. And nothing happened, either. So I'm sorry about the lameness of this chapter. The next one shouldn't take as long, since midterms will be over this week. We'll probably get to see Sakura at school next chapter. I have a bit of a surprise planned for that.
On Kissaten:
It's what they call a western style café in Japan. Since I have no idea where teenagers usually hang out, I just picked a place I'd be at least mildly familiar with.