Chapter 8: Practice
Jared
Disclaimer:
CLAMP owns both the CCS and CCD characters, and the ideas of Syaoran's father belong to Ecila. Philip Lynton, Joe and Selem belong to me. The Council of Light is also my own idea, so please, ask if you want to borrow it.
Author's note:
The words in bold are for the phrases spoken in English. All other dialogue are assumed to be in Japanese. Thoughts are in italics and //
I haven't written in a while (almost 3 months) so I've gotten pretty rusty. Please, do bear with me if I'm not making sense. Flamers better get out now, or leave a real e-mail add behind, though constructive criticism is more than welcome.
To most, Imonoyama Nokoru was no more than a carefree youngster. Rich, handsome, famous, intelligent… he seemed to have it all. Yet behind the cheerful mask that was known to most as Imonoyama Nokoru was a child that was known to the angels as the practitioner of the sun magic, wielder of the key of Heaven and Hell, one of the prophesized three.
Unknown to all, Nokoru had been training secretly for the past 10 years, for the battle which would soon ensue- the battle where the prophesized three would battle hard for their survival, and their right to join the Council of Light, the most prestigious magical council for all magical practioners.
Each night, a tiny figure would slip out of the huge Imonoyama mansion and stealthily proceed to the woods that lay some distance away. There, a cloaked figure awaited and a gruelling hour of practice lay ahead of the young child.
Initially, the child could do little more than to lift tiny objects. This soon was followed by the creation of strong barriers and cloaking (the ability to prevent non-magic users from seeing the any use of magic), levitation... which lay the ground for the current task… teleportation.
"Now close your eyes and concentrate. Visualise where you want to be, and then concentrate on moving yourself to that exact spot." Joe explained patiently again to his young apprentice, knowing full well of the latter's lack of focus during training. Unlike the rest of his duties, magic involved full concentration- something that the blond had problem maintaining.
There was an awkward pause as he waited for his apprentice to teleport to the place behind him as directed. Not surprisingly, there was no success. Though the latter was smart, his lack of focus often resulted in his failure to master control over his gifts as quickly as others. This, he knew, was unfamiliar to his charge, since the young child had been blessed with many abilities and gifts, though a high level of concentration was certainly not amidst his plentiful gifts.
A sudden flash of light cut through the dark night. There was a soft hissing sound, and the figure at the very centre of the ball of light disappeared from sight. Joe knew that he had successfully teleported, and turned around, expecting to see his trainee materialise behind him. He whirled around…only to be faced with an empty clearing.
// Where am I? Why don't I recognise the place? Did I teleport here? But I'm pretty sure I was thinking of the grass patch. How on earth did I end up in a bedroom? // He sat up, though his head protested strongly against the action. // Ouch. I suppose I must have knocked it somehow. This just doesn't make sense! //
A shadow fell across the doorway, and the figure gleefully exclaimed, "You're awake! Geez, you were out for so long I was almost certain that you were dead! Lucky for you that Selem assured me you were still alive, else you would be in a coffin right now." The green eyes twinkled mischievously.
Blue met green, and Nokoru replied with a jest of his own. "Hai… such a pity it would be too, ne? Especially coming from a caring soul like yourself."
Instantaneously, there was a burst of laughter, joined by another amused one. Anyone else would have thought that they were quite crazy.
"So, you're Japanese aren't you?" Philip suddenly spoke in Japanese before commenting, "You speak pretty fluent English."
A charming smile rested on the other's face. "Thank you very much for your praise. Uno… how did you deduce I was Japanese, anyway?"
"Hee… it was Selem who told me," Philip admitted sheepishly. "I wouldn't have known otherwise."
"Then please give this… Selem my thanks. I've got something that I've got to attend to."
"Sure, just drop out of the sky and squash me like a pancake and then just 'have something to attend to'. After I saved your life too." A voice muttered.
"Did you say something?" Nokoru was astonished at what he heard. To think Philip looked so polite.
"Hee… that was Selem. He likes to surprise people by mind-speaking. Don't mind him. He's just feeling sorry for himself cause he isn't here to see what a great job I did. Hey, now that I've finally met you, how about you bring me to that campus of yours?"
Nokoru started. "You … know who I am?"
"Course I do. Didn't I tell you Selem just has the biggest mouth in the world? He's the best broadcasting system there is! All for free too." The slight smile was back. It was met with a dazzling one from his companion.
"Please, do allow me the honour of showing you around campus. Now… if only I can just get this right… " Despite his cheerful banter, Philip could detect a barely audible note of worry in Nokoru's voice.
Philip, who was often sensitive towards the feelings of others, tried to allay his new made friends fears. "Don't you worry about me. You may need my help more than you expected. I've got powers too, though not like yours. Still, it might come in handy." The tentative smile was back. "Let's try to get to the campus, shall we? Even if we don't, it'll be fun to see the rest of the world."
A mischievous grin met his own. "You've got that right."
// What? Where? Oh no, I messed up again. Philip… where's Philip? // A startled Nokoru began to realise that his green eyed friend was not with him. Panic bore him down like a tidal wave, and despite his great intelligence, all that came to mind was his companion's name.
"Hey… you're awake. Thank gods for that. I was beginning to think I'd gotten rusty. Salem's going to love it if I told him I failed to heal you." He squeaked in a high-pitched voice for good measure, "Now see what I told you? You must always practice, practice and practice some more. Now, who told you that was the way to channel the life-forces? It must flow like the river, gentle like the wind. Not the heavy, smothering way you go about it. You're going to kill someone trying to save them." Both then burst into peals of laughter.
"Does… does… he really speak like… that?" Nokoru asked incredulously between gasps.
"Kind of. At least, that's what it sounds like to me. Dreary… boring… what have I missed? I'll fill you in later. Now, where exactly are we this time?"
"Um… somewhere in the world?"
"Smooth, so how do we get back from 'somewhere in the world'?"
"We get a ticket back? Unless you want me to try teleporting again."
Philip sighed. "Ok, just try not to land us in somewhere cold this time, ok?"
"As you said, I'll try."
"Nokoru-san!"
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist it. Hey, do you think that kid over there could tell us where we are? Maybe a little sightseeing wouldn't hurt."
A faint nod indicated the other's consent. Both approached an amber eyed boy who was walking rapidly towards the woods. Just as they were about to reach the clearing where they had last since the boy, a flash of lightning descended upon them.
Instantaneously, both used their powers to stop the assault. Nokoru created a barrier around the both of them, whilst Philip managed to created a shield of trees and vines to deflect the lightning.
"That was close," said Philip. Both withdrew their respective barriers when the attack had passed. "What in the world was that?"
"That was me!" A hostile voice rang out through the darkening skies. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
"We were here by … a little accident, entirely my fault. Please, do forgive us if we're intruding. We were just a little lost, and wanted to ask for directions." Nokoru said swiftly, bowing his head a little as he spoke, a sign of an apology.
"As for who we are…" Nokoru continued. "I am Imonoyama Nokoru, and my friend here… " he indicated Philip, "is Philip Lynton." The other boy bobbed his head in acknowledgement of the introduction. "Now, I believe we do not know yet of your name?" There was a faint question in his voice.
The boy stood opposite them and replied, "I am Li Syaoran. Welcome. I have been waiting for you. Wei has been told me much about the both of you. However, it is easy to assume another identity, and I believe it would be much better to just prove that you are who you claim to be." With that, he let loose yet another bolt of lighting.
Once more, both attempted to block the attack, yet this time, their movements seemed to slow. Both were unable to block the attack and hence took a direct hit.
// He's serious. If we don't do something really soon, he's going to kill us! // Nokoru realised with a start. He created a bubble-like shield and tried to pin Syaoran in place to prevent him from attacking them. This was joined by Philip's attempts to use the vines to imprison him. However, Syaoran expanded his energy and burst forth from the energy bubble that had held him prisoner temporarily. He leapt into the air with ease, knowing full well that if he stayed still, he would be imprisoned once more and he was not confident of breaking loose a second time.
However, as he leapt, a vine caught him around the ankle, swiftly followed by yet another which caught him around the wrists. Struggling frantically, Syaoran tried to break free from the vice-like grip, but failed.
All of a sudden, Philip felt himself rooted to the spot. // What on earth? // He noticed Syaoran's smirk as he broke free from his grip and understood. // He must have done something… wait! Could he be the one Selem was telling me about? The one who has the power to control time? What was it that Selem had said? Able to freeze things into their positions, and can speed up or slow time at his will. It must be him! How one earth am I going to fight time? Unless… I slow down his healing process- but he must be hurt to begin with! Look at him, he's totally unscathed! Oh why couldn't I have another power? // He moaned inwardly.
Nokoru too had come to the same conclusion. // His powers seem to be to change the speed of things by altering the speed of time. But my powers are unaffected by time, unlike Philip's. Which means… //
He took a lot at Philip, who was rooted to the spot like himself, and knew at once that he had no choice. // I'm really sorry to have to do this to you… but I have to stop you somehow! // Nokoru thought wryly.
He cast his mind deep into the Syaoran's, hearing the loud screech of pain deep inside his mind. Once more he probed, despite his reluctance to cause the other any more pain than was necessary. // Please // he pleaded. // Don't fight us anymore. I… don't want to hurt you. Don't make me do this. Please… //
Suddenly, the force that held him rooted to the spot was removed. Instantly, Nokoru released his hold on the other's mind, glad that he no longer had to inflict pain on the other.
Syaoran stood up weakly, and gave them a wry smile. The prophesized three had finally met.
Well, here's the next part. I really couldn't think of a plausible way for them to meet. This was the best I could come up with. It was either this or a dream, but that one turned out pretty badly. Not that this one's fantastic, but by comparision, it's really tons better.
I'll get round to re-writing some of the other chapters sometime. ^_^;; Sorry about that. Feeling very lazy now. :S But I'll try, honest.
Well, I hope you liked it.