Together, Forever, as One
Chapter 2: How a Frying Pan Changed His Life
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"Xiao Lang!!! Why aren't you up yet? I want to go for a walk!" Meiling Li, the cousin of Syaoran Li, yelled in the latter's ear.
At the shrill, high-pitched noise, Syaoran instantly sat up in bed, waving his arms frantically and rumpling his blankets.
"WAAAHH!!!"
Meiling watched impatiently on, hands on her hips and foot tapping. When the amber-eyed man calmed down, he turned slowly to see who had woken him up.
"Oh, it's you Meiling..." he rubbed his face tiredly, then lay back down in bed, his eyes closed, and began snoring loudly to show that he was ignoring her. But Meiling wasn't fooled that easily. She sighed, then took a deep, deep breath and bellowed.
"GET UP YOU NINCOMPOOP!"
Then she flung the sheets off of Syaoran's body. He immediately blushed and tried to grab at the covers, but only succeeded in falling head first at the raven-haired woman's feet.
"Urgh..."
"Well it serves you right. Now, get up before I get Feimei in here to wake you up for me, and I hear she uses a frying pan."
At this Syaoran sat up swiftly and sat on his bed, staring into the determined eyes of his cousin.
"Okay fine, but at least tell me what time it is."
This comment finally seemed to sink into Meiling, and she scuffed the floor with her foot under Syaoran's piercing gaze.
"Er...six o'clock?"
Syaoran opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Meiling's whine.
"But I wanted to see the sunrise, and the elder's say it's really beautiful today! Plus, you know they want us to do something romantic together everyday. Why not get an early start?"
Syaoran gave a yawn, defeated, and then wiped his hands with his face.
"Alright, fine. But leave while I change okay?"
"Hai!"
Meiling gave him a cute grin as she skipped out of the room. Something told her today would be a great day. Yet, back in Syaoran's room, he wasn't in a nice mood at all. Actually, he was downright miserable. He was thinking of her again. He was beginning to think those kinds of thoughts were bad for his health.
'Sakura would have brought me tea and cake. If it wasn't for the Clan, she would be wrapped up in my arms right now, maybe even with a new child on the way. And Mina would be ten by now...I bet she's beautiful."
He sighed. Syaoran's thoughts almost brought him to tears many times, and today was no exception. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. The Elders had made it clear the moment he had come back. They wanted him married to Meiling and no other.
The not-so-small wolf pushed the sad memories away, and began ripping through his drawers for a suitable outfit.
~*~ on the streets of China ~*~
Mina Kinomoto strolled briskly along the sidewalk. She had gotten off of her plane two hours ago but it took one and a half hour to get out of the busy airport. With everything in Chinese she couldn't understand anyone or anything. If it weren't for a kind Chinese-AND-Japanese-speaking woman, she would probably still be stuck in the terminal. Anyway, she was out now and loving the beautiful, spring day.
'It's such a nice day. I really do wish I wasn't so mean so my mom. Then maybe I could have convinced her to come with me...I wonder why she didn't want to go in the first place. Surely she would want to see Dad again, right?'
She looked across the street to see a couple heading towards the beach. Each looked about thirty years old. The woman had her hair down, and the ebony locks glistened in the morning sun. The man next to her had short, messy cinnamon hair.
All of a sudden, the man turned his head towards her. It was just a glance at first, but then he seemed to be surprised by her and the gaze returned and stayed, as if suspended in time. As she caught the stare and looked back, the man jerked back as if shocked or like he'd seen a ghost.
~*~ across the street ~*~
"Xiao Lang? Are you alright?" Meiling asked Syaoran, concerned, for his face had drained of its regular color.
"I-I don't know. Do you see what I see?"
Meiling looked around, trying to find what Syaoran was staring at, but all she was a small girl with a pink bag.
"I see...a small girl across the street. What are you talking about?"
"Don't you see it?!? Her eyes...they're...Sakura's!!!"
Meiling raised her eyebrows in disbelief and put a hand on Syaoran's forehead.
"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten you up so early this morning..."
Syaoran pushed her hand away, annoyed with her attitude.
"I'm serious! You know no one has eyes like that except the Cards' Mistress! Look closer!"
"Huh? Wait." Meiling, now interested, reached into her pocket and grabbed a pair of glasses. "There we go. WHOA!!!!! You're not kidding! Kodak moment! It's a mini Cards' Mistress! Creepy, don't you think?" She removed her spectacles, and turned to face her companion for his reaction. He was still staring straight ahead.
"No duh. Come on, let's go say hi."
Syaoran grabbed Meiling's hand and almost dragged her across the street he was so eager to get there. Mina was surprised that they were coming over.
'What are they doing?' she thought, but was kind nevertheless.
"Hello, my name is Syaoran Li, head of the Li clan of China." Syaoran said, bowing.
"AND, I am Meiling, his cousin! Nice ta meetcha! ^_~" She shoved Syaoran to the side and randomly shook Mina's hand as the young girl sweatdropped.
"Er...yeah, that's Meiling, but do you know a woman named Sakura Kinomoto?" Syaoran pushed impatiently.
Mina was shocked. 'How does he know my mother? Were they friends as kids or...dad...but...already? I meant to stay here or at least a week to find him! And how did he know me? When he left I was two and mom said I barely had any hair...and his name is right. It has to be him, but I must check one last thing.'
She dug her hand into her pocket, not saying a word. Then slowly, almost carefully so as not to ruin this chance to know the truth, she pulled out the picture. It was of her as a baby, holding her father's hand, and him holding her mother's on the other side. They were all smiling: a happy family; and his eyes truly glittered as her mom's so rarely did anymore.
'They had been in love so much.' She stared at the picture, studying the man's face in it. He was full of happiness and his cinnamon-brown hair was messy, but looking casual. His cheeks were red, as if he was blushing, and his eyes were a deep brown that seemed to go on and on and on. Now she looked at the man in front of her, who had a quizzical look on his face, but the same never-ending eyes the photo indicated, and the same rebellious hair. Her eyes started welling up with tears, and right then, she knew she had found her father, the only one TRUE father she could ever have, and one word said it all.
"Dad" was all Mina could manage because by that time Syaoran had grabbed her, hugging her fiercely, and never wanting to let go again. Then the tears came. His clothes were wet all over the front and her eyes were red, but still they held on to each other. Neither one cared.
"Oh, Minako, I missed you so much! I don't know how I've been living all these years without you, my one daughter. And where is your mother? You couldn't have come here alone...could you? Oh, I know, you used The Cards."
"What do you mean I used 'The Cards'? I flew here on an airplane just like anyone else would." Mina was very confused. 'My mother has never told me about some "cards". Is my dad crazy? How could a deck of cards like the one I played with on the plane help me travel from Japan to China? The idea's just absurd,' she thought.
He pulled away from her and put his hands on her shoulders. "The Clow Cards; I'm sure you used some tricky mixture of them to get over here, though I find it hard to believe you used Fly-"
"DAD?!?!? Are you CRAZY!?!? What are these 'Cards' and how am I supposed to 'Fly' with them?!?"
"You mean she didn't-oh no." He turned to Meiling, who shrugged at him. No one knew what to do, or how to explain this.
'All the years of fighting', Syaoran thought, 'risking our lives...Sakura wanted to spare her from that, having the weight of the world on her almost everyday. But she's our only heir to the cards. She MUST become the Cards' Mistress, yet how can I tell her such an unbelievable story when the Cards are so far away?'
"We have a lot of explaining to do," he said firmly to Meiling. She just nodded solemnly and then to Mina he said, "Come stay at my place. We have a whole ton of stories to tell tonight."
And with a very curious yet contented look on her face, Mina began towards a new home; with a part of her family she'd never met but had always loved.
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Will Mina accept her role as the Cards' Mistress? Will Sakura chase after Mina? Will Eriol interfere? And what the heck is the deal with Syaoran and Meiling?
Read on to find out, and don't forget to review!
Chapter 2: How a Frying Pan Changed His Life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Xiao Lang!!! Why aren't you up yet? I want to go for a walk!" Meiling Li, the cousin of Syaoran Li, yelled in the latter's ear.
At the shrill, high-pitched noise, Syaoran instantly sat up in bed, waving his arms frantically and rumpling his blankets.
"WAAAHH!!!"
Meiling watched impatiently on, hands on her hips and foot tapping. When the amber-eyed man calmed down, he turned slowly to see who had woken him up.
"Oh, it's you Meiling..." he rubbed his face tiredly, then lay back down in bed, his eyes closed, and began snoring loudly to show that he was ignoring her. But Meiling wasn't fooled that easily. She sighed, then took a deep, deep breath and bellowed.
"GET UP YOU NINCOMPOOP!"
Then she flung the sheets off of Syaoran's body. He immediately blushed and tried to grab at the covers, but only succeeded in falling head first at the raven-haired woman's feet.
"Urgh..."
"Well it serves you right. Now, get up before I get Feimei in here to wake you up for me, and I hear she uses a frying pan."
At this Syaoran sat up swiftly and sat on his bed, staring into the determined eyes of his cousin.
"Okay fine, but at least tell me what time it is."
This comment finally seemed to sink into Meiling, and she scuffed the floor with her foot under Syaoran's piercing gaze.
"Er...six o'clock?"
Syaoran opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Meiling's whine.
"But I wanted to see the sunrise, and the elder's say it's really beautiful today! Plus, you know they want us to do something romantic together everyday. Why not get an early start?"
Syaoran gave a yawn, defeated, and then wiped his hands with his face.
"Alright, fine. But leave while I change okay?"
"Hai!"
Meiling gave him a cute grin as she skipped out of the room. Something told her today would be a great day. Yet, back in Syaoran's room, he wasn't in a nice mood at all. Actually, he was downright miserable. He was thinking of her again. He was beginning to think those kinds of thoughts were bad for his health.
'Sakura would have brought me tea and cake. If it wasn't for the Clan, she would be wrapped up in my arms right now, maybe even with a new child on the way. And Mina would be ten by now...I bet she's beautiful."
He sighed. Syaoran's thoughts almost brought him to tears many times, and today was no exception. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. The Elders had made it clear the moment he had come back. They wanted him married to Meiling and no other.
The not-so-small wolf pushed the sad memories away, and began ripping through his drawers for a suitable outfit.
~*~ on the streets of China ~*~
Mina Kinomoto strolled briskly along the sidewalk. She had gotten off of her plane two hours ago but it took one and a half hour to get out of the busy airport. With everything in Chinese she couldn't understand anyone or anything. If it weren't for a kind Chinese-AND-Japanese-speaking woman, she would probably still be stuck in the terminal. Anyway, she was out now and loving the beautiful, spring day.
'It's such a nice day. I really do wish I wasn't so mean so my mom. Then maybe I could have convinced her to come with me...I wonder why she didn't want to go in the first place. Surely she would want to see Dad again, right?'
She looked across the street to see a couple heading towards the beach. Each looked about thirty years old. The woman had her hair down, and the ebony locks glistened in the morning sun. The man next to her had short, messy cinnamon hair.
All of a sudden, the man turned his head towards her. It was just a glance at first, but then he seemed to be surprised by her and the gaze returned and stayed, as if suspended in time. As she caught the stare and looked back, the man jerked back as if shocked or like he'd seen a ghost.
~*~ across the street ~*~
"Xiao Lang? Are you alright?" Meiling asked Syaoran, concerned, for his face had drained of its regular color.
"I-I don't know. Do you see what I see?"
Meiling looked around, trying to find what Syaoran was staring at, but all she was a small girl with a pink bag.
"I see...a small girl across the street. What are you talking about?"
"Don't you see it?!? Her eyes...they're...Sakura's!!!"
Meiling raised her eyebrows in disbelief and put a hand on Syaoran's forehead.
"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten you up so early this morning..."
Syaoran pushed her hand away, annoyed with her attitude.
"I'm serious! You know no one has eyes like that except the Cards' Mistress! Look closer!"
"Huh? Wait." Meiling, now interested, reached into her pocket and grabbed a pair of glasses. "There we go. WHOA!!!!! You're not kidding! Kodak moment! It's a mini Cards' Mistress! Creepy, don't you think?" She removed her spectacles, and turned to face her companion for his reaction. He was still staring straight ahead.
"No duh. Come on, let's go say hi."
Syaoran grabbed Meiling's hand and almost dragged her across the street he was so eager to get there. Mina was surprised that they were coming over.
'What are they doing?' she thought, but was kind nevertheless.
"Hello, my name is Syaoran Li, head of the Li clan of China." Syaoran said, bowing.
"AND, I am Meiling, his cousin! Nice ta meetcha! ^_~" She shoved Syaoran to the side and randomly shook Mina's hand as the young girl sweatdropped.
"Er...yeah, that's Meiling, but do you know a woman named Sakura Kinomoto?" Syaoran pushed impatiently.
Mina was shocked. 'How does he know my mother? Were they friends as kids or...dad...but...already? I meant to stay here or at least a week to find him! And how did he know me? When he left I was two and mom said I barely had any hair...and his name is right. It has to be him, but I must check one last thing.'
She dug her hand into her pocket, not saying a word. Then slowly, almost carefully so as not to ruin this chance to know the truth, she pulled out the picture. It was of her as a baby, holding her father's hand, and him holding her mother's on the other side. They were all smiling: a happy family; and his eyes truly glittered as her mom's so rarely did anymore.
'They had been in love so much.' She stared at the picture, studying the man's face in it. He was full of happiness and his cinnamon-brown hair was messy, but looking casual. His cheeks were red, as if he was blushing, and his eyes were a deep brown that seemed to go on and on and on. Now she looked at the man in front of her, who had a quizzical look on his face, but the same never-ending eyes the photo indicated, and the same rebellious hair. Her eyes started welling up with tears, and right then, she knew she had found her father, the only one TRUE father she could ever have, and one word said it all.
"Dad" was all Mina could manage because by that time Syaoran had grabbed her, hugging her fiercely, and never wanting to let go again. Then the tears came. His clothes were wet all over the front and her eyes were red, but still they held on to each other. Neither one cared.
"Oh, Minako, I missed you so much! I don't know how I've been living all these years without you, my one daughter. And where is your mother? You couldn't have come here alone...could you? Oh, I know, you used The Cards."
"What do you mean I used 'The Cards'? I flew here on an airplane just like anyone else would." Mina was very confused. 'My mother has never told me about some "cards". Is my dad crazy? How could a deck of cards like the one I played with on the plane help me travel from Japan to China? The idea's just absurd,' she thought.
He pulled away from her and put his hands on her shoulders. "The Clow Cards; I'm sure you used some tricky mixture of them to get over here, though I find it hard to believe you used Fly-"
"DAD?!?!? Are you CRAZY!?!? What are these 'Cards' and how am I supposed to 'Fly' with them?!?"
"You mean she didn't-oh no." He turned to Meiling, who shrugged at him. No one knew what to do, or how to explain this.
'All the years of fighting', Syaoran thought, 'risking our lives...Sakura wanted to spare her from that, having the weight of the world on her almost everyday. But she's our only heir to the cards. She MUST become the Cards' Mistress, yet how can I tell her such an unbelievable story when the Cards are so far away?'
"We have a lot of explaining to do," he said firmly to Meiling. She just nodded solemnly and then to Mina he said, "Come stay at my place. We have a whole ton of stories to tell tonight."
And with a very curious yet contented look on her face, Mina began towards a new home; with a part of her family she'd never met but had always loved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will Mina accept her role as the Cards' Mistress? Will Sakura chase after Mina? Will Eriol interfere? And what the heck is the deal with Syaoran and Meiling?
Read on to find out, and don't forget to review!
