Chapter 2
" Urgh." Yukito took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
" What happened this time?" Touya asked.
" Let's start with you. You haven't told me anything about yours. Was it Mariko?"
" Hai. She's fine. Yours is more famous. What happened?"
Yukito sighed. " Kuso. One would think that someone like Li Syaoran would
be more than just traumatized. He's not a gaki, Touya. He's a child. He behaves like
a child, thinks like a child, changes his moods like a child-all these things are
perfectly normal. But he gets frightened so easily, it's hard to keep patience when
dealing with him."
" Alright. Now with all this sweet talk, tell me exactly what happened." Touya was
so eager to hear that he was practically jumping up and down on his chair in the
cafeteria.
" Well," Yukito bit into a nameless chunk of meat, " I went in there and the first
thing is," He looked over his notes. " So I didn't remember wrong. He talked,
Touya. He said, ' Hi Angel.'"
Touya choked and quickly drank some soda to calm his nerves.
" His voice is actually very sweet. A little rough from the daily screaming." Yukito chuckled sadly. " And he was very happy to see me."
" I can imagine." Touya answered after he swallowed.
" And then of course, I asked him why he called me angel. He started smiling, as if
he knew something that I didn't. He answered, " I know who you are. You're not
Yukito. You're someone named Yue."
Touya's eyes widened. Yukito nodded at his reaction.
" Of course, I had the same reaction." Yukito continued. " I was pretty much dumb
by then. Syaoran pulled from behind him a peony."
" A peony?"
" Hai. Syaoran said it was his favorite." Yukito held it out. It was pink, the flower,
and rather fresh."
" He's not allowed in the gardens, is he?" Touya asked.
" Iie." Yukito answered. " Touya, this isn't just any kid. He has powerful magic.
Otherwise, how would he have sensed me? He created this flower out of that magic.
His father didn't just beat him and scream at him and force him onto his bed-he
used magic to break his spirit. Somehow Syaoran learned some of the magic
without knowing it and tried to create this flower, but you see how pink it is? It
came from Syaoran's blood. His blood stained it, gave it life. Syaoran is one of the
Life Idols, one that is still a young child. His father was undoubtedly a Death Idol
that had captured him."
" You got me lost at that last one." Touya answered slowly. " tell me, what are life and death idols?"
Yukito sighed. He leaned back, his notes on his lap, and began to explain.
" There are thirteen Living Idols and thirteen Dead Idols. They each split up into six and seven. In this realm, there are seven Living Idols controlling it, and six Dead Idols. There's another realm where there are six Living Idols and seven Dead Idols. They form the basis of life and death, and control the cycle of the Yin Yang.
The difference with Idols and sorcerors are that they control life and death.
Sorcerors like you, Sakura, Clow Reed-they cannot summon the forces. They can
summon light, they can summon dark, sun, moon, and all the elements, but these
two forces they were not allowed and do not have the power. So people like Clow
Reed cannot create any kind of life, big or small."
" But what about the flower card?" Touya asked. " Sakura's flower card?"
" That was designed to bring another flower here, not to create a totally new one."
Yukito answered, slightly unhappy. " Not even Clow Reed could do what the Life
Idols can do. And as for Death, you can mortally wound someone, but whether that
person or thing dies is beyond your control."
Touya was silent for a minute. " So now that you know this much about the
kid, what are you going to do?"
" Try to get him out of the hospital." Yukito answered. " More importantly, to get
him back to where he belongs. He doesn't deserve to live like this. To think, he's ten
years old. Ten years is very short for a god!"
Touya was silent for a long moment. " Do you suppose," He began, " That
Sakura and her cards could help?"
" I don't know." Yukito answered. " If it's possible you can try and find out when
Tomoeda Elementary has a half day or a whole day off. And then we can have
those two meet. You can ask Eriol to come too."
" Alright, so that's settled." Touya looked at Yukito.
" He's lonely." Yukito whispered.
" This has become more than just a school assignment, eh Yue?"
" Of course it has." Yukito answered. " It always was."
" So..." Sakura and Eriol looked at each other. " You want us to come on
Wednesday to help this Li person?"
" Hai." Touya answered. " For Yue anyway."
" Li Jinyu." Eriol blinked thoughtfully. " I've heard of him. But I thought he was
one of the Life Idols."
" He is."
" Nani?" Eriol rubbed his glasses. " Then what is he doing in a lunatic asylum?"
" Ano...I don't know-wait." Touya cleared his thoughts rapidly. " Somehow Yue
thinks he was captured by a Death Idol. That guy abused him, you have a ten year
old in a lunatic asylum."
Eriol frowned. " That's bad."
" Hoe?"
" That's really really bad. We're going!" Eriol jumped up. " Good heavens! There
are only supposed to be twenty six idols! Where did Syaoran come from? I have to
see this for myself. Sakura-san, bring your cards. We're going to visit this stranger."
Syaoran looked around in the hallway. The doctors had stopped walking and
stared at him. He blinked, withdrawing a little. Yukito had told him not to go
anywhere unless he had been told he was allowed to, but he felt so sick.
There was no one to trust here.
Frantically, the young one searched for Yue in his mind. Yue was far far away. He couldn't help him.
A wave of dizziness over came him. The weak child toppled over.
" Oh!" Cried several voices, as they quickly went over to him. Hands circled around
his shoulders...
Hands.
Hands!
With a weak cry, Syaoran beated off the hands. The hands were so quick, it felt so familiar. He tried to crawl away, but stopped, because his stomach thought otherwise.
With the last of his remaining strength, Syaoran felt the bitter taste well up in his mouth and he opened his mouth for it to escape, unable to hold it back longer. An arm circled around his waist. He wailed in panic, recognizing the action from so many years of torment, but his wail was suffocated into a gurgle. There was a black fogginess in front of his eyes, so black he could barely see the liquid on the floor. It was clear, bitter and sour. It was acidic water.
" Ay! No wonder he steals food! He doesn't eat his lunch!" Cried someone, a
woman, perhaps. Syaoran started crying. He was so tired, but why wouldn't his
stomach stop?
" Tsukishiro!" Someone yelled. Syaoran's vomiting ceased and he tilted his head
slightly at the name. Tsukishiro. Tsukishiro. That sounded familiar.
" What happened?" Yukito's voice asked.
" Kid is sick. Has a fever. Came out of his room to ask for help." Answered the first
voice. " Hurry on over. He's freaking out." And Syaoran was. The arm around his
waist was noticable and he didn't like it.
" Good heavens!" Yukito cried as he looked at the boy. " He hasn't eaten anything!"
He studied the vomit briefly before turning his attention back to the child. "
Syaoran, take deep breaths. There you go. He's hot!" He felt his forehead. " What in
the world happened?"
The interns shrugged. " Just found him. He stared at us and then collapsed.
We have no idea."
" Today's Monday, right?" Yukito asked.
" Ano, hai?"
" Hmph. Two more days." Yukito said thoughtfully. " Come on, up you go, oof,
what a light bundle you are!" He lifted Syaoran up. Syaoran tensed, but he
recognized this action as a harmless one, and obediently wrapped his little arms
around the older boy's neck as the student carried him to the room.
" Awfully small for his age." Someone mumbled.
" Let's see, right now it's this time. Looks like a kind of virus to me." Yukito looked up. " So antibiotics won't work. Eugh! Get him some pills to lower that fever of his, and some edible soup for heaven's sake!"
" Ada?" Syaoran looked around in the darkness. " Mama?"
Whispers. Syaoran huddled even more, looking around him.
" ?" Syaoran blinked.
" Syaoran."
Syaoran turned around. " ?"
" Jinyu."
Syaoran tilted his head. Jinyu was no longer familiar. He was no longer
golden jade. He was the little wolf. Because he was bad...
The angel appeared in all his pale glory, grey eyes bearing down upon him. Syaoran looked up and his little mouth opened silently in wonder. He knew Yue was there, but had never seen him. The creature before him was so divine...
So cold, so magnificent, so strange...
The poor boy instantly wanted to please the guardian before him, to win his approval. His eyes searched for a way. For a moment the guardian looked at him thoughtfully. Those eyes were so wise...
Yue regarded the child silently. The boy looked so fragile. How can
anything like him be so innocent?
Syaoran took his silence as a harsh rebuke and rejection. He lowered his eyes in sorrow and despair. Yue went forward and Syaoran immediately tensed. He remembered the vague image of a shadow, flinging out a whip, advancing menacingly. Terrified, Syaoran backed away, but suddenly there was a wall behind him, blocking his escape. Syaoran watched as the powerful and dark angel advance, panic welling up in his stomach and tears beginning to flow freely.
Yue didn't stop, didn't hesitate. But when he was near enough he slowed, bent down, and wiped away a tear. Syaoran looked at him hopefully, and Yue allowed a slight hint of a smile to appear. Encouraged, Syaoran smiled, a charming, honest smile, and wrapped his arms around the tall guardian's neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Yue wrapped his arms protectively around Syaoran, and the two remained like that for a long time in the warm darkness...
" So the kid never spoke."
" Never spoke."
" And you didn't speak either."
" Never spoke."
" Then why the heck are you smiling like that, Yue?" Touya asked. " You're so
freaking me out here!"
" It's hard to keep one's innocence when one suffers so." Yue answered, still smiling.
Kero just gaped at him. Yue ignored the stuffed animal. " And I've never been
treated like that before. It just feels so warm."
" It's called love." Touya answered, almost amazed. " Good lord, Yue, you're getting
soft!"
" Children can do that." Eriol answered quietly. " How did Syaoran do it?"
And to think, before that day it was Yukito who did it.
