Konnichi wa minna-san! Been a long time since I've posted anything, and most of you probably forgot what happened at all. So anyone who's reading this at the moment I'm really pleased. So let's get started.
Disclaimer: All characters of CCS are the property of CLAMP, not mine. So please don't sue me. This is only written for entertainment purposes, not for profit. You won't get any money anyway; since I only have six American dollars at the moment, and I'm not going to get any profit whatsoever for writing this.
-Psychic720
I've barely proofread this so it's going to be bad grammar-wise so please just deal with me! J
Symbols:
" " Dialogue
Sound FX
[ ] My side-notes when necessary.
(Lang) language use in dialogue. [I.e. (Eng)- English, (Jap) Japanese, etc. Japanese is the default in the dialogue.]
Italic sentence
· A character is speaking in the first person (will be specified)
· A letter or written article/document.
· A quote that was said by a character in the past (usually when a characters is looking back.
· When a character emphasizes a word during speech.
Ok, with all the formalities, done, let's go!
Li Syaoran's Story
Chapter 8
By psychic720
It was around seven in the evening when Sakura, Tomoyo, and Li had left Eriol's new home and were making there way back to the Subway Station. Even though the groups had known each other for quite some time, they were silent as they traveled to the station. It was a warm spring evening, almost summer, the sun was setting and the sky had turned in to a display of lights.
"Why didn't you say noticed anything wrong on you?" Li demanded breaking the silence.
Sakura looked down smiling nervously. "It really didn't seem serious when Tomoyo-chan noticed, so I just let the thought go."
"Sakura-chan, we know that you don't want us to get worried, but you should have told Hirigsawa-kun about the mark, instead of hide it," Tomoyo said concerned. "You have to take care of yourself too."
"Gomen ne, Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun," Sakura smiled apologetically to her companions.
Li blushed. Turning slightly, He quickened his pace towards the station. "I-it's getting late, we should get the station soon before we miss the next subway home."
Although trying to maintain control, Li broke off into a sprint. Sakura and Tomoyo quickly tried to keep up with the boy.
"Syaoran-kun matte!" Sakura called after beginning to chase after the boy.
It was another five minutes when the group arrived at the subway. Li's running caused Sakura, Tomoyo, and himself to have nothing to do for the time being. Kero popped his head out of Sakura's backpack.
"Now what was that all about?!?" The stuffed-looking creature complained. "I was contemplating this plague of yours and all of a sudden books and items start flying all over the place.
"Kero-chan! Someone's going to see you!" Sakura exclaimed trying to push the creature back in to her bag, noticing various people looking towards her direction.
"We just had to catch up with Li-kun who apparently just started running. I'll make you a cake later." Tomoyo said to calm the guardian of the Sakura cards down.
"Honto?" Kero's eyes became starry. "Wai!" The creature slipped his head right underneath the hole within the bag.
Sakura gave a sigh of relief. "That was close…" Her fear of someone noticing Kero disappeared as people were beginning to divert their attention to other activities that they were going to do during the day.
The subway soon came and the group walked in, As well as a huge amount of other people, so much that a claustrophobic person would've probably fainted from the squish. The squish would last until the various people would depart at their exits.
"You know, maybe we should've used the Fly Card," Sakura commented quietly from between the cram of people to Li and Tomoyo.
Li gave a strange "Are-you-crazy" look at the girl. "That would just spread the venom within your body…"
Sakura gave another sigh and turned her neck so that she could see out the window. It really wasn't that much, it was dark, as well as underground, so there was nothing special to see.
"How are we going to get the antidote?" Tomoyo asked noticing Sakura's blank gaze out the window.
Li thought to himself. "We get out of the next person who attacks us." He suggested. "They have to expect backfires, especially when some people have reflection magic…"
Sakura the blackness of the subway tunnel gave her a sudden chill. Soon a light caught her eye as the subway pulled into the next station. The group got off.
"Ano…" Sakura started as they traveled upstairs towards their destination. "I had a dream sometime ago, and it seemed like a premonition, but it doesn't seem very logical…"
Li began to walk slower. "How?"
"Rikou-kun was in it, and so were you, Syaoran-kun," Sakura started, "I remember that you were approaching him, telling him to come over, but he blasted you away with a blast of light!"
"What? Why would O-ni-san do that?" Tomoyo asked a hint of fear was in her voice.
Sakura shrugged. "He was very terrified every step that Syaoran-kun made towards him, and then, he just blasted him away."
Li walked silently, he wasn't blushing like he usually was, but that was because he was thinking about Sakura's story. Sure I don't like Rikou-kun that much, but he doesn't seem to mind it. Why would he want to do that?
(A little after that time)
Li slowly walked in to the front door of his apartment. Taking out a key he unlocked the red door, and slowly trudged in. An aroma of smoke flew in to the boy's nose. Immediately Li dashed into the room to figure out what was going on. Wei was arranging silverware for the day's dinner as the boy came in as if nothing had happed.
"What's going on!?!" Li exclaimed wondering why Wei didn't seem to notice any smoke.
Wei looked up and gave a quick smile as he began to open a window. "Oh, Syaoran-sama, Meiling-sama was just baking you a cake in the kitchen, and, well you know."
"What?" Li ran in to the kitchen walked in to the kitchen a hint of panic was in his face.
Meiling was stood with her back to the boy, apparently transfixed with something in front of her. Li slowly paced forward, afraid to see the result.
Meiling turned around hearing the boy walk over. An instant smile appeared on her face. "Syaoran, *mi-te!"
*look
Li looked toward the counter in front of the girl. An elegantly made cake was sitting in front of her. The cream was smooth, the shape was about perfect, and the decorations on the top were rather elegant. Li himself couldn't resist not smiling at such a pleasing looking pastry, which made Meiling even happier.
"This is?" Li looked one more time to make sure he wasn't going delusional. This isn't right, every time Meiling makes a cake, something wrong always happened.
"I made it, isn't it pretty?" Meiling said extremely pleased with her progress.
Li nodded in amazement.
"Ne, Syaoran, you taste the cake!" Meiling said busting Li out of his midday trance. "Ahh~~…" Meiling took a piece of the cake with a fork and directed it to Li's mouth.
Li turned away as he began to go back to the main room, "I can eat it myself!"
"Syaoran!"
Sakura slowly cut vegetables for the evening's meal. She glanced at the clock in the hall, it was nearing 8:30. "Hmm, Oni-san's a little late today," The girl said thoughtfully to herself. After some more cutting she placed the cut vegetables into a pot to begin her soup. A slight shimmer ran down her spine. Sakura turned her head to observe the kitchen window.
"That's strange," Sakura thought to herself. "I thought someone was looking in for a second..."
Placing down her materials for a moment, Sakura approached the window slowly, opening it and poked her head outside. There was really nothing much worth seeing.
"Must've been my imagination." Sakura pulled herself back through the window.
Sakura returned to the counter to continue making her meal. After she was pretty much done, Sakura walked upwards towards her room stopping to take a look at a nearby mirror. The girl fingered the purplish mark on her neck for a brief moment.
"Tadai masu!" (I'm home) Touya walked through the doorway of the hose, taking off his shoes as he did so.
"Hai!" Sakura replied instantly. Touya walked in to the kitchen while Sakura continued to work. "Why are you back so late?"
"Project, took longer than I thought." Touya replied, a sudden chill shook him as he glanced at the side of Sakura's neck. "What's that?" Touya pointed at the purplish mark signifying the spread of Sakura's "Plague".
A few sweat drops began pouring downward from the back of the girl's head. "Oh, it's a bruise, I got it sometime in PE today."
Touya stared at Sakura as if he didn't believe her.
"Nani?" Sakura tried to sound innocent as her brother continuously stared at the mark, but the sound was more nervous.
Touya blinked and shook his head. "Nothing…" He tried to get his mind clear Sakura's hiding something. Touya walked over to the pot taking a sip casually. "Hm, not bad… For a monster…"
"How many times do I have to say? I'm not a monster!!!"
"Kaijuu's all grown up but still can't figure out what she really is!"
"O-ni-chan!!!"
Li stood wearily in the center of his room. The crumbly copy of Chang's The Art of the Realm of Courage lay open on his bed top. For the last two hours the boy had worked his way page after page, copying the various forms that the ancient scroll had listed. But the former flow that had been thrown in to him with every movement was gone. After taking another brief look at the copy, Li winced as if a surge of lightning had struck his heart
Li looked away from the book instantly, the pain that was in his chest disappeared. "That's strange, it used to feel comfortable when I practiced out of this manual." Li took another look at the book, the pain returning as he tried another exercise, Li slapped the book shut grasping his heart, wincing. His pulse accelerated beyond comprehension making his pain seem even worse. The boy crashed to the ground "It doesn't make sense, what's going on?" Li gasped. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm his mind away from the pain. After a few minutes of his limp state Li sat up trying to reflect what had just recently happened.
The boy stared at the book that lay disorderly shut on his bed, pages seem to have been torn out by his strange urging to snap the book shut.
"That pain, it seems like it comes from the book, but Rikou-kun gave me it, and he wouldn't try anything to harm me…" Li thought for a second. "Well, maybe he would, but only if it was profitable for him, He's an American, always ready to make a quick profit…" Li smiled to himself thinking about how his "friend" tended to deal with situations. He stared at the door for countless minutes, gasping for breath.
"Syaoran!" Meiling burst into the bedroom. "Dinner's ready—" The girl stopped in mid-sentence noticing the boy's anguish within his face. "Daijobu?"
Li squinted up back at her. "No, I'm ok…" The boy stood up unstably and stumbled towards her.
Meiling looked at the boy closer, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah…" Li didn't really finish. He collapsed forward. Fortunate for him, Meiling was able to catch him before he collided with the ground.
"Huh?" Li looked dazed at his sudden position. He immediately tried to get out of the embraced position he was in with Meiling. However after getting up right in to a standing position, the boy slowly toppled backward, this time plummeting to the ground behind him.
Meiling dashed towards him. "Syaoran! Syaoran! WEI! GET OVER HERE! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH SYAORAN!"
Rikou trudged through the doorway of his house, kicking his shoes off randomly at the doorway. "Hannah!"
The old woman hurried to the doorway. After a long moment of observation, she gasped. "(Eng) Jacob Rikou Daidouji, where the heck have you been?"
"What?" Rikou asked not really to anyone in particular. "What time is it? It's only ten… Well yeah that's sorta late, but this is Japan, relatively safer than back in the States. I'm sorry, I was just thinking to myself, over at some park."
"You smell like alcohol, you know you can't drink yet! Even in Japan it's illegal at your age." Hannah exclaimed.
"I'm completely sober, I've just been walking around some park, and some crazy drunkard threw some sorta beer can at me."
Hannah gripped Rikou's chin. "Your eyes, they seem blank, I remember my late husband had this blank gaze when he hit the bars."
"It's not that!" Rikou broke out his nana's grasp. "If this was yours, than maybe you'd understand…" Rikou tossed the manila folder to his nana. "Read it yourself… I'm taking a shower, followed by a bath, and then who knows what…"
The boy departed from the elderly women and made his advance upstairs.
"Maybe I was a little harsh." Hannah said to herself quietly. She took the folder, beginning to examine it. "Talking in which, this must be from his—"
"Daidouji-kun!" Meiling bolted through the door, colliding into the folder Hannah had in her hands, the paper contents within flew into different directions a few out the door. Meiling continued to rampage the house calling out Rikou's name.
"(Jap) What, what it is?" Hannah asked anxiously, surprised at the sudden invasion of the girl.
"I need him right at this moment!" Meiling exclaimed in front of her face.
"H…he's upstairs--" Hannah started.
"Arigato!" Meiling dashed upstairs.
Hannah looked curiously after her. "(Eng) Now I wonder what's that all about? Hey wait Rikou's taking a bath--!"
"(Eng) HOLY CRAP! HANNAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"
"(Cantonese) EEEEEEEEK A PERVERT!"
A notably loud crash could be heard from down the hall followed by a splash, Hannah flinched.
"Rikou-kun? Rikou-kun!?! Hannah-san! He's out!"
Hannah started towards the direction of the stairway. "I was going to tell her that he was taking a bath, but would she listen?"
Li woozily sat up in bed, the sun beamed through his bedroom window, but it wasn't particularly late. He scratched his aching head. His heart had returned to normal, at least for the mean time. The aches were gone. Instead, strangely enough, he felt revitalized with energy, even though he was quite woozy.
"Ohayo!" Meiling chimed, carrying a breakfast tray in her hands.
"Ohayo…" Li squinted at the girl wearily. "What time is it?"
"Oh, it's about seven."
"What? I'm late!" Li shot out of bed. Damn, I thought I was punctual!
"Wait, Syaoran, you can't go to school in that condition!" Meiling said worriedly
"It's just fatigue, it's nothing at all!" Li backed away, lightly pushing the girl out of the room. "Now please let me change!"
"Syaoran--!"
"Yeah, ok, I get it!" Li shut the door clicking the lock shut. The boy glanced at the clock. "7:10, I've wasted another ten minutes, now I'm really going to be late!"
Li dashed onto the school ground, his feet practically skidding across the fresh linoleum. Yanking the door open he leapt for his seat. The boy was just barely sitting in his seat when the school-bell rang.
"Yo-kata…" The boy said wearily. Sakura and Tomoyo had already been in their seats and had been chatting away. Li glanced to his right; the seat was vacant.
Rikou-kun's not here. The boy thought to himself. That's a first.
Li turned back over to face the front of his desk, his eyes look towards the two girls again. He gave a slight grunt trying to sway their attention.
Sakura turned around. "Oh! Ohayo Syaoran-kun!"
"Ohayo…"
"Ne, why were you late today?" Sakura asked. "You're usually very punctual."
Li shrugged awkwardly. The fact was, he really didn't know why he woke up late. The boy couldn't exactly remember what happened the night before.
Mizuki-sensei entered the classroom; a sudden hush flowed throughout the classroom as the students looked towards their teacher, anticipating what the woman was going to say. The teacher glanced quickly at her roll book and then at the various spaces in the classroom.
"Etto… It seems everyone's here except Daidouji-kun." Mizuki-sensei said quickly after snapping her book shut.
Tomoyo glanced at the desk behind her. "He really isn't" the girl thought thinking to herself.
"It seems a little hectic, but the school has scheduled a festival in two week," Mizuki-sensei said. "The trip to Kyoto is on the following week, so the next few weeks will be a big push. I decided that we should do a skit, since we're going to Kyoto soon after, we could do a slight research project to come along with it. After researching on the city we could write ourselves our own script which takes place within Kyoto."
"Hoe…" Sakura stammered nervously. "Sounds difficult…"
"But it does sound fun in the end," Tomoyo added in thoughtfully. In an instant Tomoyo's eyes began to sparkle. "But if we're going to do a skit, and if Sakura-chan gets to play a part…"
Sweat drops began dripping down Sakura's and Li's heads, they already knew the inevitable statement that was going to come out of the delighted girl. It came…
"Sakura-chan you just have to let me make your costume?" Tomoyo chimed.
"Hoe…" Sakura collapsed out of her chair.
"Sakura-san! Daijobu?" Mizuki-sensei called out from in front the classroom.
"Hai!" Sakura shot right back in her seat, reddening with embarrassment.
Rikou wasn't a person to sleep for very long. Or at least, that was what Meiling thought. However after the boy took a quick glance at the unconscious Li and began doing some Voodoo magic he seemed pretty unstable, he didn't even reach the door as he hobbled out. Wei had decided just to place him on the couch and let him sleep.
"So what was the situation this time?" Meiling thought to herself. She herself has seen Rikou had some pretty similar seizures but didn't seem as serious. And with that look on his face when he glanced at Syaoran's condition definitely meant he knows something.
But Rikou was asleep before she could drag any information out of the apparently bushed boy. Although she wanted to know what had happened, she had to wait, but she didn't want to. The girl began pushing on Rikou's shoulder.
"Ne, ne?" Meiling demanded. "You awake yet?"
It took another five minutes until Rikou bothered lifting his eyes. His head was on fire, it seemed that scientist were testing Thermal Nuclear Weapons in his brain. He slowly stumbled off the couch. "I should head home, Hannah's going to be ticked."
"Wei already called her!" Meiling exclaimed, eager to hear what was wrong with Li. "Just tell me, what was wrong with Syaoran!"
Rikou shrugged quietly. "Nothing much, He was lucky, so he should be fine, unlike some other people." Rikou picked his body up and hobbled towards the door.
"Matte!" Meiling slammed the front door shut, before the boy could make his exit. "You still haven't told me what was wrong!"
Meiling thought she saw some glow from sweat, slowing trickling down the boy's temple. Rikou began to reach the handle. "God! I already helped you with that cake! And anyway, what makes you think I know?"
Meiling batted the hand away before it reached its destination. "I don't know, but I know that Syaoran was reading that book you gave him without no letters. So it has to do something with you at least. I'm not going to let you leave until you--!"
Rikou wasn't listening anymore. He puked blood and collapsed in front of her.
School had recently ended. Sakura and Li felt something. Just like the school period it felt as if something was finished. It was like a huge explosion of someone's aura but then it went silent.
No, not silent, faint… Sakura thought. She glanced over to Li who was apparently thinking the same thing that she was thinking.
Li found the aura rather familiar, similar to his own but quite different. No, it wasn't similar to his aura, but Chang, San-Feng's Aura, which he obtained by reading his book. That means…
"Rikou-kun!" Li exclaimed beginning to dash in the direction where he felt the other's presence, his home.
When Li and Sakura finally made it to Li's apartment. Tomoyo made it a few seconds afterward. Meiling and Wei wiped up off the ground, what was apparently blood.
"Syaoran!?!" Meiling looked at the boy in surprise. "What are you doing here, I thought you were back at school!"
"Whose blood is this?" Li asked in shock.
"It's Daidouji-kun's…" Meiling said nervously. "You didn't notice when you left but he was asleep on the couch, and when he woke up he vomited and he left. Wei and I tried to help him, but he wouldn't let anyone, soon he just Teleported and left."
"Meaning he probably went home," Tomoyo stated.
"Hoe?" Sakura asked. "Why there, he could be anywhere."
"Sakura-chan, if you were trying to hide something about yourself, would you hide it out in the open or in the shelter of your own home, ne?"
"Daidouji-san has a point," Li agreed. But what would he be hiding? Li thought for a few seconds. "Right…" Rikou rolled his eyes. "So how's this English guy like?"
"Why don't you just come and see for yourself?" Li asked.
"Can't, I've got business to deal with, not fun though," Rikou said, beginning to sweep dust down the hall. "You ever thought about dying?"
Li stared at the boy. "What?"
Rikou was packing thing away, apparently rather quick, anxious to leave. Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!! Rikou thought to himself, it's not going to be a year, it's going to be sooner! By a huge margin if I stay here.
"(Eng) Rikou, your friends are here!" Hannah called from the bottom of the stairs.
"(Eng) Tell 'em, I'm not home!" Rikou called back.
"(Eng) I believe they already heard that you weren't home from inside the house!"
"Crap…" Rikou rubbed his temples, it made him feel a little better, but it didn't help him at all. Rikou could hear footsteps going up the stairs. He quickly opened a cabinet full of medication bottles and gulped down a handful of capsules from each. He heard the knob of his door turn. The boy slammed the cabinet shut right when the door opened.
"Yo," Rikou said giving a cheerful grin at Sakura and the others. "What's up?"
Tomoyo approached him quietly. "Oni-san, what are you trying got hide?"
"Plenty of crap," The other grumbled. He managed another smile, but none was given back. " 'K I know if I say a lie you guy's aren't going to believe me so I might as well spill the beans and say the truth…"
Rikou yanked open the cabinet behind him. Row's of medication hid behind it. "I take as much medication as someone who's got AIDS, but no I don't got AIDS, but I don't know what would be worse."
Sakura glanced at Rikou's eyes. The friendly, don't-giva-care-'bout-anything eyes were gone. In their place were fury, anger, and regret. "What is this all about?" She whispered.
"Nothing much," Rikou sighed. "Just a little thing in my brain." He tossed the manila folder at the group. "Explains everything." The boy resumed with his packing.
Sakura picked up the folder. Taking a few good looks at it before actually openings it.
Meiling recognized it immediately. "That was that one folder that you had when you were helping me with the groceries. The one you were all apprehensive about, ne?"
Silence. Sakura turned the front page of the folder to view the contents inside.
"NANI!!!" Sakura, Li, Meiling, and Tomoyo exclaimed at once.
(End of Chapter 8)
Well that's a good place to stop, hopefully. I'm going to try to submit every month. So chapters are probably going to be a tad shorter probably around ten pages. I hope that won't be too long. Anyway, if you have any questions or comments, email me at psychic720@yahoo.com! See you in the next chapter!
-psychic720
October 12, 2002