Chapter Three: Connections
Day 3 - Earth
"What?! You can't!" Sakura and Nakuru exclaimed at the same time. Sakura then continued, "you have to stay here. There is no way that you are going with me."
"I volunteer to go with her, master!" Nakuru added in quickly. "You don't have to leave this place. Sakura will have her guardians, and she will also have me there as well. That should be more than enough magic and protection while we are there."
Eriol turned to look at her from where he sat. "And when were you going to tell me this, Nakuru?"
Biting her lip, Nakuru fell silence when she couldn't come up with an answer. Satisfied with that, Eriol turned back to look at Sakura. "This time, I will go with you as well. This is not a test, Sakura, and I am not going to let such a good chance for vacation past."
The other four in the room stared at him and exclaimed, "VACATION?!"
Eriol nodded. "I think that I would need one after coming back here, you know. It will be a vacation from a vacation," he decided.
Sakura stared at him, her mouth partly opened as she gaped at him. "You still can't come," she finally repeated herself. "I can always tie you up and leave you here until Spinel or my family finds you."
"Wait!" Cerberus interrupted immediately, something dawning to him when he continued to watch what Sakura was doing. "You're planning to leave... right now?!"
"Well, in an hour or two, hopefully, if we can get a portal to open," she said, as if that was exactly what everybody else was thinking as well.
Turning to look at her, Eriol said, "Sakura, the Shadow World's time is parallel to ours. If we are gone for one day, then one day would pass here as well. What do you suggest for us to do if we get stuck there, or if it is going to take a long time to find Syaoran?"
"Nothing, because WE will not be going anywhere," Sakura replied. "You are still not coming with me," she said as she got up, and walked to her closet. Taking out a sports bag, she threw it onto her bed. "I welcome Yue, Cerberus, and Nakuru, but I made a deal with her that if she helps me, you'd stay here, just as she wanted."
Staring at her, Eriol asked, "Are you sure that you do not want me there?"
Sakura nodded her head determinedly, even though she admitted secretly to herself his protection was greatly welcomed. Who knew what kind of monsters lived in the Shadow World, though she was content with the thought that at least some humans were there. "I do not need you to follow me this time. I guess you were hoping for a chance or something to make it up to me or something, but that's okay, Eriol. You can just stay here, as your guardians would have wished."
Shrugging, Eriol said, "Fine. But if you cannot open the portal, do not come to me, seeking an answer." Whoa. Did he sound pissed. "And I wasn't 'making up' for anything. I just thought that you would have felt better if more people could have gone to free Syaoran. But fine. Just don't look for me if you can't do anything." With those words, he got up, and just left.
Ignoring him, Sakura continued to pack with the three guardians sitting there speechless.
"Well," Cerberus said, clearing his throat, "that was quite a good way to leave impressions on somebody."
"Oh, come on, Cerberus," Sakura rolled her eyes. "What did you want me to do? Get down and beg on my knees for him to come with me?!"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Nakuru yelled.
"I know!" Sakura agreed. "That is why I didn't do it. Now... How are we going to open a portal? What will we need?"
Biting her lip, Nakuru said softly, with a tone of dread in her voice, "I'm afraid that we are going to have to do this the next day. He is calling for me to return."
"Oh, no," Sakura whispered. "Eriol won't... he won't do anything to you... will he?"
Sighing, and shaking his head, Nakuru responded, "he always gives me the lecture, and always leaves me feeling guilty and all. I hate it when he does that! It's the worse punishment ever... Well, see you guys, and we'll see how we can work this out. I need to stop him from going with you, and when I do, I'll then help you get to the Shadow World." With those words, Nakuru stood up, nodded her head to them, and left Sakura's house.
Sakura sat down on her bed. She covered her face with her hands as she moaned, "what is happening to me? I can't believe that I just blew Eriol off like that."
"Eh... Not too big of a loss, if you ask me," Cerberus shrugged, and got a look from Yue in return.
"But he is my friend, Cerberus," Sakura sighed. "And how in the world did he find out in the first place?!
"Well, Kaho is quite resourceful," Yue suggested.
Never taking her face out of her hands, Sakura nodded to at least show that she was listening.
"What do you want us to do now, Sakura?" Cerberus asked, his expression serious.
"I don't know," she whispered, still not looking at them. "I think that I just want some time alone, is that okay? Just... just until I hear from you guys that we can do the portal thing." Finally, she peeked at them, and continued, "I've packed everything up, and I'm ready to go. But since Eriol just popped up, and since we don't have the materials for the spell, we just can't go..."
"Do not worry, Sakura," Yue said softly, trying to reassure her. "We should be able to depart by tomorrow at the latest. And when we do, you should have Mirror take your place. It is as Eriol said: we cannot have people know that you are gone. It would cause quite some disturbances and all."
Sakura nodded her head. "Okay then. I guess I should get some sleep now. But with Syaoran gone, I just don't know... And did you see him?! The condition he's in? And it's not only him, either. All those humans... Th-they're like - slaves! If we can, I want to stop whatever is going on there. Their faces, they all look so... unhappy..."
Cerberus nodded. "We will think of something, Sakura. But you must know that you cannot always be the savior of the world. Even that takes some help along the way. Come now. You must sleep."
Sakura shifted around to get under her blanket. "Fine," she yawned. "But please..." she said softly, looking up at them with frightened eyes. "Don't leave me... Don't do what Syaoran did. Even if he didn't mean it, and I now he didn't, it still hurts. Please, you guys. Even if you're under a spell, don't leave me..."
Cerberus smiled softly at her, and nuzzled her face softly. "I promise. We will not desert you. Now sleep..."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 4 - Shadow World
Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ooouuuccchhh!!!! "AH!" Syaoran gasped.
"Whoa. Hold it there," Tgaeh chuckled.
"What," Syaoran managed to choke out in a small voice. "What happened to me?!"
"That was your first time doing hard labor, am I correct?" Tgaeh said, dragging a wooden chair to sit down next to Syaoran, who was laying down.
"I, well, I did training before. But... Wow," he groaned. "Nothing compares to this. Ultimate sore body."
"It is not that big of a surprise. Nobody does that good for a first trial. Come now. You can rest for maybe a half more hour at the most. But then, you need to go back to work. We have to hit the ruins when the sun rises up from the mountains."
"You mean..." Syaoran said, his eyes widening. "It's not even daylight, yet?!"
Tgaeh shook his head. "My siblings have gone to wash. You should do so, too. It will refresh you a bit."
"I feel as if I can hardly move, though," Syaoran complained. "How can you take this everyday, Tgaeh? And what in the world keeps you from dying? How do you guys get paid?!"
"Didn't you know?" Tgaeh asked. "All men must work at the ruins. Women stay here in the villages to tend to the flocks and crops." Now that Syaoran thought about it, he didn't really see any women there when he was gathering meaningless rocks into his baskets. God... This sounded like the old days. "Oh, and the disabled stay to tend at the villages as well."
"So... at least they don't REALLY force you to work if you're disabled, right?" Syaoran asked.
"No, that is not it. One who is disabled must be stated to be disabled first. Then he or she will be able to stay away from the ruins."
"Why are they called the ruins??" Syaoran asked.
"Because they are ruined buildings," Tgaeh laughed, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Tagay! Tagay!" a little voice shrieked, saying Tgaeh's name wrong.
His eyes widening, Tgaeh jerked up from his seat and ran out of the door, grabbing a hold of a lantern as he did. Slowly and carefully, Syaoran got up, and tried to follow as well. Damn! This is so freaking PATHETIC!!! Thank God that nobody from home can see me... Having that thought pop up into his head, Syaoran then remembered that he was miles, or maybe even more, away from his home. Sighing, Syaoran tried to push that thought away as he chased after Tgaeh, able to fast walk a bit.
"What's wrong, Sharhn?!" Tgaeh asked urgently when he got out of the door.
Syaoran peeked out, and smiled at the small little, skinny girl there, which he met last night. She was up to Tgaeh's thigh, and had short clumps of brown hair tied in a messy ponytail. Her big, crystal green eyes had a threatening tear in it.
"D-d-dere is shumtin in da puu," she sniffed, wrapping her arms around her brother's knee.
"Where is Brache?!" Tgaeh demanded, peeking cautiously into the deep washing pool, which went up to waist height.
"'E wan awae," she responded.
Shaking his head, Tgaeh peered in some more, and then, after a moment, he started to chuckle again in that deep soft voice of his. Tgaeh dipped his arm into the water without even rolling up his sleeve, and then reaching in a bit deeper, until a look of satisfaction ran across his face. Bringing his arm back up, wet sleeve and all, Tgaeh crouched down next to Sharhn, holding something in his hand. "Is this what scared you?" he smiled, and then unfolded his hand.
Suddenly, something jumped sharply out, causing Sharhn to shriek and jumped to clutch her own brother tight.
Walking out, Syaoran took a look at the creature that was jumping around. It had the back legs of a frog, same texture skin, and about the same size, if not a bit smaller. But its color was bright pink, and had long, slimy bat-like ears that reached the ground. The creature's head had three brown-colored eyes, and a long nose that curled up. Ewwwww. "What is that?!" Syaoran cried, realizing later that he said it at the same time as Sharhn.
Tgaeh raised an eyebrow at Syaoran's reaction, then replied, "that is a groppa. Groppas are very common in these areas, but I guess that Sharhn has never seen one before. Come now, Sharhn. There is nothing to be afraid of. Groppas don't hurt you."
"But thwey're scaway," she whimpered, her arms still wrapped around Tgaeh's neck, choking him a bit.
Tgaeh chuckled again as he stood up, carrying Sharhn with him as he did. "Come on. Let's go find that chicken brother of yours," he laughed.
"Wait!" Syaoran said, walking quickly up to him as they started to look for Tgaeh's younger brother. "You have chickens here?!"
Blinking, Tgaeh said, "Oh. Good. So where you come from, they have those as well?"
Oh, JOY! Syaoran smiled. already feeling a bit of his cramps going away at this happy thought. So this place didn't have too many different creatures that he hasn't seen before. At least there were chickens. "Hey, Tgaeh, have you ever heard of horses...."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 4 - Earth
"Sakura."
Taking another bite out of her sandwich, and not looking up, she said, "what is it, Tomoyo? Eriol?"
Eriol and Tomoyo looked at each other. Then, they sat down next to her under the cool and refreshing shade of the tree. "Um, Sakura," Tomoyo said, nervousness in her voice, "I... Eriol informed me of a little bit of what's going on. And... well..."
"What?" Sakura asked. "You want to come too?"
"Yes," she replied simply. "I want to go along with you."
"Hey!" Eriol exclaimed. "I didn't hear you say that before!"
"You can't. And Eriol can't either," Sakura said in the same tone as Tomoyo.
Sighing, Tomoyo took Sakura's hand tightly into hers. "Sakura..." she whispered. Sakura released her sandwich from her grasp, which was on her lap. Slowly, she looked up at Tomoyo, who smiled softly and sadly at her. "We can get through this," she said in a gentle voice. "I'm not here to pity you, Sakura; I'm here to be your friend. And I've been doing that for quite a while already."
Choking a bit, Sakura flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around Tomoyo's neck, feeling overwhelming emotions churning inside of her. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't. But she couldn't help feeling a bit happy. Well, yeah, she knew already that Tomoyo was going to be there for her forever, and she had her guardians. And now Eriol is back in her life, even though she's been a bit cold about it. But still. Hearing the words come out of Tomoyo's mouth gave it a little bit her. It could keep her going.
"Thanks, Tomoyo," she whispered, not caring that Eriol was seeing her break down like this. He already did when he came back to Japan on his first day.
"No problem, Sakura," Tomoyo smiled. "So wherever you're going, I'm going with you. There is no way that you can stop here."
Nodding slightly, Sakura said through a quivering smile, "okay. I understand."
Eriol shook his head. Why couldn't he be like Tomoyo, and get Sakura to let him go as well? Sighing, he sat down next to the two still-hugging friends. "Ahh..." he said, shaking his head. "Sakura-san is not a fair person at all."
Finally letting her friend go, Sakura sat back down with her back to the tree. "You know not to call me that, Eriol," she sniffed.
"Well, if Sakura-san wishes for another name, then she must comply to my wishes as well," Eriol smiled.
"He'd be a great help to the group, Sakura," Tomoyo tried.
Sakura shook her head. "I can't. I promised Nakuru that I would keep Eriol out of this." Then, she turned to him. "Did you hear me on this? I can't let you come, Eriol. Please... I gave my promise to Nakuru that you would stay here."
"Maybe you can have a temporary loss of hearing?" Eriol suggested, smiling a bit.
Sakura frowned a bit. "Eriol? Are you feeling well?" she asked. "Ever since you came back here, you... Oh, maybe it's just me." Sakura shook her head. "People can change in all these years."
Realizing what she said, Eriol lost the smile he had a couple seconds ago. "It's not you," he replied grimly. "I've recognized what's been happening to me as well. Whoever brought Syaoran to the Shadow World has also caused this to happen to me."
Tomoyo turned to look at him. "What? What's wrong?"
Holding his hands in front of his face, Eriol shook his head. "I don't know," he whispered. "Something... My rationality... It's fading from me. I don't know how to explain it, really. All I know is that all my experiences, my wisdom from my memories from my lifetimes before... They're fading from my mind. It's as if.. as if... Oh, God. I don't even know how to explain it."
"It's as if..." Sakura suggested, "you're starting to act like a regular teenager? Just somebody who's trying to have some fun and kid around and try some dishonest stuff? Just like any other happy, hyper teenager boy?"
Blinking, Eriol took in her words. Then, he nodded cautiously, carefully. "Maybe..." he dragged that word a bit. "But whatever it is, it's causing me to become a bit on the careless side, Sakura. This is why I must go along with you. I have answers to find for myself as well. It is not only to help you."
"Thanks for the words of caring, Eriol," Sakura mumbled.
Eriol blinked again, and realized what he had just said. "AH!" he gave a short cry of frustration. "See? See what I mean?! Something is happening to me, and I don't even know what it is! This is not me! This is not who I am! I am - I am - I am-"
"Whoa, Eriol. You're freaking out," Tomoyo said, reaching out to hold onto his arm. "You are Eriol. You are who you are, and you're just changing a bit. There is nothing wrong with that."
"But..." Eriol said, looking up at her. Then, he turned away, and raked his fingers through his hair in confusion. "I don't get this..." he finally said, taking his glasses off to wipe them with his shirt. Holding them up to the sunlight, he stared through them. A few silent moments later, he turned to Sakura. "I will help you open the portal," he said in a soft voice. "And if you want me to, I will go with you. If you do not wish for me to come, then I will listen. It will be your choice, Sakura."
Sakura nodded.
Eriol then continued. "We will do the spell tonight. Tomoyo, Yue, Cerberus, and Nakuru will be there. I will go home after school to pick up the materials needed." Then, he looked at his watch. "Come now. Class will be starting soon."
As the three of them got up, Sakura looked at Eriol. "Eriol," she said. "How long are you planning to stay?"
Eriol, after in another few thoughtful and silent minutes, replied back with a smile, "that will be decided by you as well, Sakura."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 4 - Shadow World
"Brache!" Tgaeh cried. "Brache, get your behind out here right now! You do not want me to catch you when I am angry, and you know that already!"
"Why didn't I meet Brache last night?" "He usually stays away from the house a lot, and I guess that I never bothered to mention him. I can't stop him from doing what he does. But during the day, I need him here to watch over Sharhn."
"Are you their guardian?" Syaoran asked him in a low voice.
"They're all I have left, and I'm all they have left," Tgaeh replied softly. "I'm their brother, but I am their mother and father as well. Worrying is just about all I can when I leave them here. Brache is excused from the ruins so that he can take care of Sharhn during the day. But he is irresponsible, so I can't help but want to check on them all the time. But that is impossible to do. BRACHE!!!"
"Oh, quit your yelling," somebody grumbled from the next corner of the house they were circling. The houses here where made of cement. Syaoran knocked on the wall, and his eyes widened. Held together good, too. He quickly turned his attention back to the sulking boy in front of him. He looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old, and had unruly, messy brown hair. Brache was about up to Tgaeh's chest height, and had defying, bright blue eyes. His lips were shaped in a pout as he glared at them.
"What are you doing, Brache?! Sunrise is in twenty minutes, and I have to leave to the ruins! You need to take care of Sharhn for me, and you know that. You should consider yourself lucky for not having to go to pick up rocks! Why must you make things so hard???"
"I don't want to take care of Sharhn," he said, moping a bit.
Tgaeh rolled his eyes and then shook his head. "What will I do with you, Brache? I need to leave soon. Please don't let Sharhn out of your sights. I can't have you two disappearing on me..."
"Don gwo," Sharhn cried, grabbing onto Tgaeh's shirt, and held onto it tightly. "Bwack don wanna stay wit mwe..."
Tgaeh turned to look down at Brache. "Brache..." he whispered. "Come now..."
"If mother and father were here-" he started.
"And unfortunately, they are not, Brache," Tgaeh said. Syaoran heard his voice crack a bit with those words, but it was as if he has been through this conversation many times before. "I need you to be like them. I need you to be strong, and watch over Sharhn. How else can I make sure that you all are safe??? It is hard enough to come home exhausted everyday. Please, Brache. Do not make this any harder than it already is."
Brache looked up at him, an expression of pure pain on his face. But reluctantly, he nodded, and strained a smile. "I'm sorry, Sharhn," he said, walking up to them. "I'll play with you today, okay? And protect you. Tgaeh has to go to work, and we can go help in the fields. Lady Khirn might need our help."
Peeking out from her embrace, Sharhn stared at her brother. "Weally?" she squeaked.
Brache nodded. "Don't you want to see Lady Khirn again?" he asked.
Finally, Sharhn let go of Tgaeh, and jumped onto her second brother. "Yay!!!" she giggled and squealed. "Brack wikes mwe again!!!"
"It is not as if I never did," Brache laughed, holding her up in the air. Then, he turned to Syaoran and Tgaeh, nodding his head towards another direction, telling them to go to work already. Tgaeh nodded in thanks, and walked off, with Syaoran following him.
"I don't get it," Syaoran said as they walked back to the well. Syaoran started to splash his face with water, reveling in the cool and refreshing taste he got back. "How did you change his mind? Brache didn't look as if he was going to move at all."
Tgaeh shook his head, mentally exhausted, if Syaoran could tell right. "Brache and I do this at least once a week. And each time, he mentions our mum and dad. I don't like it, but it takes all I can to make sure that he listens to me. I give him the same lecture each time, and he follows my rules every time afterwards. It's as if he needs me to reassure him to do what he needs to do in order for us to move on. But... I don't know how long it will take before he breaks away from me. It scares me," Tgaeh gulped.
Syaoran stopped splashing water onto his face as he heard Tgaeh say those words. "I wish there was something that I can do for you," he said, standing up to look at his new friend. "I mean, you gave me a roof to sleep under until things go steady, and helped me since you met me yesterday. Thank you."
Tgaeh nodded his head slightly. "It's the best that I can do for you. After all, if the master has brought you here, then there must be a reason that she wants you here. And since we met, I guess that it'd be better if I can keep you from getting into trouble."
"Why?" Syaoran asked cautiously.
"I also sense power in you," Tgaeh admitted. "It's hard not to when you've been exposed to it, and I have been very exposed to it. You have powers, and I think that you might be the one of which our prophecies speak of."
Syaoran blinked. Okay. So there was a reason that this man was nice to him. "Thanks," he muttered. "And I thought you were doing this just out of goodness and hospitality. Instead, it turns out that you want something from me."
Tgaeh shook his head. "I am sorry, Syaoran."
"No, no," Syaoran said, shaking his head. "I understand. Just... Can you tell me anything about this 'prophecy'?"
"I'll do better," Tgaeh replied, a side of his lip moving up to form half a smile. "I'll show you after we finish our work for the end of the day."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 4 - Earth
"Release!" Sakura shouted as her key expanded and grew to a wand. She then took out a pink card of hers, and threw it into the air. "Mirror!"
A few seconds later, an exact duplicate of her appeared right in front of her eyes, wearing the same thing. Sakura had on a pair of faded jeans and green t-shirt, dressing plainly so that she didn't worry too much about it when she would open the portal. "I need you to stay here, Mirror," Sakura informed her. "Make sure that people think that I'm still here, while I'll be gone in an adventure, please? I'm sure Touya will suspect soon, so make sure that you can reassure him or something, okay? I don't want him thinking that I'm going to be in any danger or stuff like that." Even though I might be... Sakura thought.
Once she saw her double nod, Sakura smiled and turned to the others, her bag of stuff at her side. Cerberus, Yue, Nakuru, Eriol, and Tomoyo were standing there as well. "Okay. We can open the portal now."
Eriol turned to look at her. "Have you decided?" he asked.
Sakura nodded. "It's not my choice. You are of your own free will. If you want to come with me, Eriol, then you can. If you don't, then fine, whatever."
Eriol smiled, and nodded. "Then it is decided. I shall go with you."
"Wait! What about me???" Tomoyo asked. "And Eriol as well now? We, too, have school and all..."
"I've taken care of that," Eriol reassured her. "Don't worry about a thing there. "Spinel and Kaho have worked up a spell that is quite efficient. There should be no problems at all."
Sakura nodded. "Okay then. Let's do this."