Another chapter, but I'm afraid it's not much of one. Just a filler. But
may I please request more reviews? It just lets me know how fast you want a
new chapter and how many people are reading. Right now, it doesn't seem
like that many.
Chapter 21- Incognito
(Note: means translated from Chinese. Only Aerin, Sakura, and Tomoyo, and Kero will speak Japanese. Kero and Aerin DO know Chinese, though.)
"Hey, Tomoyo, hold on!" Sakura tried in vain to get the sparkly-eyed girl to calm down as she was pushed onto the bed. "There's no time for that! Aerin, do you have a closet of your clothes?" A sweat drop rolled down their gracious host's head. "Umm. yeah, over there. by the desk." Tomoyo smiled. In a flash, she went through the closet, grabbed everything she could carry and dropped it back on the bed. Tomoyo rolled up her sleeves as Syaoran, Mia, Kero, and Aerin could only watch and wonder.
Sakura was completely dumbfounded. She had no idea what was going on. Tomoyo took a good look at Aerin, measured hers and Sakura's waists with some measuring tape (which Tomoyo kept with her at all times for just such an emergency), and chose the right outfit. "Here we go, Sakura!" "Hoe?" In the blink of an eye, Tomoyo got to work.
Sakura's clothes fluttered threw the air as Tomoyo tossed them around. As Sakura's shirt floated down in front of Syaoran, he turned bright red. "AAAH!" The embarrassed boy turned around immediately to avoid seeing anything else. But this also made it hard to see the shoe that went flying and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor. Kero laughed at the young Xiao Lan until he was hit by the other shoe and crashed into the floor.
"DONE!" Tomoyo stood back and let Sakura stand up. Syaoran lifted the blouse off his face and took a gander. His eyes widened. "Sakura? Is that really you?"
The young Card mistress replied, "Umm. I think I'm me, but I'm not sure what just happened." Mia held up a mirror for Sakura, but she, herself, was a little shocked. When Sakura gazed into the mirror, her eyes shrunk. "HOEEEEEE! I'm not me! I'm Aerin!" Tomoyo giggled. "No, you just look identical to her. I used everything I had. Luckily, yours and Aerin's dimensions are nearly identical. Almost perfect in every way." Tomoyo's eyes began to sparkle once again. "Just think, how many girls are so lucky as to not only have a kawaii magical girl as a friend, but get to see her almost 6 or 7 years older? I have to get my camera!" Tomoyo ran to her bag and picked up her portable camcorder.
A sweat drop rolled down Aerin-chan's head. "Sakura, is it just me. or do we look TOO identical?" Sakura sighed. "Well, Tomoyo did make me wear your clothes." Aerin shook her head. "that's not what I mean. What I mean is, besides the clothes, umm. well. Look in a mirror." The two girls stood side by side. The mirror image was shocking. There was almost no difference at all. At first glance, from their big green eyes, to the long, brown hair, and even their pierced ears, (which Sakura somehow manages to get when she ages) they were like twins. Neither girl knew what to say. They could only stare in silence. They weren't even related! But suddenly, an image appeared in the mirror, and whatever it was, it was right behind them. It was.
"TOMOYO!" "Oh, I couldn't miss this moment! Sakura-chan and Aer-ling-chan together." Aerin just stared at the camcorder, trying to figure out what it was. "Ah, when I read her mind, I knew she loved those things, but I wasn't sure what they were. Now I know! They're some kind of weird eyeglass to help you see people better!" Aerin thought to herself.
A sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Umm. Tomoyo, uhhh. I think you don't have enough time for filming today." The black haired, blue-eyed girl looked back from her bag, confused. "Huh? Why not?" Aerin quickly tried to come up with a good excuse, but she wasn't very good at lying. "Because. ummm. err. I think what Sakura meant was. was." "It's time for your makeover!" Mia added, saving both Sakura and Aerin's skins. Tomoyo snapped her finger. "How could I forget? I get to look like you, Sakura-chan, a dream come true." "Well. ummm. how exactly are we going to do this? You don't really look very much like me. Your hair, eyes, and skin are all a different color." Tomoyo grinned. "Don't worry, I always carry around extra wigs, hair dye, contact lenses, makeup, and more, just in case." Everyone else fell to the ground in exasperation.
Syaoran slowly walked to the door and opened it. "I'd. love to help with Tomoyo's makeover. But, I'd better go check on Takumi." Mia grabbed Syaoran by the arm. "Oh, no, you're not getting off THAT easily. If Sakura, Kero, Aerin, and I have to help Tomoyo with this, YOU'RE helping too!" The teenage heart breaker sighed. "Alright, I'll help. But I don't know if I can. I mean, look at what Tomoyo is doing now!" Mia turned around to see Tomoyo being measured by the identical-looking Sakura and Aerin. Mia turned back around. "I don't see anything w-" Syaoran was gone. "HEY! YOU COME BACK HERE, THAT'S UNFAIR!" Mia chased after the boy, but her 12-year-old legs just weren't long enough. The disappointed girl walked back to the room to help with Tomoyo. "Hmph. I can't believe I fell for that."
Syaoran exited the front gates of the house and gave a deep sigh. "That was a close one. But I have to find Takumi and switch places with him. And I bet none of the girls want to go in a bar. Hell, I don't even want to. But I guess I have to do it. Now, where would that bar be?"
The city was huge. It could literally take half a day to find anything if you didn't know where it was. And that was if you didn't get lost and had to retrace your steps. "Wait, maybe Aerin wrote its location on that letter she told me to give Takumi." The teen reached into his pocket and unfolded it. "Huh? This letter. makes no sense whatsoever. But. ah, in the corner, 'Hong Kong Tavern.' There's only one bar in Hong Kong in the present with that name. I wonder if maybe it was started all the way back here?" The boy pondered for a minute. He tried to recall the location of the shop. "If I remember correctly. the bar should be. half a kilometer if you take. a left from the gates. Yes, I remember now. I've seen it while walking through the streets." The road wasn't paved, but even in his mind, he knew the way as he walked to his goal.
"Now, which shade do you think looks better?" "Hmm. I think the red shade looks better than the pink, but maybe the pink looks more natural." "Yeah, I always wear the pink. But what should we do about the hair? It's longer than mine."
The three girls crowded around a starry-eyed Tomoyo, dressing her up as best as they could. "Oh, I can't wait to see myself! It's a dream come true!" Sakura put one hand on Tomoyo's shoulder. "Tomoyo, how do you think we can get your hair to be like mine? Or rather how mine used to look? Your hair is beautiful, but mine is a lot shorter. And you know your mother likes your hair long." Tomoyo sighed. "I know mother would never approve of me cutting my hair. It reminds her of your mother. But, I have plenty of wigs!" Tomoyo searched through a giant bag of differently colored wigs that was beside the bed. A sweat drop rolled down Sakura's now-long hair. "Umm. Tomoyo? I can understand the makeup, and the outfits, but how and why do you keep a bag of wigs with you?"
"Aha! I found it!" Tomoyo curled her hair into a bun and hid it under the artificial headwear. "How do I look?" Tomoyo stood up and everyone clapped. "Almost perfect!" Kero replied. "Almost?" Tomoyo questioned. She was a near- perfect replica of Sakura in every way. "I have the special skin cream to make my skin as dark as Sakura's, the same hairstyle, the Chinese robes Sakura wore last time we came to Hong Kong, and even a painted model of the Key necklace. What's missing?" She held up a mirror. "Ah, I see." Tomoyo's eyes were still a deep, deep blue. Kero dived down into a bag of clothes and popped out with a small blue box. "Found them!" He floated over to the Sakura look-alike and handed her the box. Tomoyo popped the box opened and pulled out two contact lenses. She squinted one eye and dropped a contact in its twin. She did the same for the other. When she opened her eyes again, they were a flawless emerald green, just like Sakura's.
"WOW! You look perfect!" said Sakura admiringly. Tomoyo looked in a mirror on the wall. "Oh, wow." She was nigh speechless. "I. don't know what to say. it's. a dream come true. KAWAII!" Mia asked, "Maybe you should tone down on the screaming like that. Koji will suspect something is wrong if you don't sound like Sakura." Tomoyo smiled. "Don't you worry. I've been practicing." "Hoe?" Sakura exclaimed. "Practicing?" The duplicate smiled. "Listen: 'We have to stop Koji no matter what! I won't let anyone get hurt!'" Tomoyo spoke so perfectly that even Sakura thought she was listening to herself. The girl's eyes shrunk. "How. did you do that, Tomoyo? You sounded exactly like me." The young look-alike giggled. "Well, you don't practice singing all of your life without picking up a few tricks. Now, let's hurry to our places before Koji arrives! Alright, Sakura? Oops, I mean 'Aerin'?" Sakura nodded and sat down on the bed. "I'll pretend to nap here, you wait outside, Mia will go with Aerin to the ceremony for all the Li women, and Kero will join up with Syaoran."
Kero gnashed his teeth. "Hey, why am I going to have to follow the gaki?" Aerin sighed deeply. "We already explained this. The bar Takumi is probably at is MEN ONLY, except for maybe a waitress or two. Do any of us look like boys? Besides, you can probably find him in time, since you can fly and we're all too busy with other things." Kero growled again. "Alright, I'll do it, for all of you." The tiny beast flew out through the window that the message from Koji had broken. Tomoyo giggled. "Kero acts mean sometimes, but you can tell even he cares about Li-kun. Oh! We better get moving! We'll come in if we hear anything!" Tomoyo, Aerin, and Mia all left the room in a hurry.
Sakura stared out the broken window. The sun was beginning to set. "I wonder how Li-kun is doing."
"Hong Kong Tavern, huh? This must be the place." Syaoran stood before a large 2-story bar. It wasn't very classy. The sides were made of plain wood. The windows didn't even have glass. They were just wholes in the wall. Inside, the chanting and cheering of men could be heard in groups. "Ugh. Something tells me it's going to be a long night."
The inside of the tavern was no better than the outside. Not much in the way of decoration. There was a table to the right of the entrance. It had five total drunkards sitting together, being as boisterous as possible. The rest of the tavern was filled with others, drinking away, but not quite as badly as the first table. "Ugh, it will take me forever to find Takumi. And he could be so drunk he can't even remember who he is."
Syaoran saw a table with only one other person at it, a skinny boy around his age, and decided to have a seat. "Now, where should I start looking?" "So, what can I get you two gentlemen? A couple glasses of our finest wine? Maybe a tall glass of ale? We're the only bar in all of China to have them, you know. Imported from Europe. Ah, Li clan clothes? I'll make everything on the house, in that case, seeing as the clan owns this tavern." A waitress asked. "Oh, we're not together, but I'll just take a water," Syaoran said. "I'll have one as well," the stranger said. The waitress sighed. "Takumi, you know the guards are always going to drag you here, why not at least have some fun? Have a glass of something else for once. Ah, well, I'll go get those drinks." She bowed and returned to the counter.
Syaoran turned around. "Takumi?" The boy stared back with big, brown eyes. "Have you heard of me?" Syaoran stood up. "My name is Li Xiao Lan. I've come here to bring you news about Aerin."
"Aerin? How to do you know my wife-to-be? I mean, I've never even heard of you. And I thought I knew all of the Li clan!" "Let's talk about this outside, shall we?" Takumi shook his head. "I can't. The guards sent here to protect me won't allow it." A sweat drop rolled down Syaoran's head as he pointed to the first table of drunken idiots; a couple of them had even passed out. "You wouldn't happen to mean those alcoholics over there, would you?" Takumi let out a great sigh and shook his head slowly in shame. "Yes, those are them. Some elite guard. Let's go."
Outside, there was better lighting in the sunset. They could both clearly see each other for the first time. "WHAT?!" They both exclaimed. "You look almost exactly like me!" It was true. From their dark brown eyes and hair, to their tall but skinny figure, they looked nearly identical, like twins. The only difference was that Syaoran seemed a few centimeters taller. Their clothes were quite different, though. Syaoran was still clad in the same outfit he'd always worn to capture Clow Cards or to help Sakura create a Sakura Card, only the outfit was larger to support his new age. Takumi wore an overly simple blue Chinese robe and nothing more, not even any shoes. It had a golden dragon on each side. But if it weren't for their height and their clothes, they would've looked like mirror images.
"Well, enough about how we look. Why did you call me out here, Li. Xiao Lan, was it?" Syaoran pulled the note from his pocket and kept it in one hand. "We need to switch places." All was silent, except for the warm sunset breeze that flowed through their clothes and hair. "Switch. places? What do you mean by that?" Syaoran handed the baffled groom the letter he had been given.
As soon as Takumi finished reading his letter, he blushed almost as badly as Syaoran usually does. "These. I mean. this. is the speech I used to. propose. No one could ever know about this. except. my sweet, sweet bride. Alright, Mr. Xiao Lan, I believe you. I'm not sure why you want to trade places with me, but I'll do whatever you tell me to."
A minute later, Syaoran closed his new robes, handing over his usual clothes to Takumi. "Now, you know what to do when you get to the mansion, am I right?" Takumi nodded. "Don't worry, Koji won't suspect a thing. I know the plan. Now, you just go inside and pretend you're bored out of your mind. If you can do that, the guards will never notice the difference." Syaoran nodded, and they both set off.
Aerin and Mia sat down at a long table of food, but their thoughts weren't on the succulent poultry, the ripe fruit, or the delectable desserts. Instead, they both stared up through a bright skylight, at the bright stars that began to show.
Sakura was staring up into the night sky on the balcony, the same sky as Mia and Aerin. "It's such a beautiful night." Sakura said. "Almost as beautiful as-"
"--My fair bride. I can't take it any longer. I will protect you! Koji, you won't lay a hand on her." It was Takumi, opening the gates to the Li Manor. He stared up one last time into the dusk sky. "The stars. they remind me so much-"
"--Of my dear, sweet Sakura... So bright, so full of hope." Tomoyo was in the room next to Sakura, staring out the window in impatience. "I can't wait to show off my new look to everyone! But, I have to wait-"
"-This out." Syaoran sat amongst the drunken fools in the bar. All of the guards sent to guard Takumi had passed out on the floor. Almost everyone else had left. Instead of sitting around and waiting for the guards to wake, the boy in disguise decided to wait outside. As he leaned against the wall outside, he looked up at the constellations. "You know, maybe this isn't so bad. It's a nice warm night, the stars are shining, and the breeze is blowing. But still, with all this time traveling, I hope this is the last-"
"--Time you'll ever see a starlit night, my little friends." Koji snapped an ammo clip into a pistol. He was actually hovering in the air well above the Li Mansion. "At midnight tonight, it's the end of you all!"
To be continued.
Chapter 21- Incognito
(Note: means translated from Chinese. Only Aerin, Sakura, and Tomoyo, and Kero will speak Japanese. Kero and Aerin DO know Chinese, though.)
"Hey, Tomoyo, hold on!" Sakura tried in vain to get the sparkly-eyed girl to calm down as she was pushed onto the bed. "There's no time for that! Aerin, do you have a closet of your clothes?" A sweat drop rolled down their gracious host's head. "Umm. yeah, over there. by the desk." Tomoyo smiled. In a flash, she went through the closet, grabbed everything she could carry and dropped it back on the bed. Tomoyo rolled up her sleeves as Syaoran, Mia, Kero, and Aerin could only watch and wonder.
Sakura was completely dumbfounded. She had no idea what was going on. Tomoyo took a good look at Aerin, measured hers and Sakura's waists with some measuring tape (which Tomoyo kept with her at all times for just such an emergency), and chose the right outfit. "Here we go, Sakura!" "Hoe?" In the blink of an eye, Tomoyo got to work.
Sakura's clothes fluttered threw the air as Tomoyo tossed them around. As Sakura's shirt floated down in front of Syaoran, he turned bright red. "AAAH!" The embarrassed boy turned around immediately to avoid seeing anything else. But this also made it hard to see the shoe that went flying and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor. Kero laughed at the young Xiao Lan until he was hit by the other shoe and crashed into the floor.
"DONE!" Tomoyo stood back and let Sakura stand up. Syaoran lifted the blouse off his face and took a gander. His eyes widened. "Sakura? Is that really you?"
The young Card mistress replied, "Umm. I think I'm me, but I'm not sure what just happened." Mia held up a mirror for Sakura, but she, herself, was a little shocked. When Sakura gazed into the mirror, her eyes shrunk. "HOEEEEEE! I'm not me! I'm Aerin!" Tomoyo giggled. "No, you just look identical to her. I used everything I had. Luckily, yours and Aerin's dimensions are nearly identical. Almost perfect in every way." Tomoyo's eyes began to sparkle once again. "Just think, how many girls are so lucky as to not only have a kawaii magical girl as a friend, but get to see her almost 6 or 7 years older? I have to get my camera!" Tomoyo ran to her bag and picked up her portable camcorder.
A sweat drop rolled down Aerin-chan's head. "Sakura, is it just me. or do we look TOO identical?" Sakura sighed. "Well, Tomoyo did make me wear your clothes." Aerin shook her head. "that's not what I mean. What I mean is, besides the clothes, umm. well. Look in a mirror." The two girls stood side by side. The mirror image was shocking. There was almost no difference at all. At first glance, from their big green eyes, to the long, brown hair, and even their pierced ears, (which Sakura somehow manages to get when she ages) they were like twins. Neither girl knew what to say. They could only stare in silence. They weren't even related! But suddenly, an image appeared in the mirror, and whatever it was, it was right behind them. It was.
"TOMOYO!" "Oh, I couldn't miss this moment! Sakura-chan and Aer-ling-chan together." Aerin just stared at the camcorder, trying to figure out what it was. "Ah, when I read her mind, I knew she loved those things, but I wasn't sure what they were. Now I know! They're some kind of weird eyeglass to help you see people better!" Aerin thought to herself.
A sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Umm. Tomoyo, uhhh. I think you don't have enough time for filming today." The black haired, blue-eyed girl looked back from her bag, confused. "Huh? Why not?" Aerin quickly tried to come up with a good excuse, but she wasn't very good at lying. "Because. ummm. err. I think what Sakura meant was. was." "It's time for your makeover!" Mia added, saving both Sakura and Aerin's skins. Tomoyo snapped her finger. "How could I forget? I get to look like you, Sakura-chan, a dream come true." "Well. ummm. how exactly are we going to do this? You don't really look very much like me. Your hair, eyes, and skin are all a different color." Tomoyo grinned. "Don't worry, I always carry around extra wigs, hair dye, contact lenses, makeup, and more, just in case." Everyone else fell to the ground in exasperation.
Syaoran slowly walked to the door and opened it. "I'd. love to help with Tomoyo's makeover. But, I'd better go check on Takumi." Mia grabbed Syaoran by the arm. "Oh, no, you're not getting off THAT easily. If Sakura, Kero, Aerin, and I have to help Tomoyo with this, YOU'RE helping too!" The teenage heart breaker sighed. "Alright, I'll help. But I don't know if I can. I mean, look at what Tomoyo is doing now!" Mia turned around to see Tomoyo being measured by the identical-looking Sakura and Aerin. Mia turned back around. "I don't see anything w-" Syaoran was gone. "HEY! YOU COME BACK HERE, THAT'S UNFAIR!" Mia chased after the boy, but her 12-year-old legs just weren't long enough. The disappointed girl walked back to the room to help with Tomoyo. "Hmph. I can't believe I fell for that."
Syaoran exited the front gates of the house and gave a deep sigh. "That was a close one. But I have to find Takumi and switch places with him. And I bet none of the girls want to go in a bar. Hell, I don't even want to. But I guess I have to do it. Now, where would that bar be?"
The city was huge. It could literally take half a day to find anything if you didn't know where it was. And that was if you didn't get lost and had to retrace your steps. "Wait, maybe Aerin wrote its location on that letter she told me to give Takumi." The teen reached into his pocket and unfolded it. "Huh? This letter. makes no sense whatsoever. But. ah, in the corner, 'Hong Kong Tavern.' There's only one bar in Hong Kong in the present with that name. I wonder if maybe it was started all the way back here?" The boy pondered for a minute. He tried to recall the location of the shop. "If I remember correctly. the bar should be. half a kilometer if you take. a left from the gates. Yes, I remember now. I've seen it while walking through the streets." The road wasn't paved, but even in his mind, he knew the way as he walked to his goal.
"Now, which shade do you think looks better?" "Hmm. I think the red shade looks better than the pink, but maybe the pink looks more natural." "Yeah, I always wear the pink. But what should we do about the hair? It's longer than mine."
The three girls crowded around a starry-eyed Tomoyo, dressing her up as best as they could. "Oh, I can't wait to see myself! It's a dream come true!" Sakura put one hand on Tomoyo's shoulder. "Tomoyo, how do you think we can get your hair to be like mine? Or rather how mine used to look? Your hair is beautiful, but mine is a lot shorter. And you know your mother likes your hair long." Tomoyo sighed. "I know mother would never approve of me cutting my hair. It reminds her of your mother. But, I have plenty of wigs!" Tomoyo searched through a giant bag of differently colored wigs that was beside the bed. A sweat drop rolled down Sakura's now-long hair. "Umm. Tomoyo? I can understand the makeup, and the outfits, but how and why do you keep a bag of wigs with you?"
"Aha! I found it!" Tomoyo curled her hair into a bun and hid it under the artificial headwear. "How do I look?" Tomoyo stood up and everyone clapped. "Almost perfect!" Kero replied. "Almost?" Tomoyo questioned. She was a near- perfect replica of Sakura in every way. "I have the special skin cream to make my skin as dark as Sakura's, the same hairstyle, the Chinese robes Sakura wore last time we came to Hong Kong, and even a painted model of the Key necklace. What's missing?" She held up a mirror. "Ah, I see." Tomoyo's eyes were still a deep, deep blue. Kero dived down into a bag of clothes and popped out with a small blue box. "Found them!" He floated over to the Sakura look-alike and handed her the box. Tomoyo popped the box opened and pulled out two contact lenses. She squinted one eye and dropped a contact in its twin. She did the same for the other. When she opened her eyes again, they were a flawless emerald green, just like Sakura's.
"WOW! You look perfect!" said Sakura admiringly. Tomoyo looked in a mirror on the wall. "Oh, wow." She was nigh speechless. "I. don't know what to say. it's. a dream come true. KAWAII!" Mia asked, "Maybe you should tone down on the screaming like that. Koji will suspect something is wrong if you don't sound like Sakura." Tomoyo smiled. "Don't you worry. I've been practicing." "Hoe?" Sakura exclaimed. "Practicing?" The duplicate smiled. "Listen: 'We have to stop Koji no matter what! I won't let anyone get hurt!'" Tomoyo spoke so perfectly that even Sakura thought she was listening to herself. The girl's eyes shrunk. "How. did you do that, Tomoyo? You sounded exactly like me." The young look-alike giggled. "Well, you don't practice singing all of your life without picking up a few tricks. Now, let's hurry to our places before Koji arrives! Alright, Sakura? Oops, I mean 'Aerin'?" Sakura nodded and sat down on the bed. "I'll pretend to nap here, you wait outside, Mia will go with Aerin to the ceremony for all the Li women, and Kero will join up with Syaoran."
Kero gnashed his teeth. "Hey, why am I going to have to follow the gaki?" Aerin sighed deeply. "We already explained this. The bar Takumi is probably at is MEN ONLY, except for maybe a waitress or two. Do any of us look like boys? Besides, you can probably find him in time, since you can fly and we're all too busy with other things." Kero growled again. "Alright, I'll do it, for all of you." The tiny beast flew out through the window that the message from Koji had broken. Tomoyo giggled. "Kero acts mean sometimes, but you can tell even he cares about Li-kun. Oh! We better get moving! We'll come in if we hear anything!" Tomoyo, Aerin, and Mia all left the room in a hurry.
Sakura stared out the broken window. The sun was beginning to set. "I wonder how Li-kun is doing."
"Hong Kong Tavern, huh? This must be the place." Syaoran stood before a large 2-story bar. It wasn't very classy. The sides were made of plain wood. The windows didn't even have glass. They were just wholes in the wall. Inside, the chanting and cheering of men could be heard in groups. "Ugh. Something tells me it's going to be a long night."
The inside of the tavern was no better than the outside. Not much in the way of decoration. There was a table to the right of the entrance. It had five total drunkards sitting together, being as boisterous as possible. The rest of the tavern was filled with others, drinking away, but not quite as badly as the first table. "Ugh, it will take me forever to find Takumi. And he could be so drunk he can't even remember who he is."
Syaoran saw a table with only one other person at it, a skinny boy around his age, and decided to have a seat. "Now, where should I start looking?" "So, what can I get you two gentlemen? A couple glasses of our finest wine? Maybe a tall glass of ale? We're the only bar in all of China to have them, you know. Imported from Europe. Ah, Li clan clothes? I'll make everything on the house, in that case, seeing as the clan owns this tavern." A waitress asked. "Oh, we're not together, but I'll just take a water," Syaoran said. "I'll have one as well," the stranger said. The waitress sighed. "Takumi, you know the guards are always going to drag you here, why not at least have some fun? Have a glass of something else for once. Ah, well, I'll go get those drinks." She bowed and returned to the counter.
Syaoran turned around. "Takumi?" The boy stared back with big, brown eyes. "Have you heard of me?" Syaoran stood up. "My name is Li Xiao Lan. I've come here to bring you news about Aerin."
"Aerin? How to do you know my wife-to-be? I mean, I've never even heard of you. And I thought I knew all of the Li clan!" "Let's talk about this outside, shall we?" Takumi shook his head. "I can't. The guards sent here to protect me won't allow it." A sweat drop rolled down Syaoran's head as he pointed to the first table of drunken idiots; a couple of them had even passed out. "You wouldn't happen to mean those alcoholics over there, would you?" Takumi let out a great sigh and shook his head slowly in shame. "Yes, those are them. Some elite guard. Let's go."
Outside, there was better lighting in the sunset. They could both clearly see each other for the first time. "WHAT?!" They both exclaimed. "You look almost exactly like me!" It was true. From their dark brown eyes and hair, to their tall but skinny figure, they looked nearly identical, like twins. The only difference was that Syaoran seemed a few centimeters taller. Their clothes were quite different, though. Syaoran was still clad in the same outfit he'd always worn to capture Clow Cards or to help Sakura create a Sakura Card, only the outfit was larger to support his new age. Takumi wore an overly simple blue Chinese robe and nothing more, not even any shoes. It had a golden dragon on each side. But if it weren't for their height and their clothes, they would've looked like mirror images.
"Well, enough about how we look. Why did you call me out here, Li. Xiao Lan, was it?" Syaoran pulled the note from his pocket and kept it in one hand. "We need to switch places." All was silent, except for the warm sunset breeze that flowed through their clothes and hair. "Switch. places? What do you mean by that?" Syaoran handed the baffled groom the letter he had been given.
As soon as Takumi finished reading his letter, he blushed almost as badly as Syaoran usually does. "These. I mean. this. is the speech I used to. propose. No one could ever know about this. except. my sweet, sweet bride. Alright, Mr. Xiao Lan, I believe you. I'm not sure why you want to trade places with me, but I'll do whatever you tell me to."
A minute later, Syaoran closed his new robes, handing over his usual clothes to Takumi. "Now, you know what to do when you get to the mansion, am I right?" Takumi nodded. "Don't worry, Koji won't suspect a thing. I know the plan. Now, you just go inside and pretend you're bored out of your mind. If you can do that, the guards will never notice the difference." Syaoran nodded, and they both set off.
Aerin and Mia sat down at a long table of food, but their thoughts weren't on the succulent poultry, the ripe fruit, or the delectable desserts. Instead, they both stared up through a bright skylight, at the bright stars that began to show.
Sakura was staring up into the night sky on the balcony, the same sky as Mia and Aerin. "It's such a beautiful night." Sakura said. "Almost as beautiful as-"
"--My fair bride. I can't take it any longer. I will protect you! Koji, you won't lay a hand on her." It was Takumi, opening the gates to the Li Manor. He stared up one last time into the dusk sky. "The stars. they remind me so much-"
"--Of my dear, sweet Sakura... So bright, so full of hope." Tomoyo was in the room next to Sakura, staring out the window in impatience. "I can't wait to show off my new look to everyone! But, I have to wait-"
"-This out." Syaoran sat amongst the drunken fools in the bar. All of the guards sent to guard Takumi had passed out on the floor. Almost everyone else had left. Instead of sitting around and waiting for the guards to wake, the boy in disguise decided to wait outside. As he leaned against the wall outside, he looked up at the constellations. "You know, maybe this isn't so bad. It's a nice warm night, the stars are shining, and the breeze is blowing. But still, with all this time traveling, I hope this is the last-"
"--Time you'll ever see a starlit night, my little friends." Koji snapped an ammo clip into a pistol. He was actually hovering in the air well above the Li Mansion. "At midnight tonight, it's the end of you all!"
To be continued.