Chapter 3



The moon was going down again when Clow saw the lights of a village flickering in the distance. As soon as he saw the lights, he was reminded that he had not brought any money with him. Another feeling of hunger snapped him out of his trance. He put his pack on the ground and opened it. Inside it was his canteen, two loves of bread, a small block of cheese, a few biscuits, and a pack of matches. He sighed at the sight, it was not much, not much at all... He took out a loaf of bread and broke it in half. He ate one of the halves slowly, savoring every bite. The other half, he put back in his pack. He then took out his canteen and drank some of the water.

After he was finished and had put everything back, the sun was showing between the trees. He watched it for a moment admiring the beauty of it, then walked towards the village. He had to shield his eyes from the sun as he walked. Something seemed different about it. It was a fiery red, he could feel magic radiating from it. It made him shiver, even though it was a warm morning.

People darted back and forth, going about their business. The village was happy and carefree, and it made Clow feel out of place. For he had great problems at the moment. Problems that made it hard to live with. Problems like food, clean water, clothes. He sighed as he walked slowly through the village, he knew they were all looking at him. He also knew what they probably thought of his shabby clothes and messy hair. He felt embarrassed. For the first time in his life his cheeks felt hot, he was blushing.

In a land so quiet and peaceful,

The elf will sing his songs,

Of great and wonderful journeys,

And lords and kings of old.

Of legends and tales,

And warriors,

The mortals turn to for strength,

O, these are the songs the elves will sing,

As the prophesy comes to be true.

Clow could hear someone singing this song. It seemed to echo throughout the village. The singers voice was so soft and pure, Clow could not help but try to find the unknown musician. He ran through the streets, looking frantically.

Do not rush child... a voice said. It was the same voice that was singing before. You will find me when the time is right... No sooner and no later.

"Please!" Clow asked "Tell me who you are! Where you are!"

You ask a lot of me, considering we hath not met before... Well you have not met me, but I have been watching you.

"Please..." Clow asked once more, but this time more softly.

Very well child, I shall tell you what your heart desires. My name is Shuano. As for your second question, I will say as I told you before. You will find me when the time is right. No sooner and no later.

Clow sighed. "Must I wait? Why can't I see you now?" But no answer came. The mysterious voice was gone.

He turned around and walked back to where the people were. He wished that he knew who Shuano was... how could this person have been watching him?

Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. "What are ya doin ere boy?" The stranger asked. Clow turned around to see a man. He looked quite stupid really... stupid but strong.

"Nothing that concerns you..." Clow said coldly.

This made the man angry, and before Clow knew what happened. His face met with the mans fist. Blood splattered everywhere and Clow sank to his knees. "Heh! That'll teach yeh kid! No one messes whit meh!" The man strode away, leaving Clow sitting on the ground, tears in his eyes.

He decided that from then on, he would train himself to be the best sorcerer in the world. He vowed that one day he would hunt that man down and kill him. Make that man feel fear, fear so great that he would wish that he never had been born.

Clow stayed in the village for the next three days. Over those three days he learned a great deal about the village and the people in it. One person he liked a lot. The lady's name was Kioko, she owned the bakery in the middle of the village. Every day Clow would go to the bakery and do small jobs for Kioko. At the end of the day Kioko would give him bread and pastries for his effort.

One day when Clow was walking from the bakery, he saw something that would be considered odd for that time. Across the road, sitting between the trees was a car. Clow did not know what it was so he hid behind a large rock and hoped it wouldn't see him. He sat there for a few minutes before he chanced a look. When he looked the car was gone. But in its place he saw people walking back and forth. They would appear from behind one tree then disappear once they went behind another.

Clow walked cautiously over to the strange spot. He picked up a rock and threw it. It disappeared when it went between the trees. Then Clows curiosity got the best of him and he decided that he would try to go through this "distortion" tonight after the village had gone to sleep. That way he would have time to go get his pack and no one would know where he went. Clow then ran off to the spot where he kept his pack excitedly.

Once the moon had fully risen and most of the lights in the village had gone out, Clow returned to the strange spot. He looked around to see if anyone was there. Once he was sure that he was alone, he closed his eyes and ran between the trees. He felt a warm tingly feeling, and when he opened his eyes he saw a large penguin slide.

"Over here!" He heard a voice yell. "I saw the flash of light over here!" Clow looked around, there was no escape. He then saw a winged lion and a silver haired angel come running towards him. They stopped once they were close enough, but Clow thought it was too close. He stepped back a little.

"What is your name boy?" The angel asked in a cold voice. Clow felt that it would do no good to lie, so he told the truth.

"My...my name is Clow..." He said in almost a whisper. The angel looked at the lion then back at Clow.

"Clow... what is your full name?" Then angel said, but this time his voice seemed anxious. The lion was listening intently now as well.

"My full name is Clow Reed" He said quickly.

The angel and the lion seemed stunned. They talked to each other in low but fast voices for a minute. They were speaking too low for Clow to hear them. They then turned back to him. "You must come with us..." Then angel said as he grabbed Clow by the wrist.

"Yue! Be careful with him! You don't want him to have a permanent mark on his arm do you?" The lion yelled in panic.

"Keroberos please..." Yue said "He'll be fine..."

"But he's not the same age as he was when we knew him. He's not as strong!" Keroberos argued. "He doesn't even know you look! He's scared out of his mind!"

Yue looked at Clow to find him trying to get out of his grasp. Yue let go of him quickly and Clow ran off into the woods.

"Wait!" Keroberos yelled "Come back! We're not going to hurt you!" But it was too late Clow was gone.

Clow ran through the woods, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Ahead of him he saw someone step out from behind a tree. He stopped running and looked at her. Those emerald eyes..... so familiar...