Lessons
Lesson the First: Names
The knock at the door was expected.
"Syaoran!"
Yes, the gentle call was expected too.
He wasn't sure what order the next would come in though.
Knock, knock. "Syaoran?"
Okay, these two came almost simultaneously, though the knock was undeniably first.
"Syaoran, hurry up! It's time to wake up!"
Now he smiled. He was quite awake, and had been for a while. He just wasn't going to leave his room.
If anyone (Eriol) wanted him, they (he) would have to break down the door and drag him out.
Or simply teleport in.
Syaoran sighed, not moving his arm from across his eyes. "Hello."
"Good morning, Syaoran. Get out of bed."
Instead he growled lightly, sitting up and glaring. "My mother, my sisters, my cousin, and my girlfriend call me by my given name. I don't remember putting you on that rather exclusive list."
"That's okay, because I do remember. It was the same moment I decided not to force you to call me Master all the time, and promptly discarded the idea of just calling you Apprentice."
Syaoran actually winced at the cold and superior tone Eriol's voice took. Like a cold shower, it shocked him back to reality and reminded him of exactly what the stakes were in this game he was playing. But...Eriol had started it!
Syaoran could be just as cold and superior. "That's all well and good for you, but why does Akizuki think she has the right to show such disrespect?"
"Her name is Ruby Moon," Eriol said in a somewhat neutral tone.
"Is that what I'm supposed to call her?"
Eriol sprouted a smile, and it wasn't entirely kind. "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, because she's your--" Syaoran broke off, sensing he was now on thin ice.
"Yes?"
"This is where you are going to point out that a guardian outranks a mere apprentice, isn't it?"
Eriol nodded, smirking. "And?"
"And that if I can so easily ask you for permission to call her by her given name, it's no different than if she'd asked you the same thing." Syaoran slumped, defeated. "Why do I feel like this was a set up?"
"Because it was, of course. That doesn't change the value of the lesson, however."
"You have a strange way of teaching, Hiiragizawa."
"You have no idea. Yet."
Lesson the Second: A Consequence to Every Action
"Now, Syaoran, get out of that bed." Eriol smiled patiently, waiting for his reluctant student. "You're already late for class, you wouldn't want to upset your teacher."
"Oh really? Actually, I thought that was the whole point of this. To upset you." Syaoran glared, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly.
You think so? "On your own head be it. You'll just have to face the consequences of your decision."
"You can't pick consequences. I'm not even late! You never set up a set schedule, so you can't just arbitrarily say I'm late."
Eriol felt like he was explaining things to a five-year-old child rather than someone who was supposedly almost an adult. The Li clan was doomed. "It's not arbitrary. You're right, there's no set schedule, but I sent Ruby Moon up here three times to wake you. Each time you stubbornly refused to even acknowledge my emissary's presence, despite the fact that you were laying here, fully clothed, and wide awake. You had ample time to arrive when I called for you. You're late."
Syaoran glared, but couldn't refute the logic. He couldn't even dispute Eriol's right to set a consequence, since everyone knew teachers of any kind had to maintain discipline somehow. "Fine then. What's my 'consequence' as you put it? Will I have to miss breakfast?" He scoffed.
"You weren't planning on joining us for that anyway," Eriol smirked. "You're still upset at Ruby Moon for teasing you by setting a plastic cup at your place. Of course, that was again a consequence for your actions. You threw a tantrum and endangered my property, so Ruby Moon was obliged to offer you something of lesser value and more durable strength until you could prove yourself capable of treating other people's objects with respect."
"Okay, okay. Just tell me what the consequence for this is already."
Eriol really hadn't had anything in mind. The usual things sprung to mind...writing lines, running laps, an old-fashioned dunce's cap just for the humor of it all. None of these really appealed, and Syaoran wouldn't really take any of them seriously anyway. They were too mundane.
"A kiss."
Eriol almost started in surprise. Had he said that out loud? What on earth had possessed him to--?
"Y-you can't...that's just...what makes you think I'd ever kiss you?!"
Eriol swallowed the disappointment, but really, what had he expected? It was stupid of him to have said that, and completely--"I didn't say anything about who you would be kissing. You just owe me one kiss. Anyone I say. At any time I tell you."
Lesson the Third: Paying Attention
Syaoran had felt his heart speed up and the bottom drop out of his stomach, as soon as Eriol had pronounced sentence on him. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Syaoran had never dreamed of something like that, it was a silly idea in the first place. But, Eriol had corrected himself and Syaoran had found himself wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. For one wild moment he'd been wrapped up in the possibility.
For one wild moment, he'd almost looked forward to--
But, of course Eriol hadn't meant--
No, of course not.
But for a moment there--
He swallowed his disappointment and freely showed his irritation with it all. "What if the other person doesn't want to be kissed?"
"I suppose I'll decide on that depending on your behavior the rest of the day."
"As long as I'm not kissing--" Syaoran broke off, unable to think of anyone in the household he'd want to kiss less than Eriol...or more than Eriol. Or...he didn't know. Since when had this become confusing? He didn't want to have to kiss anyone here, end of story.
"If you pay close enough attention, and learn all of today's lessons well, I will hold your consequence off for a while and just force you to kiss Sakura. While Daidouji is filming. And while Keroberus is around to make rude comments."
"I've done worse," he said with a shrug, though that was consequence enough. Still, this was starting to seem more like a game, yet again. Just like every supposed lesson in this madhouse. "Get ready to send me back to Tomoeda, or find a way to bring all of them here. There's no way in hell I'm missing a thing today."
Eriol smiled at these words, but there was something different about that smile. It didn't reach his eyes, and anyone who was actually looking might say it was wistful or sad. The smile didn't stay that way for long though, but that didn't really matter. Syaoran could only think of Sakura and the chance to see her again, to kiss her again, even if one of those kisses would be in an embarrassing situation. He missed the subtle hints that Eriol hadn't meant to drop because the young apprentice just didn't pay attention.
Lesson the Fourth: Sometimes a Loss is a Win
The day wore on, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon that Syaoran lost his temper and announced, loudly, that this was impossible. Eriol had been expecting it since lunch though, so he simply crossed his arms and waited out the ranting. "Are you finished yet?" he asked with an amused curl pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"We're in a park. A park! Playing! Am I hallucinating, or are these swings we're sitting on, even now?"
"You should know the difference between a hallucination and reality by this point," Eriol deadpanned. On the inside though, he could barely contain his laughter.
"I give up. What the hell am I supposed to be learning here? What the hell have I learned at all today? I've tried to pay attention to your every word, just in case it might be relevant later, but I can't take anymore! It's too much to try to remember when I may or may not actually be being taught anything at all!"
"Have you noticed anything strange about Nakuru lately?" Eriol asked casually, pushing the swing back and forth slightly.
"What's not strange about her," Syaoran immediately replied, rolling his eyes. "Since when do you call her Nakuru though? Especially after what you said this morning!"
Eriol didn't explain, he just launched into another question. Syaoran answered without thinking, again giving the answer Eriol expected from something that had happened earlier in the day. They did this for a while, until Eriol was satisfied and Syaoran was showing signs of impending explosion.
"You've learned a lot today. In fact, you seem to have learned every lesson I'd had in mind except the main one. Give it one more try, Syaoran. Why are we at the park?"
"You like seeing me irritated? You get a sadistic kick out of confusing the hell out of me?"
"I'll just think of someone else for you to kiss then. I thought this lesson would be the easiest." Eriol shook his head, disappointed.
Syaoran's jaw clenched, and his hands balled up in fists. Still, he just nodded. "Would it kill you to just tell me something for a change, instead of playing all these games?"
Eriol nodded. "I've been trying to teach you this lesson the entire time you've been here. Learning can be fun. It doesn't have to be rigid, and it doesn't have to be direct in order for it to be a lesson. Sometimes the things we learn the most from are just parts of daily life." He stood up and started walking away. It wasn't surprising that Syaoran followed a few steps behind, silently mulling this over. "If you'd like, we can begin a more structured plan tomorrow. It won't be any fun, but you'll be taught a great deal."
More silence followed until Syaoran's footsteps suddenly stopped. "Do you think there's a way we could compromise? I feel comfortable with some structure and routine, but you're right. I'm limiting myself."
"Let's hammer something out over ice cream," he suggested with a playful grin.
The young apprentice blushed, looking quickly at the hand he'd coated with the melted chocolaty dessert only a week ago. "Sure. Uh...you didn't tell anyone about--"
"Not yet," Eriol laughed lightly. "Maybe you should consider that next time you want to protest by staying in bed. If I spread that around, it would save me the trouble of trying to think of someone to force your attentions on."
Syaoran didn't bother dignifying that with a response.
Author's Note: Did I count that right? 20 reviews for chapter 2? ~blink, blink~ That's amazing! You guys ROCK! ~glomps~ So, I have this chapter out sooner than the last, and I have it out while I'm supposed to be "on hiatus" writing a novel. hehe Oops! I just really needed a break, and Muse-sama was in a strange mood.
So, I'd like to thank the usual suspects. Six-chan, you're just awesome on VERY many levels. Thanks for going over this too and letting me know it's worthy. Thanks to Emily-chan for writing slower than me, so I don't have to feel bad about taking so long on this particular fic. hehe And Izzy Girl for some really *cool* oneshots! ~sparkles~ And Dr. Megalomania who did NOT kill me before I got this chapter out. And
(this author's note ended due to severe sleep deprivation...watch this space for next chapter)