The House of Li
Chapter Three
"Where shall you sleep?" the young man openly pondered, or in other words, playing cat and mouse with me.
We had fruitlessly looked for the necessary "cleaning supplies" and he decided that I was allowed to resume my cleaning duties tomorrow. He said carelessly, "You'll have to buy some supplies at the store tomorrow—you can at least do that, no?"
I grumbled, meaning yes. This guy was really starting to test my thick nerves, and that says a lot about his character. Ignorant, vain, and precocious, he seemed to tick off my faults on his fingers as easily as melting butter.
"Kinomoto, you are unresponsive, slow, bad-mannered, blunt, and extremely unwomanly." Once he finished analyzing my flaws, he turned to look at me with a devilish twinkle in his eyes.
Not good, not good at all.
"I know the perfect place for you to sleep." He said slowly, quickly grasping my hand.
Gah! God, his hands are so cold! They're like ice packs of flowing freezing water!
I grinded my teeth, my abhorrence to cold threatening to engulf me—whatever happens, I must stay calm! Think peaceful sea—serene, blue, and tranquil. That's it, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale—
I was doing pretty good…
…until he unexpectedly went through the wall!
BAM! I had no time to react to the wall as it came rushing to meet my forehead.
One word: ouch.
Before crumpling to the ground, I momentarily saw Syaoran poke his head and half his neck out of the wall.
"Kinomoto? Damn…I totally overlooked the fact that you can't travel through walls. Kinomoto, how are you feeling?"
Like a piece of shit. Oh, is there a doctor in the house? I need an icepack—
I sighed, when something cold pressed itself firmly against my forehead. When the ice source started moving, I placed my hand over it to steady it. It felt really nice.
Unfortunately, it was Syaoran's hand.
I felt a sudden whooshing effect and I realized that I had been supported by Syaoran's lap—and he had recoiled from me when I, you know, accidentally touched him. Jerk, he let me fall and crash my head on the floor!
I'm gonna sue somebody if I have brain disorders after this!
Syaoran roughly lifted me up by the arms, and when I faltered from imbalance, he supported me with his broad shoulders. "Dammit, pull yourself together! I'm only a ghost you know, I can't do everything!"
I snapped out of my dizziness when I heard his annoying, melodious voice, and I pulled away from him—willing myself to think of my next paycheck, that always seemed to calm me down.
I sharply glanced at him, showing him my independence and stubbornness, and I saw a flicker of emotion flitter across those piercing, amber eyes that hook my curiosity every time.
Then it was completely gone, a hard gleam returning, as he said, "Hurry up, we'll have to travel by the elevator."
"El-elevator?" I questioned with a confused stutter. "Here?"
Without a single utterance, he led the way as a Shepard does to dim-witted sheep, not even turning his head to see if I was following him.
I inwardly noted each picture, vase, table, and embellishment as we passed through several corridors, forbidding doors, sun rooms, and alcoves—I must say I am very good at memorizing places and land marks. A certain wooden door that had two ethereal men standing with shields—one with a sun, the other with a moon-- instantly caught my eyes.
Interesting…
When we turned at a sharp corner, Syaoran stopped in his tracks, and I had to muster all my brake power to halt my moving feet.
"We're here." He mumbled.
I cautiously moved around his stocky frame, and I immediately had the first impression of a secret doorway to a fairy universe. The sliding doors were made of black metal perforated with ivy and rose designs, and once more, the beautiful sun and moon soldiers.
Maybe not another coincidence…
"Mr. Li, what is your family's emblem?"
"Don't call me Mr. Li."
"Why not?"
"It's bad luck—kills people—Yukito, he said— never mind."
I paused. Yukito…probably someone he held dearly in his former life. I probably shouldn't probe deeper.
After a moment's silence, Syaoran turned to me and whispered, "Call me Syaoran, or just plain Li—but don't call me Mr. Li."
"Alright…Syaoran, will you answer my question?"
He bluntly replied, "The legendary warriors of the sun and moon—they've protected my family for generations."
So where were they when you died? I said inwardly, why do you still haunt this mansion? Do you have another unfulfilled purpose?
The young man crouched in front of the sliding doors and retrieved a round, pink key from his pocket. Afterwards, slipping the strange key into the hole and decisively turning it. A soft click told us that the lock was undone.
Li gently fastened his index and middle finger underneath the small crevice on each sliding door and firmly tugged—the door slid open, and he crawled in without a word.
I followed suit, I mean, what other choices did I have? No…running away from the house while frenziedly pulling out my hair is not an option.
Once I crawled through the small entrance, I noticed that there was a significant increase in height inside the elevator. Still, it was a rather small and cramped elevator, since his shoulders and mine brushed constantly. Syaoran didn't bother to lend me a hand as he was cranking levers and pressing buttons.
So, I helped myself up. Jerk.
"Ready?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really." He said as he curtly pushed a lever down and the whole structure shook violently, causing me to topple over and onto Syaoran's chest.
Before I could open my mouth, there was a sudden lift—I'm not kidding, a stomach-hurling experience—and all the air escaped my lungs. I was like a fish out of water.
He pulled me closer by tightening his grasp on my waist—I noticed that Syaoran still had his hand on the lever.
When there was an abrupt end of motion, I opened my eyes and I saw a fine cloud of dust everywhere. I slightly coughed and covered my mouth with my red bandana.
Syaoran quickly worked to open the sliding doors and we escaped the tight compartments of hell.
After I was able to breath somewhat normally, I looked around my surroundings, and I noticed that there was an eerie sense of noble grandeur within the dark cranberry wood and the hand-crafted rugs hanging on the walls. The long, willowy candles and sparkling cobwebs didn't really help lighten the mood either.
"And where are we?" I asked, rather frightful of the answer he'd give me.
"My personal floor—which is where your room shall be."
"I thought you hated me." I said with a slightly teasing tone.
His gaze flickered towards me and he said gruffly, "I do, Kinomoto, and I always will."
"What's your problem?" I grumbled quietly.
Why does he hate me so much? What did I do wrong?
"Remember, Kinomoto, you're the servant and I am the master. So, deal with it."
That's it! I threw my red bandana on the floor, stomped my foot, and crossed my arms. I blew my brown bangs out for the tough effect and said loudly, "SYAORAN! ANSWER FOUR OF MY DAMN QUESTIONS STRAIGHT AND I PROMISE TO BE A WILLING SERVANT. ON MY SCOUT'S HONOR!"
He slowly turned to gaze at me intently. The young man with mysterious, ocher eyes sauntered to where I was and handed me the dropped bandana with genteel ease. A curious smirk tugging at his rosy lips.
He brought his face near mine, his lips grazing my ear as he whispered, "Shoot. I dare you to shoot."
~~*~~*~~
AN//: Thank you all so much for reading this! Though it's not my first fan fic, this is my very first try at a ghostly-twisted plot.
People have been hating the single fact that Sakura, our lovely heroine, is terrified of ghosts and such. Oh yes, that fact seemed to have floated from my brain when I was writing this story. Oopsie, brain fart.
Kinda too late for me to turn 360 degrees and change the characters—that would really suck—for me as the writer and you as the reader. So, pleez forgive that minor mistake! *bows up and down*
Now, of course, my favorite part of the updating process—answering reviews! And if you just write like two words in your review…chances are I won't have much to say…so, *hint, hint* write Neb Moon lots. Thanx!
GodsGirl7- woo-hoo! I continued, so pleez continue reading/reviewing!
TimeWarp- interesting….well, I sure hope it stays interesting!
EdgeofChaos- (I really like ur pen name) Thank you for your suggestions/compliments! Hm…I have some stories under the alias of Midori Kenshin at fictionpress.com. (care to try them?) But I really am thinking about putting this up there.
Angel with Luck- YES! TRUST IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING! (especially with his story!)
Sweet-captor: hope that this chapter was cool too!
Starry22153- Yippee! Ghosts galore! Even better, a ghost lover like me! Go us!
Annelee- Your question was really good. However, I stand firm on my belief that by the end of this fan fic, (almost) all your ghostly questions will be answered. I really like the fact that you take the time to write a review… Thank you, it means a lot to me!
kAo kAo- WhoA! I took one look at your review and I almost fell off my chair! ^ ^ I am so pleased to know that someone out there really enjoys this fan fic! Thanks for the encouragement!
Cygna-hime: That's funny, you're the last one AGAIN! Well, like they say, save the best for the last~ Once again, sorry for your confusement (is that a word?) Syaoran is pretty old and he should talk more…reservedly, but Sakura is still just a servant in his eyes. Don't worry, you'll see a definite change in Li as the story progresses…
To be continued…
