Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!
I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!
"Speaking"
*Stress/emphasis*
//Thinking//
Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]
In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .
By Dr Megalomania
Chapter Ten: Renaissance
{And this chapter I dedicate to Clow'd9, Bluegoo and more importantly, Corn Porn. No, Corn Porn isn't a person, but if it were I would sure love to walk up to it and . . . [coughs] ahem, No, Corn Porn is the best piece of Yaoi I've ever seen, Corn Porn is the nickname I hold for it, for it has . . . [glances at Bluegoo and coughs a little more violent] Ahem, anyway, it inspired me, and like Bluegoo and Clow'd9, like all the readers and the reviewers who are reading this and thinking what the hell Corn Porn is, like the Bish levels of Yue and Clow and Touya and Yuki, it continues to inspire me. [Raises arms] LONG LIVE CORN PORN!!}
Chapter Ten: Renaissance
"He's magically stronger than his younger brothers."
"I noticed."
"He can override the Card Mistress' control over the cards."
"This I also noticed."
He's capable of master level control over his brothers and cousins.
Eriol pulled the cool compressed from his eyes and stared at Syaoran. The Little Wolf glowered at him. "What do you expect me to say?"
"I don't know!" Syaoran growled, "I'm so used to you knowing the 'why's and 'how's of Clow Reed's spells, I was *hoping* you could explain how Hei-ying, a defective reject of a guardian, could completely and utterly defeat not only Sakura-chan's, but also *your* guardians." The Little Wolf's eyebrows rose as he paced away shaking his head, "And that's not even mentioning how he manipulated the cards!"
Allowing the cold compress to flop back onto his eyes, Eriol let his head roll back and groped out blindly for his wife's waist. They were laying on their shared bed, in their room, Sakura hovering over Tomoyo worriedly but with no little amount of relief. Eriol's wife had awoken from her stunned state no worse for wear aside from a severely bruised neck. Hei-ying was as extremely skilled in how not to kill a person as he was in killing a person it seemed. Touya was tending to the five guardians on the fourth floor. The five were exhausted from their impromptu battle, Spinel being in the best condition as he was still sleeping, Ruby being the worst needing some repair work from Eriol for the water she'd inhaled. Keroberos' wings were broken in their arches, Yue's ankles were fractured and he had whiplash in his neck. Hei-ying had sustained serious damage to his wings and back from when he'd hit Keroberos' back, and he too had whiplash from falling into the water.
Eriol assured Sakura that, as they had after the incident when the guardians had been trapped in the sealing staff during Mystrasa's attack, he would guide her through the repairing process. In the meantime, while they all recovered from the shock of the accident, Eriol lay beside his wife, nursing a severe headache.
Syaoran sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around Sakura. She held Tomoyo's hand as the other woman sat in bed, her husband's cheek resting on her hip. Tomoyo reached up and covered Sakura's hand, smiling slightly. "Sakura-chan . . ." Tomoyo whispered, "I'm all right . . . please stop worrying . . ."
Sakura's frown lifted slightly, "Honto?"
"Honto desu."
Sakura's small finger came up, "Honto ne?"
Tomoyo smiled and wrapped her own small finger around Sakura's, "Honto desu ka."
The frown lifted entirely and Sakura smiled brightly. "Sou ka!" She leant back, still holding Tomoyo's hand, but leaning back into Syaoran's embrace. Her concentration shifted and the emerald-eyed woman turned serious, "how come Hei-ying is more powerful than his brothers?"
"Master Clow Reed only ever intended to make one guardian."
Eriol sat up in bed as everyone's attention was drawn to the door by the icy cool voice. Hei-ying and Touya – who glared at Hei-ying irritably – stood there. Hei-ying shuffled forward, "He only ever intended to make one guardian, therefore I was given powers limited only by the Obedience Spell . . ." Eriol sat up and pulled his knees up, leaning his elbows on them. He stared at Hei-ying intently, before looking at Touya.
Touya sighed as he met Eriol's thoughtful gaze, "I think it's been proven that I can't control him . . . I see no reason to try and restrain him . . ." The hardened blue eyes turned on Hei-ying as the dark haired magician growled at him, "Even if it would be in the best intentions for his health!"
Hei-ying had the decency to look a little ashamed, "I'm sorry, master, but I feel I must explain—"
Touya held up his hand and motioned a nearby seat. "Talk about it from there."
Hei-ying nodded stiffly and shuffled over to the stuffed chair. He lowered himself slowly, trying not to jolt his neck or back. He sighed, obviously thinking about how he would explain himself.
Sighing, Touya looked at the others. He stared at Tomoyo critically, "You should be lying down."
She smiled, "But it would—"
"I think Sakura understands that you are well enough, now please lie down." Touya cut her off, snapping into his doctor mode. He moved around the bed and helped Tomoyo to lie down gently. Eriol lowered his legs and then helped his wife to lay her head in his lap. He smiled slightly as he softly pulled at the ties in her hair, threading his fingers into her silken strands. He glanced at Touya as he dipped the compress into cold water and wrung it out. Touya handed Eriol the compress and raised an eyebrow, "How's the headache?"
"It's just stress . . ." Eriol assured him, he smiled slightly, stroking Tomoyo's hair, "I'll be fine soon . . . a relaxing meal, a few hours of sleep with my beautiful wife and I will be happy."
Touya nodded and then turned his attentions on Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran was already moving them to the sofa under the window and wrapping a blanket around Sakura's shoulders. She looked a little wan. The use of so much magic after such a long time of her powers basically remaining dormant exhausted her. Picking up a spare blanket, Touya walked over to Hei-ying and wrapped it around his shoulders. Hei-ying blinked and looked up at Touya with surprise before he murmured softly, "You are kind to one who would kill you . . ."
"You didn't mean to . . ." Touya knelt down beside Hei-ying's chair, "Or you wouldn't be trying to help us understand why you are more powerful than your brothers . . ."
Hei-ying nodded slowly and winced as his neck twinged. "This is true . . ." He sighed again and raised a hand to clutch the blanket tighter. "As far as I understand it, from what I've seen my brothers do . . . I believe that while I know the spells and such to overcome them . . . I am not actually much more stronger than them . . ." He paused at the look of non-comprehension on Touya's face, "What I mean is . . . the source of my magic is the stars, like your sister . . . the moon, Yue and the sun, Keroberos can technically outshine me, they are stronger in the way that they have . . . Hei-ying shook his head slightly, no . . . that isn't the right way to explain it . . ."
"Take your time . . ." Touya murmured shifting so he was now sitting with his back against the side of Hei-ying's chair, "Explain it as clearly as you can . . ."
Hei-ying closed his eyes for a moment.
"You have many stories where the small man is capable to win against the large man, Mistress Sakura's life is one such story, she was able to overcome the Master Clow Reed despite the fact she was the weaker of the two. While Keroberos and Yue's sources of power are giants compared to mine, I have the spells, the knowledge, the ability to refine my magic in the most effective way . . . it isn't that hard to circumvent the commands to knock a guardian unconscious . . ." He opened his eyes and stared at Sakura, "Also, Mistress Sakura has already given me permission to use her cards, she never removed this, never said I cannot use them . . ." he sighed heavily, "Even though you are young there is no excuse for you not to be so precise with your commands. You have had the cards for long enough to realise you have to ask very specifically what you want from them."
Sakura sucked in her bottom lip and stared at him for a long moment before admitting, "I didn't realise that it applied to guardians too."
Hei-ying's gaze softened slightly, "Normally it doesn't but when you have a rogue guardian whose integrity you can't really trust, you should remember that."
"Hai." Sakura looked down for a moment before asking quietly, "Should I . . .?"
"I think so." Hei-ying closed his eyes again, "I don't know what triggered whatever happened to me, therefore I should not be allowed to have access to the cards . . ."
"What do I need to say . . .?"
"Whatever you deem sufficient, Card Mistress."
Sakura blinked at this, and closed her eyes for a moment, "Hei-ying. You are refused access to the attack cards, element cards or Create card without my permission . . ." she paused and bit her lip, "Unless . . . unless . . . if I am not able to, your master, Touya or Eriol gives you permission. Understand?"
"Understood, Card Mistress." Hei-ying's jade eyes slide open again, "I have no memory beyond the conversation . . . I do remember thinking Keroberos was contradicting me before Clow which is why I wanted to knock him out . . . but that doesn't make any sense because . . ."
". . . because Clow wasn't there, not even as myself or as Touya . . ." Eriol raised his hand to trace Tomoyo's eyebrow, "Did you see him, or Kyree?"
Hei-ying's jade eyes narrowed tiredly, his shoulders drooped with defeat, "I don't remember . . ."
Touya raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Hei-ying's face in the mirror.
The angel was wincing again.
"You know, you should tell me if this hurts . . . I can't get better at this if you don't teach me where I am going wrong . . ."
Hei-ying slid an eye open, "Not so hard over the wing joint . . ." He closed his eye again and schooled his features into a passive mask. Touya was trying to repair the damage Hei-ying had sustained to his shoulders during the fall two days ago. They had received word from Maduokai Kuei that he and his family were only two further days from them, a delay of one more day because they wished to find suitable accommodation for themselves without having to inconvenience the small family of magicians. Touya looked into Hei-ying's face again. Truth be told this was the first time he'd actually been alone completely with his new guardian.
Hei-ying was quiet, speaking only when spoken to, the angel was obviously deep in thought and it was disturbing to finally look at this dark version of Yue. It made Touya realise that Yue's face wasn't as cold as his first impression gave, to look at Yue when he was thinking you saw perhaps a small flash of a smile, his brow was drawn in a look of concentration, perhaps even amused boredom but never had Touya ever seen Yue look this . . . cold.
Hei-ying may have carefully crafted this expression to appear blank, but hidden within it were frowns, a distinct look of hatred.
"Stop it."
Touya stared for a moment longer, and pulled his hands up. "What?"
"You're comparing me to him. To Yue." Hei-ying opened his eyes a crack and stared down, "Yue is nothing like me, Yue has never seen the things I have therefore he is nothing like me." He blinked and looked up at Touya in the mirror, his jade eyes not particularly angry, but displeased. "We are nothing like each other. Removed this from your mind."
"I noticed." Touya said quietly as he reapplied his fingers to the troublesome shoulder bone, "I was thinking how Yue looks almost happy compared to you."
"Good."
Touya sighed, as he leant over to switch his hands over to the other shoulder, "What things have you seen?"
"Pardon me?"
"You heard me."
"Do you really want to know?" Hei-ying smiled slightly; it was just barely sickly sweet. Behind it, a hint of Hei-ying deep insanity peeked through. "I'm not sure I even want to . . ." He closed his eyes again, "Have you ever felt hate and love at the same time? Have you ever done something, which you wanted so much, only to realise it was something you dreaded?"
"To be honest . . ." Touya stroked his hand over Hei-ying's shoulder, pushing the pale angel's robe off. "No, I haven't . . ."
"Pity. It's a strange sensation everyone should try . . . I feel like I'm living twice . . ." Touya glanced at the mirror as Hei-ying gave a small laugh, "I remember feelings of happiness . . . at times when I was scared out of my mind . . . I look back with disgust at times when I was almost exploding with desire."
Hei-ying's voice lowered and Touya found himself leaning closer so he could reach further down Hei-ying's arms. The other shoulder of the robe sliding off and revealing the slimly built chest of Hei-ying, so similar to Yue's but . . .
The scent of spring, cool and crisp. The freshness of melted snow, the tang of flowers opening, spreading their petals upward, worshiping the sun that banished winter.
Touya closed his eyes, not noticing Hei-ying lift a pale hand and catching a Sakura card.
"Times where I don't understand why I did what I did without so much as a whimper . . ."
A smile pulled at Touya's face as the angel purred quietly and brushed his cheek against Touya's neck. He opened his eyes slightly and smiled as he twirled his hands into white silken hair, reaching downward to tug open the cumbersome bathrobe. He glanced to the side, seeing a smirk pull at Yue's lips. The angel opened his eyes and stared at Touya knowingly.
Touya frowned slightly, //when had Yue's eyes turned such a dark shade of . . .//
Yue shifted slightly, spreading his legs as Touya moved his hand to cup and fondle his body. The angel's sharp chin tipped back as he purred throatily. Touya continued to frown, trying to move his hands in a different way, trying to make Yue's cold smirk go away.
"Oh . . ." The angel's back arched as Touya began to pump his hand steadily. White hair fluttered back as the angel squirmed. Touya continued to stare at Yue wonderingly as the angel tipped his head forward to stare at him, //when had Yue's eyes become such a dark shade of . . .//
The angel raised one hand and trailed his fingers up Touya's arm as it supported the angel's back. The other hand came up slowly, to hold a glowing card to Touya's face.
//When had Yue's eyes become such a deep shade of . . .//
The glow began to fade, allowing Touya to read the name on it.
//. . . jade?//
"Illusion?"
The card exploded in a burst of white gold magic and faded away, taking with it the mass of silken white hair. Shiny black hair tumbled in its place, and Touya stared up into Hei-ying's bitter eyes. All pretence of passion came away from the angel's features, as Touya pushed away and lost his balance.
Hei-ying smirked coldly at him, as he stood and walked away from Touya. He walked to his bedroom door and pushed it closed again, quietly thanking the illusion card for its help. He turned back to Touya who still stared at him growing shock on his normally stoic features.
Hei-ying smirked as he allowed his robe to fall completely from his body, and climbed onto his bed stomach down. He propped his torso up with his shoulders as he stared back at Touya. "Sorry . . . but I thought I'd prove a point."
"You . . . you can't use the cards anymore . . ."
"No attack cards . . ." Hei-ying held up a finger and counted off, "No element cards . . . and the Create Card is out of bounds . . . Sakura-sama is very clever, defining which cards I can use in everyday usage and which cards I can not . . ." He smiled slightly, genuinely pleased, "She learns quickly, it would have been a pleasure to serve under her . . . his eyes took on a distant look, unfortunately for me that will never be possible . . ."
Touya stood and smoothed out his clothes, taking the time to think about the point Hei-ying wanted to prove. "I love Yue . . . I would never—"
"Do anything to hurt him?" Hei-ying closed his eyes, "I know . . . Clow used to say the same thing . . ."
"I'm not Clow Reed."
The cynical smirk pulled at Hei-ying's lips, "All humans aren't Clow Reed, but if such a powerful man like he can have weaknesses . . ." the smirk sunk as Hei-ying expression grew cold, his voice barely over a hissing whisper, "So can you . . ."
"Are you suggesting . . ." Touya clenched his fists, "I would never abuse Yue!"
"You'd never have the chance to!" Hei-ying's eyes snapped open, "Master of mine you may be, but Yue calls higher in my priorities." Touya blinked as the two stared at each other intensely. Hei-ying closed his eyes again, assuming his blank look again. The taller magician stared at his guardian for a long moment.
"I am not Clow Reed, Hei-ying . . . history will not repeat itself . . ." Hei-ying's eyebrow twitched, the only sign of his emotions, "That's what you're afraid of . . ." Touya forced his hands to unclench and took a step closer, "I am not Clow Reed . . . Yue is not you . . ." He stepped closer until he could kneel in front of the bed, "It ended almost five centuries ago . . ."
"But it didn't!" Hei-ying's eyes snapped open again and he stared at Touya, "When Mystrasa Kyree found me . . . when she returned to Clow's old ways . . . then it was another sixty years . . . plus the time spent with Clow Reed . . ." Touya's eyes widened as the figures crashed into his mind, Hei-ying looked a little frantic as he barked harshly at him, "Touya, that's your life time, three times over . . ." Hei-ying's pale shoulders, poking out and looking terribly thin from under his mass of sleek black hair, shuddered hard as the angel stared at him with glassy jade green eyes, "I've never known sanity, what am I suppose to do!? Here I am, I can't even tell if I am sane or not, my brothers treat me like I'm some china doll, about to break at any moment, you and Clow's reincarnation, Clow's descendant treat me like some someone else's retarded dog!" Hei-ying's thin features crumpled as the angel raged, "I can't tell if I'm sane or not, and I won't stand by and let you do this to my beautiful brother!"
"I am not Clow Reed!" Touya reached out and grabbed Hei-ying's shoulders, shaking him hard, "Understand, I am not Clow Reed, Clow Reed is dead, mind, body and soul . . . and the man is never going to come back and hurt you, not through me, not through Eriol, and not through Syaoran!"
"But Yue---!!"
Touya shook him so hard his jaw jarred, "Yue is not you! I am not Clow! I love Yue, I would never hurt him, I love him!"
"I love him too!" Hei-ying raged back, "I hate him but I love him! Those few days we were together again, when the Ying Yang took us . . ." he sucked in a harsh breath, "When we were together both mind, soul and body. . . those are the only moments I felt—"
Touya stared at him, ". . . You raped him . . ."
"We . . ." Hei-ying's rage imploded, "The Ying Yang, surely you realised . . ."
Touya's hands let go of his new guardian's arms, and he stepped back, "I thought it made you want to kill each other . . ."
"The madness that affects us is not destructive within itself . . . in fact. . ." Hei-ying sighed, glancing away from Touya's intensive gaze, he swallowed, "The madness is actually very beautiful, to become one, to be as close as we can to one another, is the most passionate feeling . . . Some braces will do anything to achieve this intimacy, death is only a side affect from it . . . many braces try to merge, some will eat each other like a serpent trying to eat its own tale . . ."
Touya turned and sank down on to the end of the bed, "And some become lovers . . ." he sighed heavily, "I thought it was rare . . ."
Hei-ying blinked, before shaking his head, "It is rare . . . if the creations have no sexual organs," he sniffed with a little harsh humour, "Unfortunately for all of us, I, Keroberos, Yue, Saurian, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon were all created to be sexual creatures, we have genders, we have urges . . ." he smirked darkly, "We are all so very weak . . . I was the one that Clow fucked, and Yue was the one he loved . . ." he began to snicker, "If you think about it, Yue was the one I loved, and I was the one Yue fucked. . ."
Touya felt his hands clench the side of the bed tightly, he drew a quick breath he couldn't let Hei-ying overcome him like this.
"And now, Yukito is the one you love, and Yue is the one you fuck . . ." Hei-ying crawled over the bed and hissed into his new master's ear, "Is he wonderful? Does he suck your earlobe as he did mine? When you touch his body does it arch as it did for me? Oh, how I miss his little panting just as he comes. . ."
His hand almost moved of its own violation, but somehow . . . Touya breathed out, his hand hovering just by Hei-ying's cheek. The jade eyes of the dark angel were wide open; as he began to breath excitedly, "See? I knew it!" His eyes became glassy, "It won't be long! It won't! You can't wait to strike me. . . How long until you hurt my brother?! He's not me, but I see myself in him!" Hei-ying shook his head like a high-strung horse, "I won't let you—"
Forcing himself to take a breath, Touya let his hand drop from Hei-ying and moved up on to the bed until he could wrap his arms around his guardian. He held Hei-ying's naked body until the guardian had calmed down, placated by his master's magic and proximity. The harsh intakes of breathe the only sound in the air. Touya began to speak only after he felt the last of the tremors stop, "You ask if you are sane or not . . . I can't tell you if you are, but I think that you question it because deep inside you can't believe that for the first time in your life, you are . . . you defend a brother you hate . . ."
Hei-ying nodded. Touya sighed quietly.
"Then perhaps you are mistaking your hatred for something else . . . you've never known anything else, so you must think that all feelings feel like this . . . you've known fear, not love, mistaken obsession for passion . . . and now it must be confusing . . ."
Hei-ying sat up and turned away from Touya, allowing his nudity to be covered by long, sleek black hair. Touya barely noticed it as he focused on Hei-ying, allowing his more gentle side come out and assure the guardian. "My purpose . . ." Hei-ying murmured, "My purpose in life was to be the advisor of the Clow, first I was created to be guard, advisor and judge . . . then it was all slowly stripped away from me . . . now I find that I'm brought back, all these memories . . . I killed your father after he was so kind to me, he . . ." Hei-ying's jade eyes slid shut, "Your father was everything of the Clow Reed I . . . I think I fell for in the first place, kind . . . handsome and . . . he gave me purpose, even though it was just a trick, for the few weeks that I knew him, he gave me purpose again . . ." Hei-ying winced and turned away from Touya, "And now . . . I've returned to you, and there is no place for me. . . I am useless . . ."
"I have a lot of magic that I don't use . . . I am very powerful but I don't know what to do . . ." Touya pulled off his shirt and wrapped it loosely around Hei-ying's shoulders, "I notice that you are accomplished in not only the magic of the cards but in magic in general." Touya nodded, "Therefore as your master, you must help teach me, show me how to be a better master . . . a better friend to you." The blue-eyed boy smiled as Hei-ying turned and stared at him with a little amazement, "I know how you must feel about Yue and me . . . I don't want to let Sakura go . . ."
A smirk pulled at Hei-ying's lips, the melancholy of the moment before beginning to fade from the angel, "Ah, but have you ever tried to kill your sister . . .?"
"Well, no . . . but I've teased her a lot . . ." Touya smiled, before reaching up to pull a lock of hair back from Hei-ying's face, and stared at the angel intently, "Trust me with Yue . . . and I'll prove to you that Clow Reed will never come back to hurt you." Hei-ying's shoulders dropped, and the guardian leant forward until he could lean his head on Touya's lap like a giant cat. Touya raised his hand, and swallowed. No, he'd never had a being dedicate his life to him, but now that he had this responsibility . . . the dark haired magician glanced up and nodded to the doorway . . . now that Hei-ying was relying on him, Touya wasn't about to back away now. He placed his hand gently on Hei-ying's head, and petted his new guardian softly, until he heard the being's soft purring snores. He looked down and pulled the blanket around Hei-ying's painfully thin body.
Yue pulled the door close as quietly as he'd opened it. He was worried when he'd seen the Illusion card fly from the pack, and had followed. But it seemed . . .
He smiled to himself as he walked away from his brother's bedroom and retired to his own, casting only one more worried look over his shoulder, his eyes momentarily shifting from their usual violet to a soft brown.
. . . it seemed he'd hadn't much to worry about . . .
The study on the third floor.
Once upon a time . . . in England no less, Clow Reed, Master magician created the new magic that was to save his time's magic world from decline. It was here; in this very study he did it. Here was the birthplace of three brothers, three guards of the Clow. Here Hei-ying learnt the beauty of Clow's first kiss, seeing the flush of the young magician's cheeks, his dark blue eyes dilate with the simple touch of lust. Here Keroberos learnt how powerful Clow's visions could be, seeing the magic sweep even the most powerful magician into unconsciousness, making him crumple to the ground without word of warning. Here Yue learnt how strong his love for Clow had taken his heart, the magician would never be aware of this love. This is where Yue learnt how to hide his emotions.
The study on the third floor.
This is where Yue . . . the child, not Yukito or the Judgement Maker, the child whom many feared dead . . . this was where Yue came. Like a ghost of the past this study was his haunting ground. Neither Yue the Judgement Maker nor Yukito Human form of the Guardian knew why they came here, nor why this study, which seemed to be so fine a place to read had been abandoned. The child whom Clow Reed mourned the loss of for the rest of his days, whom Keroberos loved and adored, whom Hei-ying grew to hate and blamed for Clow's sudden change in demeanour, this child knew.
Like a ghost of the past, this child lured Yukito here, drew Yue to it. With fleeting, unobtainable memories and promises of their past, the child came back to the study to live. And for a few moments, this child lived once more. Yue and Yukito were one, no difference between them, one did not deny the other's existence, the other wasn't jealous of the other's life. Sitting there, on the window seat where Clow had dreamt, where Clow had decided, where Clow had mourned, where Clow had laughed, the child lived again.
His hand turned the page of a book he wasn't really reading.
"Yukito . . .?"
Startled, the snow rabbit looked up from his book to find Hei-ying standing beside him. He blinked with surprise before raising a hand to Hei-ying. The dark angel helped him up and Yukito smiled broadly at his eldest brother. He hadn't had much time to spend with him before and Hei-ying had been a little elusive as he tried to learn his new duties from Touya. Touya had left the mansion earlier that day to get a few things from town, and Yuki and Hei-ying were left to their own devices.
Hei-ying sighed as he glance at the book Yukito was reading, "Trying to remember your youth?"
Yukito blushed, as he opened the notebook again, "I have no memory of it, and Yue has only fragments . . ." he shrugged, "You can't blame me for trying . . ."
"There really isn't that much to remember." Hei-ying pulled the book from him and flicked through the pages, "You were an irritatingly happy child, your favourite question was 'really?' and you tended to be very familiar with Clow at inappropriate times."
"Really?" Yukito stared at Hei-ying as the angel placed the book on the window seat.
Hei-ying smirked at him, "Yes, really."
"Oh . . ." Yuki blushed, "I wish I could remember."
"Why?" Hei-ying motioned Yukito forward, and they walked out of the study. Yukito didn't know where they were walking but Hei-ying seemed to want to go for a walk. He thought deeply about his answer, before he turned to Hei-ying. "Do you remember your childhood?"
"Yes." The angel's wings expanded, and Hei-ying quickly transformed into his other form, Tomodachi. Yuki glanced at him, as the false form fiddled with his cuffs.
"What was it like?"
Tomodachi sighed as they descended the stairs, "Must you know?"
"I would like to, it interests me that I don't know much about one of my brothers . . . besides . . . the last time we 'caught up' it didn't go very well . . ."
Hei-ying blinked at Yukito's soft tone, they were crossing the main hall now, and heading to the door. He sighed, remembering the last time he and Yukito had actually spoken face to face as it were . . .
"I know who you are! You are Hei-ying, aren't you?!"
"Yukito . . ." Hei-ying murmured again, almost mouthing the name.
"You tried to kill us, Yue and me!" Yukito growled, his normally calm and sweet personality shelved, "I don't know how you are keeping Yue from realising it but you tried to kill us both!"
Hei-ying growled, as the angel ranted on, his hand snaked out and grabbed the back of Yue's head. The angel started to shout, and tug away, as Hei-ying dragged him to the old dresser. He threw the younger creation into the seat and clamped his hands on the small shoulders and bent over. "Look."
The darkening purple eyes narrowed, "I'll do nothing for you!"
Hei-ying's pale hand wrapped around the defiant chin, and forced him to look. "See?! You're just like me! You're as broken as the stone on my chest; your mind is as split as mine . . ."
"Na-Nani?!" Yukito's mind revolted, as he stared into the reflective glass. Yue's face stared back, "What is this . . .?" He looked at his hands, bright royal blue gloves, sharp white sleeves, "This isn't . . ." He looked in the glass again, Yue's white hair, black in places. "This can't be . . ."
"You're insane . . ." Hei-ying smirked, he was right . . . he had killed something in Yue, and just as Yue had broken Hei-ying's, Hei-ying had broken Yue's mind. "You're just like me!"
"I hate you." Yuki stared at Hei-ying through the glass. "I hate you."
Hei-ying blinked, the almost sanity he felt around Yue rapidly fading as old feelings came back with Yukito, "Tell me, Yukito, tell me you love me . . ."
"I hate you . . ." Yukito turned, and spat into the older angel's face, "I hate you! I hate you!"
The jade eye narrowed, "Tell me you love me!"
"NO!" Yukito pushed him back, turned to the dresser. The items on it were so old, a dried Sunflower, paper, pencils; all covered in dust, he growled as he shoved it all off, "I hate you!! You did this to me!"
Hei-ying sat up, and stared at his leg, the scissors glinted temptingly. His jade eye slipped to Yue's body, as the snow rabbit raged and broke everything on the dresser. "Yue . . ."
No! Yukito shouted, but staggered weakly. "No . . ."
". . . Return to your true form. . ."
"No . . . I suppose it didn't."
Hei-ying stopped by the door, before pushing it open. "Yukito . . . that's what I wanted to talk to you about actually . . ."
Yukito nodded, and looked out. The day was warm, since waking up after Hei-ying's accidental attack, Yukito had felt the bruised condition Yue was left in. He sighed, and shrugged it off, Sakura was still repairing Keroberos. Hei-ying's false form pushed a lock of dark brown hair behind his ear, and stepped out after him. "I wanted to ask you and Yue about that time . . ."
Yuki tipped his head as Yue groaned sleepily inside his mind, "Yue's very tired . . . he doesn't want to be woken . . ." Yukito advised quietly, "but I'll talk to you for him."
Hei-ying paused before speaking again, "Thank you . . ." he glanced up at the sky, gathering his thoughts. "You realise that my memories are returning to the point where Kyree took Yue from Sakura . . . to the point where I remember our . . . reunion."
"Ah." Yukito nodded, he and Yue had discussed this since it had happened. It was a source of insecurity for both snow rabbit and moon angel, regarding Touya's view of them.
They had slept with Hei-ying.
Their own brother.
They had had an incestuous relationship with the dark angel, under the influence of the Ying-Yang Syndrome.
Hei-ying nodded as Yukito's features became very serious, he sighed, "Ah indeed . . . youngest brother, you and I have a problem."
The gravel crunched under their feet as the two walked around the grounds. Both very deeply lost in their own thoughts, Yukito and Hei-ying glanced at each other thoughtfully. Hei-ying reached out and took Yukito's hand, and started to pull him toward a glade of trees, hiding them from view of the Mansion.
"Yukito . . ." Hei-ying began, and stopped, "Yukito . . . I . . . don't feel so strongly about the Ying Yang . . . I don't feel the pull as much as I did then. . ."
"That must be because you receive some magic from Sakura, but mostly from Touya now . . ." Yukito nodded as Yue suggested the explanation in his mind. Hei-ying nodded with understanding. "I know that . . . but . . ." Hei-ying let go of Yuki's hand, and raised his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "How do you feel about me?"
Yuki blinked, "To be honest . . .?"
"To be honest."
Yuki glanced down, "I worry about you. I know Yue does too, but my worry comes from the way your emotions seem to pitch so much . . ." he looked up and stared at Hei-ying with sincere amber eyes, "And if I'm really honest, I can sense a little . . . jealousy from deep in my heart, and from Yue's . . ."
"Because I am Touya's guardian." Hei-ying nodded again and glanced at Yukito piercingly, "Because I could seduce him . . ."
"You can't deny that you are in a position now." Yuki murmured, but he shook his head, "I don't want to think that of you. . . I trust you, oldest brother, I don't think you want to. . ."
"You're right, I wouldn't want to." Hei-ying stepped forward again and grabbed Yuki's hand, placing it lightly against his cheek.
Yuki blinked in confusion, "Oniichan?"
Hei-ying's false form sighed gently, a small soft smile pulling at his lips as he spoke quietly, "If Touya ever touches me with a lustful thought in his head, I shall cut off his hands and slice his throat open."
Yuki's amber eyes widened, "Hei-ying!"
Tomodachi's dark green eyes opened and stared at Yukito deeply. "I'm deadly serious . . . I will not be anyone's sexual object *ever* again." The dark bottle green eyes narrowed, "Clow Reed, Mystrasa Kyree . . . I want neither man nor woman to ever want me again, the very idea of having sexual relations with any mortal scum disgusts me!" He hissed violently, Yuki's wide eyes staring at him with complete surprise.
"Hei-ying . . ."
"But . . . I know that the Ying Yang syndrome will affect Yue a lot more than it would you . . . I can feel it."
Yuki closed his eyes as Yue woke up fully, the intoxicating effects of the Ying Yang slowing their senses. Hei-ying's wings extended around them both, triggering not only his, but also Yue's transformation.
"Hei-ying . . ." whispered Yue longingly, fragmented memories of their passionate encounter rising strongly in his mind. He stared up at Hei-ying with heavy lidded eyes, "what's . . . this . . ."
Hei-ying nuzzled the hand on his cheek, and muttered, "I know that the Ying Yang affects you . . . more than me . . . but I want no mortal man . . ."
Yue surged forward, confusion reigning in his mind as he pressed his lips hard against Hei-ying's. Their kiss was harsh; bring back memories of their tussled experience together. Yue panted slightly as he pushed his oldest brother back, No . . . No, Hei-ying . . . why is this happening?!"
Hei-ying smiled slyly, "Because I still draw magic from your mistress . . ." he reached up and pulled Yue into a deep embrace. The two angels sank to the ground beside each other, their arms wrapped tightly around each other as Hei-ying spoke softly into Yue's ear, "The feelings you feel for me are incorrect . . . you know that Touya is your lover . . . my master . . ."
"My lover . . ." Yue repeated, closing his eyes and burying his face in the crook of Hei-ying's neck, "Your master . . ."
Hei-ying tightened his arms, "Your lover, my master . . ."
"You are my brother . . ." Yue murmured muffled by his position, "The Ying Yang . . ."
"Will fade as Touya assumes more and more responsibility for me." Hei-ying snickered darkly, "Pity . . . you're the only person in the world who makes me want to be weak . . ."
Yue pulled back slightly and stared up at his older brother, "Love isn't a weakness . . . it's Sakura's greatest strength . . ."
"Love made me submit to Clow Reed . . . Love made me follow Kyree Mystrasa . . ." the jade eyes blinked and glanced over a point over Yue's shoulders. Hei-ying's arms unwrapped Yue, and the angel stood up. He helped Yue to his feet, and turned the angel around. Touya was staring at the two with some surprise in his dark blue eyes, he'd returned from town and found the two embracing in a hidden part of the ground.
Yue's eyes widened as Hei-ying whispered something into his ear. Hei-ying left his brother's side as the moon angel started to blush ever so slightly. He walked up to Touya's side and pulled the shopping bags from his hands. He looked at Yue meaningfully, and then at Touya before silently leaving the glade. Touya frowned slightly as he glanced back at Hei-ying. The dark angel had taken off and was flying back to the house rapidly. He looked at Yue, "What's wrong?"
"We were talking about the past . . ." Yue admitted, he opened his arms and walked forward until he buried his head into Touya's chest. Touya's arms came around him and held him tightly. Yue smiled as he tilted his head up and kissed the underside of Touya's chin. Touya blinked and gasped as Yue started to pull at his clothes urgently, pulling him into the glade. "Yue?"
"To-ya . . ." Yue looked up, his beautiful eyes glowing slightly, "Don't say a word . . . let's just appreciate . . ." he paused and stared at Touya's handsome features, "Let's appreciate some of the sacrifices made . . . just for us . . ."
As Touya nodded, and walked forward into the hidden glade, lay on the soft green grass with his lover, Yue smiled and ran his fingers lovingly over Touya's body, staring into his beautiful blue eyes . . . and Hei-ying's last whispered words echoing in his mind quietly . . .
//And love made me give you up . . . to my master . . .//
"Did you sleep with Hei-ying?"
Yuki blinked his eyes open and stared up at Touya as the taller man sat up and stared down at him. It was nighttime, and the rest of the house was quiet, he frowned, Touya's eyes were wary of the answer. "Do you really want to know?" He replied quietly, "Will it affect how things are now between us?"
Touya sighed, "I . . ." he raised a knee and leant his chin on it. He stared at his lover; they'd been together for so long Touya could hardly imagine a life without him now. Their relationship was one of calm. Their kisses could be passionate, their time together exciting as they both leant about the magic that seemed to run throughout their lives. They laughed together, they would cry together. Touya's secrets about seeing ghosts, Yuki's realisation that he wasn't completely human, both were life rocking and yet, together, they had seen it all through. He shifted slightly, staring at his lover's bright amber eyes, now glowing slightly as Yue too peered through Yukito's eyes. It seemed that nothing could pull the three apart; their relationship was so strong. It was built on friendship, on trust, on love. Touya had been Yue and Yukito's best friend no matter what had happened, from the moment he's given his initial small power to save them from disappearing. Yukito had been open and trusting, even when he realised he was dying because his existence was designed to hide another, even with this knowledge he continued to love Touya and trust his guardian form. Yue had come to love both Yuki and Touya, even though his heart had been cold like ice since his beloved creator had died, hundred of years had passed since Clow had died and yet . . . Yue found love with another, with Touya who truly loved him. Touya sighed, "I don't want to know . . . but, Yuki . . . I need to know . . ." he murmured more to himself, "I need to know why . . .when . . ." he opened his eyes and stared deeply at Yuki and Yue, "Why didn't you ever tell me? . . . did he rape you, were you hurt?"
Yuki propped himself up on his elbow and shook his head, his voice light and teasing quietly, "As a doctor you should know the perils of opening old wounds. . ."
The taller man's eyes closed and he sighed, "I need to know if it's true or if it's just one of Hei-ying's lies. . ."
"If you are asking me. . ." Yuki sat up and clasped his hands around his knees as he raised them. "Then your answer is no, I never slept with Hei-ying."
There was silence between the two, and Touya felt never further from his lover than in this very moment. They stared at each other over their knees as the moonlight filtered in around them and the shadows of the room danced in the heavy silence. Touya swallowed, determined to continue this now.
"If I ask Yue. . .?"
"Then yes. He did sleep with Hei-ying." Yuki swallowed and looked at Touya, "If you ask Hei-ying, then it really doesn't matter who you asked, because he did sleep with this body."
"It's true then. . .?"
"Yes."
Touya sighed and lay down again, he stared at the ceiling as he had done for the past couple of hours, he felt the bed shift slightly as Yue transformed in, the angel's eyes glowed dimly as he leant over Touya, flapping his wings slightly so he floated off the bed. He floated over Touya, staring at him with cool eyes, "it's not something I was proud of . . . I love you, but Hei-ying is my brace kin."
"Your brother, it's incest. . . Yue, you can't just sweep this under the carpet!"
Yue's eyes narrowed at his tone, "I believe we will go to our room, Yuki and I . . . we're . . . I cannot help the Ying Yang syndrome, there was no alternative . . ."
As the angel floated away from him, Touya sat up and got out of his bed. Yue landed on his feet lightly, and strode toward the door. "Where are you going? To Hei-ying?"
Yue paused, and turned to look at him, "Are you implying I will run into the arms of my other lover?" His brow creased, "Touya. . ."
With three long strides, Touya closed the gap between them, wrapped his arms around Yue tightly, and bestowed a crushing kiss on his lips. Yue's hands came up, and buried themselves in Touya's hair. As they parted, the angel panted quietly, he tightened his fist in Touya's hair and growled, "Because Yukito mollifies his barbs and amusements with sweet smiles and gentle touches, do not expect me to be so, we are not the same person!"
Touya gasped as the angel leant forward on his toes and sank his teeth into Touya's bottom lip, pushing back with a bruising kiss of his own. He stared at the angel's fierce expression for a moment longer, before closing his eyes. They broke apart once more and stared at each other.
"Do not doubt my feelings for you. . ." Yue spat, a little angered, "Never doubt how I feel for you!" His eyes narrowed, glowing dimly in the darkness, "what Yukito feels for you may be some sweet hearted romance, but what I feel for you—"
Touya stepped forward, silencing his lover with a kiss. "Don't say it . . . don't imply that you two are in competition for my heart . . ." the tall magician shook his head, "I love you both . . ." he frowned as Yue's eyes closed briefly, "I love you both!"
"Then what does it matter . . ." Yue murmured quietly, unexpectedly calm now, "What does it matter that Hei-ying had for a couple of hours what you may take and I-we. . . *we* will give to you for the rest of your life . . .?"
Touya glanced down, "I . . ."
The angel took a step back, "It *is* just a matter of words to you . . . to everyone, why is it all just a matter of words?" He stepped back once more, "To Hei-ying, to you, it is just a matter of words, but to Yukito and I . . ." he lifted his head and opened his eyes, "it is the difference between our souls, our hearts!" He shook his head, "I thought you—"
His head snapped up as Touya made a swift motion with his hand, "Don't!" he stared at Yue, "Come here."
The stubborn angel folded his arms.
Pressing his lips into a thin line, Touya stepped forward, "You were with Hei-ying, I accept that, but what I really need to know . . ." he paused and thought for a moment more, "What I need to know is will it happen again . . .?"
"Never." The two jerked with surprise as Hei-ying stepped in, he shrugged as he approached the lover, "Yue is my brother, you are my master . . . and your auras are so vibrant you disturb my sleep." He hissed irritably as he frowned, "what are you arguing about? I have no desire to take my master, I have no desire to take my younger brother, I have no desire to take anyone so long as I live this second time."
Touya shook his head, "The Ying Yang—"
"Will be negated, rendered useless as soon as the last of Sakura's magic is banished from my upkeep." Hei-ying folded his arms, and moved so he could stand next Yue. The two, in the dim light, resembled each other greatly, the only difference was that Yue's eyes were glowing with undirected, unused passion and Hei-ying's features were held in a wearied look of disinterest. The dark angel sighed sharply, "If you want to get rid of this paranoia as soon as possible, *master*, I suggest you work on your skills as a master, as *my* master."
Touya's eyes widened at Hei-ying's brisk tone. "You feel nothing for Yue now?"
Hei-ying's lips twitched into half a smile, as he stared at Touya, "I think if you do not take him now, he will explode . . ." he spared Yue an appreciative glance before smirking at Touya. He turned from the two, and walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him. The two stared at each other for a long moment, before they heard Sakura's voice softly on the other side of the door, and Hei-ying's equally soft reply of assurance.
"I love you."
Yue's arms fell out of their defensive posture, as the angel sighed. "I know. . . but you can't question my judgement, I am yours and yours alone, there is no one in existence that can take my hand from yours . . . "
Touya swallowed, and nodded, opening his arms as he moved to embrace his lover. "We're a couple of old fools, Yue . . ."
Yue sunk his teeth into the soft skin between Touya's neck and his shoulder, as he stretched his arms around the taller man's bare chest. "To-ya . . ." he murmured, "You are one of the most powerful magicians in the world, like Clow Reed . . . you may have a hundred years if you so wish . . . twenty eight is hardly anything in the magic world . . ."
Touya groaned quietly as the angel continued to nip and bite his skin lightly, felt fingernails draw across skin tightly as the angel worked down his body. He had learnt, as Yukito was the better lover during the day . . . Yue was the better during the night . . .
"Mmm . . . looks tasty . . ." Yue murmured quietly, as he pushed Touya back to the bed. He flicked his tongue over Touya's collarbone and dipped his hand into Touya's loose pyjamas, he smiled as he muttered, "I could eat all of you . . ."
Touya closed his eyes and groaned, the tension of the last hour drawing away, melting as he listened to the angel speak. He frowned slightly as he heard Yuki 'reply', "If I were to eat this much in terms of food, Yue, I would not fit into my school uniform!"
Yue was a very demanding lover if he was compared to Yukito. Adventurous and spontaneous, the angel was the one that liked to try all manner of things. He bit if he didn't like it, he bit if he did. . . Touya could tell what turned his angel on by the growls and purrs, the little shivers. Like Yuki, Yue was very responsive, unlike Yuki; Yue was far more vocal about it.
"Then we should share tonight's . . . *feast* . . ." Yue recommended naughtily, sending shivers up and down Touya's spine. "I'll start him off, you may finish him . . ."
The large hands of the taller man came up as Touya tried to reach for his lover, but Yue batted his hands away. He tried again, trying to lace his hands in the silken hair, but Yue growled this time and pinned one hand down as the other busied itself with untying the knot in the draw string trousers.
Touya chuckled quietly as his mythical lover's hand began to busy itself. He groaned quietly, as Yue's voice switched with Yuki's and then back again.
"You two . . ."
Today was the day.
Sighing, Tomoyo righted the hat again.
Behind her, Eriol glanced at Ruby, checking over her again. The butterfly girl smiled brilliantly at her master, the injuries she had sustained were gone, and once more she was strong and capable. Eriol nodded to her and glanced at his relative, Syaoran was looking intense, the Little Wolf was still concerned about Lord Kuei and his entourage.
The magician had contacted them, saying he would arrive today, even though he was three days late.
Today was the day they would discover what had happened to Clow's skull, to mister Hilligans' skull, and why Hei-ying had been brought back to life.
Hei-ying's memories had returned to the point where he could remember what had happened to the Reeds, what he had done to them. Eriol had been angry, but also relieved when Hei-ying told him that he'd been the one to kill Carolyn Zenith Reed, the youngest of his relatives. Hei-ying had recounted, in soft tones and obviously censored speech, that he'd snapped Carolyn's neck cleanly, so that she wouldn't suffer too much. However, even the dark angel had to admit his memories were not completely accurate due mostly to the fact, he couldn't tell what was real, and what was put there by Kyree. Kyree, like Clow had done to Yue and Keroberos, had manipulated Hei-ying's mind heavily. While Clow misguided Yue and Keroberos' memory of his death, Kyree misguided Hei-ying over her identity. There were moments when Hei-ying couldn't tell who was in his memory, if he had one memory of Clow during his time with Kyree, he couldn't tell if it was real, a dream, or Kyree masquerading as her former life.
It was painful to remember, and even Sakura noticed Hei-ying's grown coldness toward Clow's memory.
As his memory returned, a cold burning stone of hate began to form in Hei-ying's heart.
Feelings of loathing that had been directed at Yue once, imploded and focused on Clow's memory. Hei-ying was beginning to detest the man who created him; Keroberos wasn't the only one who was amazed by Hei-ying's reaction to the mention of Clow's name.
Keroberos had been there when Hei-ying would openly gaze lovingly at Clow, had been there all the time and had never seen one hateful look at Clow from his eldest brother.
But now . . .
He glanced at Hei-ying now; the tall dark angel smoothed out his lapels and glanced critically at Yue. The pale guardian's lips pursed as he lifted his hand to Yue's jacket and picked off some unseen piece of fluff. Keroberos shook his head. Even though his feelings to Clow and his brothers were rapidly becoming the polar opposite, Hei-ying's mannerisms remained the same. He was still the obsessive perfectionist.
He'd not taken to levitating, but in the week since his attack, Hei-ying had taken to his duties toward Touya with zeal. Touya became much more comfortable with the dark angel, who was always nearby, but not imposing. Touya could call Hei-ying at any moment, and the angel would be at his side quickly but not . . . Keroberos frowned as he tried to think of the words to describe it. The only way he could think of it was in relation to what Clow had had with Hei-ying. For instance, if Clow called Hei-ying in the middle of the night, the angel would be at his side instantly, perfectly dressed in his robes and his hair absolutely in place as if the angel had been waiting for it. But with Touya, if Hei-ying were called at a late time . . . Hei-ying would come, although it wouldn't be so instantaneous, and he'd be dressed as if he'd been in bed.
It seemed like Hei-ying was more relaxed, but also mindful of his duties.
Keroberos blinked as he found Hei-ying staring back at him.
The dark angel raised an inquisitive eyebrow before shaking his head. He stepped over to Keroberos and knelt down – another new trait, Hei-ying didn't care about getting his clothes dirty – he glanced over Keroberos' appearance before reaching up to brush his thumb over the lion's lips. "Eating donuts again . . ." Hei-ying murmured with quiet irritation, "Keroberos, you are so messy!"
Keroberos stared at his brother, Hei-ying was changing . . . and Keroberos found himself sharing Yue's desire . . .
Touya looked up, and quietly asked Hei-ying to help him for a moment with his robes. Hei-ying petted Keroberos on the head absently as he got up, and went to his new master. Keroberos stared after his elder brother with inner surprise.
Keroberos suddenly found himself wanting to know.
//Was this what Hei-ying would have been like . . .?//
Touya spoke in low tones, motioning his sister as Hei-ying lifted his coat on to his shoulders, and then walked around to do up the buttons on Touya's collar. Hei-ying glanced up at Touya and nodded every few moments, smiling slightly as he took note of his duties, mind clearly resting on what he had to do, what his job was and figuring out how he would do it.
//Was this what Hei-ying would have been like . . .?//
Keroberos blinked as he felt his brother Yue kneel beside him and stare at Hei-ying. The white haired angel's hand slipped up, and pulled slightly at Kero's ear, tickling absently. The two younger brothers exchanged a look, unnoticeably to the others, before they looked at their brother again. Hei-ying nodded once more to Touya, before stepping back and standing behind his new master dutifully.
//Was this what Hei-ying would have been like . . .//
He caught his brothers' looks, and frowned slightly, flashing his eyes toward Sakura and silently reminding them that they too were supposed to be attending her.
//. . . if he'd survived after Kyree's attack . . .?//
The two younger guardians took their positions either side of Sakura, Yue daring a sidelong glance at his brother and his new master, Yue's love, Touya. Hei-ying blinked, and turned his jade eyes to the side disapprovingly. Ruby's mouth fell open and she leant forward from her position behind Tomoyo and Eriol. She stared at the silent communication between the three older guardians. Spinel blinked as her hand reached down and tapped him on the head. He glanced at her, and her slow smile. He followed her gaze and couldn't help the same small smile fill his face. Hei-ying was frowning ever so disapprovingly at his younger brothers and cousins, but he too could feel it. He was becoming one of them.
//Is this what I would have been like . . . if I'd been a true guardian?//
Hei-ying's chin rose ever so slightly as he glanced at his master. A master who trusted him. Touya glanced over his shoulder and smiled slightly as he felt Hei-ying's cool magical presence begin to warm.
//If I'd survived . . .?//
Eriol couldn't help the smile that grew on his features, behind him his guardians snapped their attention toward the door, but clearly their magical auras flushed with happiness and pride.
//If I'd never given into my insanity . . .?//
Sakura blinked as she felt a strange rush of warm magic from her guardians, from Yue! She felt Keroberos and Yue's auras flare with warmth and satisfaction. It was strange, but the feeling came over her clearly. They were happy for Hei-ying, something had finally clicked between them all and Hei-ying was accepted as a real guardian. She turned so she could see them all, Ruby and Spinel stood either side of Tomoyo and Eriol, their chins raised and looking every bit of the fierce guardians they could be. Syaoran nodded slightly to her, and beyond him Keroberos was sat back; he was looking like a real guardian beast of the seal, with his gold eyes glowing slightly. Her emerald eyes met with Yue's, the cool distance of the Judgement Maker's amethyst was undermined only by the gentle look of an awed youngest brother. She turned to see her brother, his full set of robes – like Eriol, Syaoran and herself – only adding to the mysticism of the moment. His head was turned slightly as he spoke quietly to Hei-ying while the angel leant forward to listen to a last minute command. Hei-ying nodded and returned to his position, and then Sakura could see it . . .
//. . . If I'd never been created with the obedience spell . . .?//
A far cry from the harsh, cruel demon that'd nearly killed his child brother, the dark, melancholy filled wreck of a guardian who died quietly when all around him was being reborn was a faded memory now. Hei-ying stood tall by his master's side, he was calm, collected and in control. He was sane. He had a purpose worthy of his existence. Jade eyes flickered in her direction, and a slight smile pulled telling at thin lips.
//Was this what I would have been like had I survived everything after Clow and Kyree?//
Sakura turned away and stared at the door as she felt Maduokai approach. She couldn't help the smile bursting on her face.
. . . It was.
"It's a pleasure to finally come face to face with the Mistress of Clow Reed's cards . . ."
"Thank you . . ." Sakura bowed deeply, "It is a pleasure to meet with you . . . I hope you can help us in our dilemma."
Maduokai bowed back to her, "I shall certainly try my hardest. With the magic I learnt from the almost forgotten Egyptian magi, I shall try my best to reveal who has stolen from you." He glanced at the five guardians that stood behind the five magicians. "I'm very impressed by your creations . . . they certainly are very impressive, they look so very intricate." He motioned his own guardians, "As you can probably tell, mine are little more than enchanted papers and implorances to the gods for power . . . they are titans, who I have merely given physical form . . ."
The four humanoid guardians stood, staring at the group disinterestedly, each a wild mixture of one colour save one. The black and white haired boy was strikingly fitted with clothes that were black, but with folds in the clothing that were coloured white. Maduokai smiled, as he motioned forward two others. One was a small man with a fierce mask placed over his face, his clothing something out of a storybook, too long to see any feet at all. He carried a trunk as he stepped into the light. Eriol frowned as he noticed the mask's eyeholes were covered with a fine black mesh, or possibly there were no eyes. It seemed that beyond the mask there was no one . . . the other was the Lady Asil, she was dressed in a form fitting kimono, intricately made with beautiful dragons and landscapes lovingly sewn and large deep sleeves. Her feet were bound into small wooden slippers that clacked pleasingly as she moved with complete grace. Her mask, as intricately and carefully painted as her clothes, was closed eyed, painted long black eyelashes demurely resting on painted slightly blushing cheeks. Painted red lips stood out strikingly from the white face. In her hand, a traditional paper umbrella stuck out from under the large sleeve. She looked like she'd just stepped out of a traditional painting from the Ming Dynasty.
Sakura tried hard not to gape at the gentle beauty of the woman.
"My personal servant, my Lady Asil . . . and my manservant, Sen." Sen bowed somewhat woodenly, as Lady Asil dipped her head gracefully. Maduokai turned back to Sakura pleased that he'd made an impression on the obviously young woman. Sakura blinked as she noticed Maduokai smiling at her, and hastily schooled her features into something more becoming of a card mistress. "I know you've met them, but let me properly introduce you to the members of my family . . ." She raised a gloved hand and motioned Eriol, "This is Hiirawagizawa Eriol, former reincarnation of Clow Reed, now keeper of half of his magic."
Eriol tipped his head, and held up Tomoyo's hand, "This is my wife, Hiirawagizawa Tomoyo . . ." Tomoyo curtsied, before Eriol motioned with his other hand, "And these are our guardians, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon."
"Pleasure to meet you." Both guardians said quietly as they bowed in unison. Maduokai blinked with surprise.
"They are aware of themselves, what interesting creations . . ." he tipped his head to them, clearly amused by them, "Pleasure to meet you."
Sakura smiled a little, "And this is my brother, Kinomoto Touya, the keeper of the other half of Clow Reed's magic."
Touya nodded his greeting and motioned the black haired guardian behind him, "This is my guardian, Hei-ying." The jade eyed being stared at Maduokai for a long moment before dipping his head. Touya blinked as Hei-ying mentally whispered a thought to him, //familiar . . .//. Maduokai stared at Hei-ying as well.
//So this is the dead guardian . . .// he cursed his wind dragon for his carelessness, but noticed that Hei-ying didn't recognise him or any of the others. The guardian's prolong stare showed that he found them familiar but couldn't really place them, //good// Maduokai smiled tightly as he returned his gaze to Sakura. Perhaps Hei-ying's mind was too damaged to make the connections just yet, but he had to hurry . . . Maduokai decided, rather than risk the chance of Hei-ying remembering him.
Sakura motioned the intense Chinese boy behind him, "This is my confidant, Li Syaoran, Clan Head to the Li Clan of China."
"We've met . . ." Maduokai nodded, "A pleasure to be in such powerful company once more . . ."
Syaoran nodded tightly glancing at the Lady Asil. Her features were hidden, but her face was turned to him, and her head tilted at a inquisitive angle.
"And these are my personal guards . . ." Sakura raised both her hands, "Keroberos the Guardian beast . . . and Yue the Judgement Maker . . ."
"Ah, Clow Reed's most infamous guardians . . . pray tell . . ." Maduokai glanced them both over, "Is it true you are not the only guards that Clow Reed created . . .?"
Keroberos frowned, as Yue glared at him, "What relevance is it to you?"
"I only suggest that . . ." Maduokai smiled tightly, "If the rumours are true, that Clow created a defective guardian, then it's highly possible that this rejected creature may be wreaking its revenge on Clow . . ."
Touya felt Hei-ying's aura shift slightly, the warmth seeping from it as his fury built. The taller magician shook his head, "We've already discounted that . . . Clow Reed's skull was not stolen by the third guardian . . ."
"So the rumours are true, Clow Reed ignored the Law of Triad!" Maduokai's eyebrows shot up, "Such arrogance from such a powerful magician!" He shook his head, "Incredible . . ."
He glanced up as Sakura stepped forward, "Please . . . let's move on from this . . . how can we help you discover Clow's remains?"
Rain bounced hard off the large umbrella.
Freezing cold, Ruby held the umbrella over Tomoyo carefully, determined not to let the wife of her master get wet. Ruby hadn't liked that she was so easily subdued during Hei-ying's accidental attack, and refused to let anything happen to her mistress. Tomoyo gazed over the park, as Maduokai marked out the space to perform his spell. Beside her, the Lady Asil stood stoically; any attempt to make conversation had been met with silence.
Sen, Maduokai's manservant was equally as silent but there was a difference. Tomoyo frowned as she watched the two, Asil's silence was at her own will, Sen's . . . the old man swayed slightly, as if trying fight the bonds of the spell that held him . . . Sen's was enforced.
"Sakura-chan . . ." Tomoyo murmured under her breath, "Please be careful . . . all is not what it seems . . ."
Maduokai glanced at the card mistress, and smiled.
His plan was going correctly, the card mistress would give him power enough to reincarnate Clow Reed . . . and then, with the aid of his careful preparations, would escape with his prize and use Clow Reed, the very reason any of this had ever come about, the reason why his beloved sister had locked herself away, to bring her back into being. The Lady Asil would have her purpose fulfilled, and then as his sister's soul filled her, he and his sister Maduoshi would rise up, and become two of the most formidable magicians in china once more. The Kuei family would prosper once more!
He smiled as his guards took their positions, water and fire one side of him, and wind and lightning on the other. He looked over and motioned Hilligans – 'Sen the Manservant' – over to him. The spell the old man was under was hastily put together; therefore the motions of the man were not fluid. Ah well, it didn't really matter that much since Maduokai didn't have any use for the man. He pulled the trunk out of 'Sen's' hands and opened it. He pulled the black velvet bag containing Clow's skull, and smiled as he pulled the great magician's bones out of the bag.
"Clow Reed . . ." Maduokai whispered to the skull, "The time of my family's revenge is upon us all . . . thy time as master magician has passed, the Kuei family shall once again rule upon this Earth . . ."
The very thing they searched for was right here in his hand, and they had no way of knowing . . .
~~~~
And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!
DrM: I know what you are wondering . . . why the slight change of tone in story writing? That's what I'm wondering too . . . but then again, I just happen to be listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean's soundtrack . . . DVD OUT DECEMBER 2ND!! . . . and I've been re-watching the extras on the Lord Of The Ring's DVDs . . . and who can help but write in such tones, I want to be a filmmaker one day, a writer of films, whatever, I just want to make films like Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean, films that are just that tiny bit magical! And have Orlando Bloom in them. Cardcaptor Sakura 3: In This tainted Soul with Orlando Bloom as Yue and Jonny Depp as Clow anyone? [trails off as she tires to think of a decent actor to play Hei-ying, Alan Rickman seems good, Hugo Weaving brings giggles, Keanu Reeves makes her eye tick]
Jack Sparrow: . . .
DrM: [frowns] why isn't he saying anything?
Clow: [mutters something to DrM]
DrM: oh, yeah . . . [hastily types]
CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow: That's better luv, now type in the Pearl and a island full o' Rum and we'll all be very 'appy . . .
DrM: [grins] I love the man . . .
Clow: [sighs] let the girl watch the damned movie three times and what happens? She finds a new yaoi pairing . . . [shakes head] Poor Demented Dr Megalomania . . . please review and let her know what you thought . . .
DrM: also please note that this chapter has been un-beta-read due to forgetfulness of author therefore will be prone to be revised and replaced, please don't let this put you off reviewing as the minor changes will most likely be to grammar and spelling.
Clow: Ooooh. . . sounding officious. . . are we?
DrM: I disincline to acquiesce to your observation.
CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow: That's the way, Luv. . . [slurs quietly to Clow] Y'know I was always on your side in the matter . . .
Clow: [whispers back] Beware, I think she's writing a fic about you, the boy Will Turner, and the Black Pearl . . .
CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow: [eyes wide and fearful] what about rum? Will there be rum?! Why is the rum gone?!