I Love Her? I Love Her Not?
By: pnaixrose
A/N: AHHH!!!! *running from angry mobs*
PLEASE!!! I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING!!!
Oh yeah, I know I told you guys that this is the last chapter but when I
finished this one I suddenly didn't know what to write next! Err...darn
writer's block. Sorry! Let me think of something and then I'll put up the nex chapter as soon as I can! I
PROMISE!! It won't take me long to think of something, don't worry. Hehe...you people are probably so mad at me right now.
First I don't update for a long time and then here I am telling you guys that
I'll have to extend the story one more chapter. I'm SOO SORRY! Please forgive
me!!
Oh just to you warn you. I suck at fighting scenes. =]
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any of its original characters. They belong to CLAMP.
~~~~~
--Last chapter recap--------
"Himiko. . . I. . . I. . ."
Was he going to tell her? Would it help the situation he was in? He didn't care...it didn't matter…nothing mattered. . . He just let his words stumble on.
". . .I. . .love. . .y-"
He didn't get to finish as Himiko just narrowed her eyes at his stumbling words and brought the sword down to him. . .
----------------------------
Chapter 16: Opening the Dimension
The park was deadly dark and silent as Shun closed his eyes tight, waiting for even more pain as he saw that the sword was about to kill him. He didn't understand what was happening. Why was she doing this? Why did she hate him? He couldn't take the pain, the pain from a few measly words from a girl. Everything was a blur to him. It was all happening so fast. His heart was numb with extreme pain and he couldn't take it. Maybe it was good that he was going to die?
Suddenly a loud clash of metal filled the air as Shun felt a wave of air. He opened his eyes and saw that the sword-his sword- was gone from Himiko's hands.
Shun widened his eyes. Everyone was there; his parents, Kozue, Toji, Zak, Kumei, Himiko's parents, Yue, Keroberos, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun. They were all there standing around him as if protecting him. Syaoran had his sword out by his side. He had been the one who had clashed the sword away from Himiko's hand.
"What the hell is happening?" Syaoran whispered to Sakura, "Why was Himiko trying to hurt him?"
Sakura shrugged slightly. "I don't know…"
"I'm sure it's a misunderstanding…" Eriol said defending his daughter.
Tomoyo agreed. "She would never do anything to hurt anybody. Everyone knows that."
"I don't think that's our Himiko…" Meiling said.
"You're right. That definitely isn't Himiko," Kaji agreed.
Himiko, clearly impatient with all the whispering, was looking around for the sword she was about to kill Shun with and saw that it had been thrown all the way to the other side of the park. She couldn't get it now.
Kozue kneeled beside her little brother an arm around his shoulder. "What were you trying to do, Himiko?!" she shouted at her best friend.
Himiko did nothing but glare at them, her eyes showing nothing but pure, unreasonable anger.
"This is Shun, you know, Shun, the guy you're always talking about, Himiko!" Zak added.
Himiko rolled her eyes. "I know who he is! That's why I'm trying to kill him!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Toji shouted, obviously furious, "You practically praise the ground he walks on."
Kumei nodded nervously as she fiddled with her glasses. "Yeah Himiko, you were saying to me before how much you were worried about him when he said that he-"
"I do not care for that...that THING!" Himiko interrupted, pointing a finger at Shun who was still kneeling on the ground, his head bent down. It was obvious that he flinched at her cruel words.
Ruby Moon was evidently perplexed. "What are you talking about? You and Master Shun have always-"
"I DON'T CARE FOR HIM! HE'S SELFISH, ANNOYING, SPOILED, RUDE AND OBNOXIOUS AND I HATE HIM!"
Shun felt a chill run through him again and he shuddered at her words. Kozue, feeling her brother shuddering, was infuriated. What was Himiko saying? What was wrong with her? After all those times when Himiko had told her that she loved her brother-which by the way is still pretty nasty to her- she's going around saying she hates him now?
"You're not my daughter!" Tomoyo yelled, "My daughter loves Li Shun and would never hurt him like you're doing now!"
Eriol, his patience getting thinner by the second, said, "Why are you trying to hurt Shun so much? Show me where my real daughter is!"
Ryu appeared beside Himiko in a cloud of grey smoke. Immediately, Himiko went beside him and kneeled before him. After she got up and faced her ex-family and friends again, Katana said in a mocking voice, "It looks like Clow Reed wouldn't even know who his real daughter is."
"You again!" Kaji shouted with annoyance. How many times do they have to deal with this guy?
"What did you do to her?!" Eriol yelled.
"Why, I did nothing," Ryu said his red eyes glowing with glee, "I just help her out by letting her let out all of her true feelings for that small Li."
"T-True feelings?" Shun whispered almost inaudibly. Was it true? Does Himiko really feel this much hate for him?
"He's lying, Gaki!" Keroberos yelled.
"Can't you see it?" Yue said, "He's put a spell on her."
"If anything, Master Shun, this is the opposite of what she feels for you," Spinel Sun said.
Meiling nodded. "Shun, she would never really do this because she loves y-"
"Just shut up!!" Shun shouted covering his ears, "Just all of you shut up!!!!"
Silence filled the uneasy air. Katana smiled an evil smile at Shun's outburst. This was highly interesting.
Syaoran frowned. His son may be greatly trained for physical combat but Syaoran knew his son was confused as ever now. He knew that Shun was definitely not good with emotions and that all this yelling would just confuse him even more. Thinking these thoughts, Syaoran felt a small hand slowly slide into his. He turned and there was Sakura looking sadly at him. She had been thinking the same thing.
Ryu smirked. "Now, just give me the Cards and I'll leave all of you in peace…"
"No," Syaoran said with finality in his voice before anyone could say anything.
Ryu rolled his blood red eyes in exasperation. "Give me the Cards and I'll leave Clow Reed's daughter alone. The only way to get rid of the spell on her is to get rid of me, and we all know the only way to do that is for the Li Leader to sacrifice himself. If you just give me the Cards then, 'Mister Big Shot Li Clan Leader' wouldn't have to kill himself to lock me away again, right? You'll get the little girl too."
Sakura looked at Eriol and Tomoyo; the worried parents of the girl under Ryu's-well actually Katana's- hypnotism. Should she give the Cards to a being as evil as Katana and spare them the worry? And it wasn't only that. She could save Syaoran's life too…he wouldn't have to leave them. Oh, she didn't know what to do.
Tomoyo saw her best friend's thoughts and shouted in determination. "Don't give him the Cards, Sakura!"
Eriol nodded in agreement as Syaoran stared at her with a stern look, "Don't even think about doing that."
"But what about Himiko?"
"Well, the only way to get rid of the spell on her is to get rid of him, right?" Syaoran said. He took a step towards Katana.
Sakura yelled immediately at him. "No! Don't! Please, Syaoran!!!" Tears were about to fall just at the thought of losing him again.
Syaoran looked back at Sakura longingly. "I-I'll try to wear him down a bit…" he said, "but I know, even if we all attack together, that eventually…"
Kaji stopped him. "Syaoran, shut up," he said simply, "You never know until you try, right? So stop this talk and let's go kick Katana's ass..." He stood at Syaoran's side as he gave a reassuring grin.
Meiling beamed. "That's my Kaji!! This is why I married this guy!" she went and kissed him on the cheek, "He's right you know, Syaoran, you never do know until you try. With all of us together, we may be able to beat him." She stood beside Kaji, ready for a fight.
Eriol nodded and there was a flash of light before his wand appeared in his hands. "I'm in. Let's go." He walked slowly to Syaoran's side and smiled at his friends.
Immediately, Yue, Ruby Moon, Spinel Sun and Keroberos agreed too.
"I'll stay with the kids," Tomoyo said, "Someone needs to be here with them." She looked to Sakura, the only one who hadn't said anything or moved an inch. She was still looking at Syaoran wistfully, as he stared back at her the same way, as though they were talking with their eyes. Normally, the camera-obsessed girl would go leaping for her camera to shoot this 'S&S Moment', but under the circumstances, she didn't. She sighed. "Sakura…"
Sakura broke out of her trance with Syaoran as she turned to the one who called her. Tomoyo held her best friend's hands in hers and looked reassuringly into her emerald orbs. "Sakura, there has to be another way. There should always be a little hope inside you. You won't ever lose him, you know that. He's always in your heart, right?" Tomoyo whispered with a small smile.
Sakura nodded. Tomoyo was such a great friend. She remembered all the times where Tomoyo gave her the courage and strength to go through almost impossible situations. Tomoyo was right! There had to be hope somewhere!
She smiled graciously to her best friend and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks Tomoyo! You're right!" Sakura turned to the line of people who were ready to fight. "Count me in!" She walked over next to Syaoran and gave him the smile that he loved so much. "We can beat him!"
Katana rolled his eyes once again. How he hated all this sappy stuff. "So you guys are gonna try to beat me, eh?" He smirked and turned to Himiko. He just looked straight into her eyes without saying anything at all and Himiko nodded robotically and walked slowly a few feet away from him. Katana turned back to the group. "Now that the girl is out of the way, give me your best shot!"
Syaoran narrowed his eyes as he whispered to his friends. "Careful. We know that he's not one easy enemy."
They all nodded. "Hey Eriol, why don't you try your magic first?" Sakura suggested.
At that Eriol nodded and started shooting large yellow beams from his wand towards him, but Katana just stood there, watching it come to him. The beams hit him and there was an explosion. When the dust cleared, Katana was still standing there, smirking. Eriol narrowed his eyes. "I figured that this wouldn't be easy."
"Let us try, Master Eriol," Spinel Sun said.
Ruby Moon nodded, clearly excited. "We'll get him!"
"We'll help you guys out," Keroberos said.
"Let's try to combine our powers," Yue suggested.
Ruby Moon nodded. "It's worth a try, even if the suggestion was from Yue." She pointed to the sky, "Going up?"
The four guardians' wings spread in unison and together they launched straight up into the sky.
~~~~~
The children were still in the same place a few yards away from the others, safe from all the fighting. Tomoyo stood silently a few inches in front of them watching the battle unfold with worry.
"Shun! You okay, yet?" Toji asked kneeling beside his friend. Shun was still kneeling on the playground cement, his head still bent and his hands still covering his ears.
"Oh, Shun," Kozue said sighing. She felt a hand rest upon her shoulder and turned to see who it was. Zak looked down worriedly at her. He knew what Kozue was thinking. She was worried for her parents who were fighting, she was worried for the other parents, she was worried for Himiko, but most of all she was worried for her stupid, annoying, little brother.
Kumei kneeled next to Toji, jiggling her glasses nervously. "Shun, I-I think I should tell you…"
Shun stayed still, not even looking up at her. They weren't even sure he had heard her quivering voice. But Kumei continued on. "Umm...Himiko was worried about you, you know. She was upset when you told her that umm…well…when you told her your plan about saving your father. I know that you probably wouldn't change your mind about anything big like that, especially since you're determined to save your father. But you know, when she told me what happened between you two, that was when I realized Himiko really cared about you. And I'm sure that you thought that she of all people should have understood you and when she disagreed with you, you probably thought she didn't understand you after all. But you're wrong. Oh, you're so wrong. She was worried about you. She didn't want to see you die. In fact, no one does! She wouldn't act like this towards you if Katana hadn't put a spell on her. She cares for you, Shun! She cares for you more than you think!"
Shun was quiet. Did Himiko really care for him? Was it true that Himiko was under a spell? But what if it wasn't true? What if this was how Himiko really felt inside? You never know, maybe Katana had put a spell on her that made her do what she really felt. Oh he missed her so much. He missed talking to her, missed seeing her smile, and missed her voice. He just simply missed being with her!
Toji was getting annoyed with Shun. Did it take this long for someone to finally realize that the person they love loves them back? Toji punched Shun hard on the arm. "Man, Shun, wake up!! Even a blind person could clearly see that Himiko wasn't acting like herself!!! She's under a damn spell!!!"
That was when it hit Shun and he finally reacted to that. He winced rubbed his arm. "Ow…"
Kumei, Kozue and Zak sweatdropped at what Toji did.
"You listening yet, dork?! Or do you need another punch to wake you up some more?!" Toji said practically yelling. He raised his fist.
Kumei immediately pulled Toji's hand down, sweatdropping. "C-Calm down, Toji!"
"I just wanna know if he's listening to this," Toji said frowning.
Shun looked at Toji, his face emotionless. "I've been listening…to everything." He turned to Kumei. "Thanks for telling me that, Kumei." He next turned to Kozue, "Thanks for worrying, onee-san." Then he turned to Zak, "Thanks for caring for my sister so much." Finally, he turned to Toji. "And thanks to you too."
"For what?" Toji asked.
"For punching me. That really woke me up," he answered, "You were right. Anybody could've seen that Himiko was under some kind of spell. I realized that when you said it. I was being selfish, for not thinking about anyone else besides myself and how much Himiko was hurting me, especially since I practically told her I'm in love with her. I know what I have to do now."
He stood up slowly, leaning on his big sister for help.
"What are you gonna do?" Zak asked.
Shun looked at them. "You'll see. But you guys have to promise me one thing. And it's something you have to promise..."
The teens looked at each other for a second. "Umm...okay...we promise," Kozue said reluctantly.
Shun looked at them gravely. "Stay here and don't follow me, no matter where I go."
And then he suddenly took off towards the battle.
They looked at him run off, each with worried eyes. "I hope he doesn't do what I think he's going to do..." Toji said.
"Well, we can't stop him if he is going to sacrifice himself to save his father," Kumei said," It's his decision."
"And besides," Kozue added, "we made a promise."
Everything was silent a minute more.
"Wait a second," Zak said with a shock of realization, "Did Shun just say that he told her how much he loved her?"
~~~~~
Keroberos, Ruby Moon, Spinel Sun and Yue all looked down at the park as they stayed afloat in mid-sky.
"Let's start it off, Keroberos," Spinel Sun said.
"Right behind ya."
Both four legged guardians opened their mouths. In Keroberos's mouth appeared a fiery ball, and in Spinel Sun's mouth appeared a big sphere of energy. With a small glance at each other, they both let out their powers in unison. The ray of energy crashed down as the fireball accompanied it close behind. They both reached the smirking Katana in no less than a second and then- BOOM! There was a big explosion.
Yue and Ruby Moon nodded at each other as they got ready for the finale. Yue taking out his bow and arrow and Ruby Moon taking out her sharp, pink crystals, they both released their arrow and crystals at the same time towards the clearing dust. This caused another batch of dust to pollute the air. Everyone waited impatiently, waiting for the dust to clear. Their anxious waiting was broken when they heard laughter.
"You thought you can get rid of me with just magic? It'll take more than that, you know," Katana said laughing, still standing firmly on the ground.
"What's wrong with this guy?! It's like there's something protecting him or something!" Meiling said with annoyance.
"It must be a magic shield. I guess the only way to break that shield is to fight head on," Kaji said thoughtfully.
"It didn't do a thing..." Yue said with a sigh as the guardians reached the ground again.
"Syaoran, can we attack him yet?" Meiling asked hopefully. Oh how she wanted to kick Katana's ass.
Sakura turned to her husband. "I think we should attack now, too. What else can we do? The safe way doesn't work obviously."
Syaoran nodded. They were right. There was nothing else to do. It looked almost impossible to beat him. Maybe he'd have to go through it after all... Syaoran mentally slapped himself. No! He couldn't think that way. They will beat him! Syaoran was reluctant about fighting Katana head on though. If they did, Katana was sure to attack back. His friends would get seriously---
Oh shoot.
Syaoran suddenly saw Meiling running towards Katana. "Meiling, get back here!!!" Syaoran shouted.
Meiling looked back at her friends momentarily. "Leave him to me!"
"Stop, Meiling!! You'll get hurt!!!" Kaji said frantically. He ran quickly after her.
"Kaji!" Sakura yelled. But Kaji didn't even look back at her.
Syaoran sighed. After all these years, Meiling still was a mischief worker. "Sakura," he said turning to the emerald-eyed beauty, "let's go follow them."
Sakura nodded as she followed Syaoran.
Eriol turned to the awaiting guardians. "Take different positions in the sky, while I stay close behind them. Let's cover them. Then when it seems that the magic shield has disappeared, we'll attack in one blow. Make sure they do not get hurt."
The guardians nodded and flew off.
~~~~~
Shun stopped running as he saw that the parents were going to try attacking with their fists and swords. It was about time. They should have known that Katana can't be beaten with simple magic. As he turned to continue towards his destination-his sword all the way in the other side of the area-he saw that he had an something-or rather someone- in his way.
"H-Himiko..."
The girl looked furiously at him, her eyes narrowed. She looked absolutely different, no resemblance at all was seen in her. But her eyes...they were proof that she was under a spell. How could Shun have been so blind?! It was obviously clear that Himiko would never ever have such eyes; eyes containing pure anger, hate and loathing. She was definitely the opposite of that...
"Where do you think you're going, eh Li?" she spat.
Shun took a step back. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.
"I asked you a question," she said taking a large step towards him.
He in return, stepped back. She took another step, and he took a step back. He couldn't keep doing this though. He glance at the sword a couple of feet away. He needed it. So when Himiko took a step towards him, he didn't move.
"You know, just because I don't have a sword to cut your throat right now, doesn't mean that I can't kill you," Himiko said almost serenely.
Shun just stared back silently. Himiko smirked. "I guess you have nothing else to say?"
"H-Himiko...I know that that's not really you...that can't be you."
Himiko shrugged. "But it is me, Li."
Shun glared at her. "Bring back the real Himiko...bring her back!"
Himiko rolled her eyes. "I'm getting tired of this nonsense."
"Himiko, please!! You have to hear me in there! Don't you remember anything at all about me? All the memories, all the laughs and tears we've shared together?" Shun asked pleadingly.
Everything stopped. Shun looked at her with puppy dog eyes, urging her to remember. Himiko stared at him for a moment, his words ringing through her like a nonstop bell. Memories? Laughs? With him? An image flashed through her mind. She remembered that time when she was nine years old; she had gone to the beach with Shun, Kozue, Toji and all of their parents. She remembered how Toji and Shun were splashing the sea blue water at Kozue and Himiko. She heard the ocean's soft waves and the seagulls' cries, but most important of all she heard laughter. Laughter...
Himiko covered her ears and closed her eyes tight as if trying to rid of the stray memory. "Stop it, Li!! You're trying manipulating me!!"
"No I'm not, Himiko! You're my friend, I would never do that. I-I lov-"
"Just shut up!" she shouted, her eyes full of fury.
Shun closed his eyes to calm himself down. Again, she had cut his confession off. He knew he had to come clean about his feelings though. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave her without saying those three words. This was his last chance...if he didn't tell her now, he wouldn't ever tell her...
~~~~~
Meiling was full of anger as she sprinted full speed towards the demon. Her eyes were narrowed, her hair was flowing behind her like a black stream, and her jaw was clenched as she ran. As she neared even closer to Katana, her fists were already set to strike.
"Katana, you bastard!!!" she yelled. Her fist was about to beat the smirk off his face.
Suddenly, there was a swift gush wind and Katana was unexpectedly behind her. A long, sharp sword appeared in his hand and he was about to counter Meiling's attack when;
"Meiling watch it!!"
Katana's sword bounced off as it came down towards Meiling. She heaved a sigh of relief as Kaji, Syaoran and Sakura finally arrived on the scene. Eriol, was a few feet behind them, since fighting head on wasn't really his thing. She nodded in thanks for he had been the one who had brought that shield over her.
Kaji saw that Katana was momentarily distracted so he attacked him. He lunged with a quick punch that Katana dodged. But Kaji was ready for it. He whipped around as quickly as he could and kicked Katana square in the stomach.
Katana flinched backwards at the impact but unfortunately, he quickly recovered. His eyes flashed angrily towards Kaji.
"Stupid non-magic folk..." he muttered.
With not even a blink of an eye, Kaji was thrown off his feet by an invisible force and landed a few yards away.
Meiling immediately ran towards her hurt husband without a moment's thought, leaving Sakura and Syaoran to fend for themselves. Besides, she thought that she probably wouldn't have a chance against a demon with both a sword and magic, two things she didn't have. She left with just a worried glance towards Syaoran.
Syaoran, Sakura and Katana all stood still, Sakura and Syaoran a few feet away from him.
Sakura would've used all her magic full out to defeat the diabolic demon, but one important thing bothered her.
"Syaoran," she whispered quietly, "we can't hurt him even though we want to so much..."
Syaoran nodded. "He's still in Ryu's body...and if we hurt Katana, we hurt Ryu."
"What should we do?"
~~~~~
Shun gave a few breaths before finally opening his eyes to see Himiko's face.
"H-Himiko," he said, his heart pounding against his chest, "I-I..."
"Say whatever you want, Li, but I'm still not listening to you," Himiko interrupted rudely.
"I..."
Himiko covered her hands with her ears and closed her eyes tightly. "Shut up...I'm not listening to anything you have to say!"
Shun's eyes narrowed as he grabbed her wrists and pulled them from her ears. But his eyes softened as he saw her confused azure beautiful ones. His grip lessened on her wrists and he drew closer towards her. His face was now only a few centimeters from her different, confused, almost scared eyes.
Shun spoke with gentleness and patience. "I...I want you to know...that...I love you, Himiko."
At that, Himiko's eyes suddenly glazed over. They closed slowly as she fainted straight into Shun's arms. Shun worriedly sought if she was breathing and when he found that she was, he sighed in relief. He relished the feeling of having her in his arms. He hugged her tightly as he closed his eyes and sighed again, this time in bliss. He loved the smell of her hair, the touch of her skin, and the way she slowly was breathing. If only he didn't have to leave her.
But he had to. His father and mother were in danger. Everyone was.
Something a few yards away caught his eyes. His sword. He heard the others' footsteps behind him and knew he had to act fast. They were coming to make sure Himiko was all right.
He knelt down to lay the unconscious Himiko on the ground, leaving her with just his sweater he had been wearing around her and a small kiss on the cheek.
He gazed at her forlornly and lovingly and turned to give one last smile to the others before he went to fetch his sword. He heard his sister's voice behind him, calling him, begging him to come back. He ignored it. But he knew they wouldn't follow him. They had made a promise. And great friends like that didn't break promises, no matter what it was.
~~~~~
"Isn't there someway to get Katana out of Ryu's body?" Sakura shouted as she and Syaoran dodged one of Katana's magic attacks.
"I've heard of one spell, but I didn't master it," Syaoran yelled back.
"Why not?" Sakura gave him a desperate look.
"Well, you have to learn it at a young age, like adolescence, but I couldn't. I tried but I couldn't learn it."
"Why not?" Sakura asked again.
Syaoran looked at the ground and blushed for a second. "To learn it, you need strong, concentration. B-But well at adolescence, I was with you all the time and the time I wasn't with you...I was...uhh...thinking about you...so basically I couldn't concentrate."
Sakura sighed but smiled. "Oh Syaoran..."
Syaoran saw Katana point another attack towards them.
"Watch out!!" Eriol shouted. Another shield covered them as they both sighed in relief.
"Guys, pay attention!" Eriol yelled. They nodded in response.
"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked Sakura.
She nodded. "But what do we do now? Do you know anyone who mastered that spell you were talking about?"
Syaoran froze in realization. "I know of one person...Yurushi."
"Yurushi?!"
~~~~~
"Himiko's okay!!" Kozue said as she saw her little brother breaking the spell.
Without a second's worry, they all, including Tomoyo, ran to the girl that Shun had left lying on the floor. As they reached her, Tomoyo knelt on the floor beside her to check her pulse. She sighed with relief.
"Don't worry, she's okay," Tomoyo said hugging her sleeping daughter in her arms. Everyone around her- crowding to see if Himiko was all right- sighed also.
Kozue then broke from the crowd and turned to see her brother running away. She knew what he was going to do. It was obvious. He wanted to save them all by taking his own life.
"Hey!!!" she shouted to his running back, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "You better not do what I think you're going to do, you baka!! Come back here right now!!!!! Please!?!"
Of course Shun didn't turn to acknowledge his sister, but Kozue knew he heard her. She slid to the ground knowing she might lose her little, annoying otouto-chan. They couldn't follow him...they had made a promise...a pact. They couldn't break it. Kozue felt a hand slid onto her shoulder and knowing that it was Zak as usual, she smiled a bit, but tears still ran down her cheeks.
Suddenly a blast told them that Katana had started to attack Syaoran and Sakura. They looked towards the scene and even heard Syaoran and Sakura's conversation because they were yelling it so it could be heard over the blasts. After a couple of seconds, another explosion was heard as well as the end of their discussion.
They all saw Syaoran freeze in recollection as he said, "I know of one person...Yurushi."
Sakura, they saw, was surprised. "Yurushi?!"
Toji turned to them. "It looks like they need that Yurushi dude here so he can cast that spirit removing spell."
"But haven't you noticed? Yurushi and Megumi haven't been heard from in awhile..." Kozue said.
"Maybe Katana did something to them," Zak suggested.
"That would probably be the possibility. After all, Katana doesn't need them, he needs Kozue parents," Kumei added.
"We have to find them!" Zak said.
"Hold it!" Tomoyo shouted, "You kids aren't going anywhere!"
"What?! You're telling us that it's safer out here then out in the town where a lot of people are?" Toji said.
"Please, Tomoyo-san! We need to help somehow!" Kumei pleaded.
"It's obvious that my parents can't exactly go and call for Yurushi," Kozue said, "And besides I can track Yurushi and Megumi's auras. Remember, I have magic too."
Tomoyo looked at their pleading faces. "Well..."
"Please Hiirgazawa-san! We really want to help!" Kumei said.
"And if we don't hurry, Shun will go and do something rash," Kozue said glancing at the Shun who was almost to the sword.
That's right! Shun will go and take his own life so that Syaoran wouldn't have to do it! Tomoyo immediately agreed with the children. "But if anything were to happen..."
"Don't worry! Nothing will!" Toji said as they were already running away.
"Take care of Himiko while we're gone!!" Kozue shouted.
Tomoyo sighed and looked at her still sleeping daughter in her arms.
~~~~~
"I-If only we could reach Yurushi somehow!" Sakura said.
An attack came towards her and Syaoran quickly pushed her out of the way and they landed on the floor, Syaoran on top of Sakura.
"Be careful!!" he shouted, holding her tightly. He had almost lost her there.
Sakura looked up at him sadly. "We need Yurushi, Syaoran!!"
Syaoran sighed. "I know! We obviously can't reach him right now, though!"
They were still on the ground when they noticed another magic attack was already coming towards them.
Syaoran cursed. "Shit! Sakura watch out!!"
He covered his body over hers, expecting great pain to fill him.
~~~~~
Shun reached his sword. Now he was just looking down at it, staring at it. He felt that if he just picked it up, it would end his life. Suddenly he heard his father yell. He whipped his head around seeing that an attack was going towards them. Without a second's thought, he grabbed his sword and before he knew it, he was in front of them, facing the fire attack head on. He closed his eyes and concentrated all his power into his sword, knowing there were only a few milliseconds left. Suddenly his green eyes opened and with one swift movement, cut the fire down the middle, causing it to go around them.
Katana gritted his teeth. The boy was strong. He had cut through the attack easily.
~~~~~
Kozue, Kumei, Toji and Zak, ran through the streets with Kozue in the lead. The sun had practically sunk away. Only a teeny bit shown on them, but it didn't help with the darkness.
"Where are we going, Kozue?" Toji asked.
"Just follow me. I feel his aura over there," Kozue pointed towards a street.
After a few more minutes, they at last reached the big house and rang the doorbell. No one answered as they waited impatiently. Toji got aggravated and started pounding on the door.
"Open up, dammit! Your son is possessed by a freaking demon!!!" he yelled.
Kumei sweat dropped as she grabbed his arm. "T-Toji, calm down. You want people to know?"
"Well, it seems as if no one's answering even after Toji knocked on the door hard," Zak said, "The only thing we can do is break in."
"Oh dear..." Kumei said fiddling with her glasses.
"That's where Toji comes in," Kozue said.
Toji smirked as he stood in front of the door. "Stand out of the way, everyone."
Kozue, Kumei and Zak scrambled from the door in front of the door and stood behind him.
Toji closed his eyes trying to concentrate. After a couple of quiet seconds, Toji's eyes flipped open and he swiftly punched the door with his right fist.
The door didn't move.
Kozue, Kumei and Zak sweat dropped. "What was that?!" Zak asked.
"T-Toji, I thought you were going to break the door down..." Kozue said.
Toji grinned proudly and cockily. "I did."
Seeing their confused faces, Toji reached out for the door and pushed it lightly with one finger. The door came crashing down.
Kozue entered the house following the strong aura. "C'mon they're downstairs in the basement I think." Kozue led the way to the door which led to the basement as if she lived in the house.
"Are you sure they're here? The lights are out and everything's quiet," Kumei said on the way.
"I'm sure of it. They're here."
They ran down the steps and when they reached the bottom, it was dark as night.
"Hit the lights," Zak said.
"I'm trying..." Toji said trying to feel the walls.
Kumei shrieked. "Stop Toji! That's me!!"
"AH! Sorry! Sorry!" Toji said apologetically.
"TOJI! That's still me!!"
"Sorry!! I thought you moved!!"
"Toji, would you stop trying to get with Kumei and turn on the lights?!" Zak said sighing.
"Hey! It's not my fault, I can't see at all!!! Why don't you get the lights?" he replied angrily.
"Guys, please stop fighting. W-We're not alone in here...Don't you hear breathing?" Kozue said quietly, almost fearfully.
They froze. What did she just say?!
"Oh...I found the lights," Zak said.
With a quiet click of the light switch, the lights turned on. Toji, Kumei, Kozue and Zak gasped at the sight they saw. Across the room were two people tied to two chairs.
"Oh dear..." Kumei said.
The proud Yurushi and his lovely wife Megumi were tied to the chairs, tape on their mouths. The teens scrambled to them and quickly untied their ropes and took the tape off their mouths. They were hurt and looked weak. Yurushi had a large bloody gash on his arm and a smaller one on one side of his face while Megumi was bruised and had a deep cut on her leg.
"Let me guess who did this," Toji said, rage filling him. Yurushi wasn't such a great guy but he didn't deserve this.
"It wasn't really him!" Megumi cried, "It wasn't Ryu! It couldn't be." Her face was streaked with tears and her expression deeply saddened.
"It wasn't him. Katana is inside of him," Kozue said.
"No way...how would Katana be inside of my son?!" Yurushi said.
"Please calm down, sir. We are telling the truth and I'm afraid we need your help..." Kumei said.
Yurushi looked at the group of kids tiredly. He was deeply famished and fatigued. He noticed two faces out of the four.
"Aren't you Li's daughter and Meiling's son?" he said indicating to Toji and Kozue.
They nodded. "But please hear us out for a second," Toji said, "And don't freak out either."
"Our parents need your help," Kozue said.
At the mere mention of her parents, Yurushi scowled. "Bah! Li Syaoran would never need my help even if he was dying and I was the only one around!"
"Sir, a lot of people are hurt and are suffering. Toji's parents, Kozue and Shun's parents, the Hiiragazawa family and the guardians...don't tell me you're going to leave them out there to fight Katana all alone," Zak said.
"What?! They're fighting Katana?! They're fighting my son?!" Yurushi glared at them.
Kozue spoke up, "You said yourself, that that wasn't him. It may be his body but it wasn't him. They didn't even get a chance to even come close to your son's body, so don't worry, they haven't hurt him. But if it continues, they are sure to fail and my father would have to..."
Before Yurushi could respond, Megumi did. "We'll help you kids. Just one thing, I want my son back safe and unharmed."
The teens nodded. "Syaoran-san and Sakura-san said that you can help us," Zak said to Yurushi.
"Huh? How?"
"They said that you're the only one that they know of who knows the spell of how to extract a spirit from a body," Kumei said.
"Yes I do...but doesn't the all mighty Syaoran know that spell?" Yurushi asked scornfully.
Kozue sighed. "Look, you and my father are different, Yurushi-san. You two both have your certain strengths and weaknesses. My father doesn't know that spell and you do. That's one of his weaknesses and that's one of your strengths. Are you going to help them?"
Yurushi was quiet for a second. "I'll do it. Not for the Li Clan Leader, the Cardmistress or Clow Reed, though. I want my son back."
~~~~~
Syaoran, not feeling pain, looked up and saw that his son was standing in front of them. "Shun!!"
Hearing her husband calling out his son's name, Sakura instantly looked up. "Shun?"
Syaoran helped Sakura up off the floor. "Shun, what the hell are you doing?!" Syaoran asked, grabbing his son's shoulder forcefully.
"Watch your language otou-san," Shun said.
Sakura giggled a bit.
"Shun, you really shouldn't be here. It's really dangero-"
"WATCH IT!!!"
A transparent layer covered them from the surprise incoming attack from Katana.
"You guys really shouldn't talk in the middle of a battle," Yue and Ruby Moon said from above, "But hurry up, we can't keep this shield up for long..."
Sakura sighed in relief. Good thing the guardians and Eriol were still backing them up somehow.
Syaoran turned back to his son. "As I was saying," he said, "Shun, this is dangerous!"
Shun shrugged. "So? You guys are fighting aren't you?"
"But we're trying to protect you!" Syaoran said.
"Your father has a point there," Sakura said worriedly, "We're trying to protect everyone and you just came in."
"I saved your lives, didn't I?" Shun said.
Sakura looked at Syaoran, "And he does have a point there, too. If it weren't for him, we would've been toast."
Syaoran sighed. "That's not the point. He's here and he's in danger. That's the point."
Shun smiled. "Oh who cares about it? Let's just beat Katana's ass."
Sakura and Syaoran looked at him, wide-eyed.
"What?" Shun asked.
Sakura pointed to his face. "Y-You're smiling!"
Shun grinned. "Yeah, so?"
Syaoran looked at his son for a minute. His son was smiling? Whoa...major improvement. Maybe he wasn't a bad father after all. He smiled too. "Okay fine. We'll be in danger together then."
Sakura laughed. "That was so corney..."
"Shut up."
Shun got his sword ready in front of him. "At least we're not in pain just for being near him like in the last battle."
"Why do you think that is?" Sakura asked.
"Katana was really mad that day. Maybe that's why...oh I don't know anymore. Everything's confusing!! Katana is just...Katana," Syaoran said.
"Guys! The shield going down!!" Ruby Moon shouted.
In a flash, the shield flickered and then disappeared.
"You cowards done from hiding yet?" Katana asked.
The three just stood there, weapons ready.
Katana narrowed his eyes at the three. Oh how he hated the Lis. They had broken his plan, trying to get the Li boy to ask his mother to give Katana the Cards to save that girl. But the Li boy didn't seem that weak after all. He needed a new one. Fast. If only he could get the Cards!! Katana scowled at them. He couldn't go over the top either. He had to conserve his energy or else what happened last time will happen again. The measly body he was in would give in.
Katana almost was surprised as the three launched their attack.
Sakura, with the Staff in her hands, came in to his right, Syaoran was coming to his left and Shun was in middle. "Go Sakura!" Syaoran suddenly yelled.
"Illusion!!!"
Suddenly many Syaorans, Shuns and Sakuras were crowding him. Katana smirked and held his sword horizontally in front of his face and got into an attack position. After a second or so, he lashed the sword out. There was a kind of a wave from his sword and hit every one of the fake-and real-people in front of him.
Sakura, Shun and Syaoran were thrown back. They all landed hard on the ground and they laid there for a second in pain.
Katana laughed. "Why are you guys going easy on me? Is it because I'm inside this little boy's body? Well, I guess it's time to end this now. It's starting to get boring."
Katana held his sword out in front of him, vertically this time. He slashed it down and three hot fireballs appeared rapidly going towards each of them. It was with such great speed that they didn't even have a chance to move out of the way. They were once again thrown a couple of feet away. Katana smirked and once again lashed his sword down and yet again the three cried out in pain. Then once more just for fun, he did it again. He loved hearing the agonized cries.
Shun groaned as he lay on the ground. "He's s-still too powerful..."
"I-Itai..." Sakura whimpered.
Katana strode towards the injured Sakura on the floor. He looked down upon with spite and hate. Sakura, feeling nothing but pain, didn't notice Katana there until her quivering eyes focused and saw him. But then she felt so tired that everything blacked out.
Syaoran immediately tried to help himself up, although he was battered and bruised. Only one of his enticing amber eyes was open. "You touch her," he said angrily, clutching his left arm which he had landed on, "And I'll send you straight to hell!!"
Katana turned and looked at the weak Li Clan Leader and laughed. Syaoran was barely on his feet, he was bruised and was clutching to his left arm in pain, and he was panting heavily. He barely looked like any trouble now. The only thing strong about him now was his eyes. The eyes showed both pure hatred and anguish at the same time. It also gave the touch-her-I'll-kill-you look. Wow...Li really loved his wife. Oh well...makes it even more fun. Katana smirked. He bent down and grabbed something out of her pocket as she just lay there unconsciously. He laughed maniacally as he held the Cards out in front of him with glee.
"Finally!! Open the dimension, Cards!!!"
Suddenly a white cloud appeared and a body was dropped to the ground.
"Yes! Now I won't have to be stuck in this stupid kid body anymore," Katana said as he bounded towards it. Then he simply knelt down and touched it. Suddenly there was a red light and Ryu fell down to the ground, his eyes closed. The other body suddenly stood up, his red eyes glowing and his jet black blowing in the night breeze. He bent down to pick up the Cards from Ryu's unconscious hands.
"Yes! I finally have my beautiful body back," he said happily. He examined himself for a moment and then looked straight at Syaoran who was still struggling just to stand up.
Katana, now in his own body, smirked and narrowed his eyes. "Now the fun begins."
That was when Kozue, Toji, Kumei and Zak along with Megumi and Yurushi arrived. "Oh no! We're too late!!!" Zak said.
Kumei shuddered as they looked at the real Katana. "Oh dear..."
Yurushi made fists. "Damn Katana...with his real body back, he has no limits to how much power he can use. When he was in Ryu, he had to make sure he couldn't use all his power at once so that Ryu's body didn't just give up on him...but now..."
Megumi screamed.
"What's wrong?" Toji asked.
"H-He has the Cards!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
~~~~~
A/N: Again, I'm really sorry. =[
~pnaixrose [4:39PM EST, Saturday, March 20, 2004]
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