Fountain of Age
Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...
Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.
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Chapter 3: In The Second Room…
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Xiao Lang's search continued in vain. Fountains of the World turned out to be about the world's most famous man made fountains; the kind you found in town squares or parks. Xiao Lang didn't really think the Fountain of Youth would fit under that category and the author seemed to agree. There was no mention of the Fountain of Youth in Fountains of the World. He wedged it back into place.
There were no other books on fountains. He checked the B's for Bimini, the other F's for Florida, and even the C's for Catholicism. None of the books he found yielded anything new about the Fountain of Youth. If they had any information at all, it was what Eriol had already told him, but more specific, with dates and even pictures.
Xiao Lang tried to push his panic down. What if the book he was looking for did not have Fountain of Youth, Florida, Catholicism, or whatever, in it's title? How would he ever find it then?
His head started to hurt when he was halfway down the H's (Headaches). Maybe he was allergic to the dust. Or books. Or the Fountain of Youth. Whatever the cause, he took a break, and nipped into the kitchen for lunch. Nakuru was there, and with a worried glance at his ashen face, gave him a plate of sandwiches to bring to the library. They were very dry, and felt rather funny in his mouth.
Once the distraction of the sandwiches were gone, Xiao Lang was hit by dizziness. He didn't know where to pick the search back up again; there were so many books, and he'd run out of key words to check for. He felt incapable of thought, except for a single desperate one: find the fountain. At all costs.
His eyes found themselves on a golden yellow book on the M shelf. It read, Move the Bookcase. Xiao Lang rattled off a laugh, but groaned when his head protested. It was the book Eriol had been holding when he'd gone to the second room. Maybe a change of scenery might cure him. If he was lucky, there would be something helpful in the W's (for water). Or the R's, for remedies to headaches.
He pulled on the book, and marveled as the L shelf and the M shelf swung out without dropping a single page. It was probably why the books were crammed so close to each other: so they wouldn't bury Eriol when he pulled Move the Bookcase. Xiao Lang wondered if Move the Bookcase had any content in it, but, as he couldn't get it out of the shelf, he decided it was empty, and the endeavor pointless. Probably like the quest for the fountain.
Gloom seemed to consume him. He tried not to imagine what his mother could do to him. "Strength," Eriol had said. "Strength." With that encouraging (but throbbing) thought, Xiao Lang entered the second room. It was an exact copy of the first room except the window's placement (now it blinded him with pure sunlight from somewhere slightly to his right instead of his far left) and an empty, black, fireplace complete with customary large, red, reading chair.
But what stole his attention was the painting over the fireplace. It was of a fair woman with long, light brown hair. She was fitting a pearl earring in her ear. Her eyes were just as expressive as the ones in the kitchen, but they failed to watch him. Instead, they were fixed on a point; a point on the shelf. Xiao Lang followed her eyes. They rested on a white book, about as thin as Fountains of the World. He stepped towards the book, slowly, as if it would jump off the shelf and attack him. Could it be...?
Youth. The title was simply Youth. A short title, written in loopy gold. He pried it off the shelf (the books weren't so crammed on the shelf on this side), and checked the author. Kaho Mizuki.
Xiao Lang flipped through the book, catching a few words here and there. A girl... a boy… a small town... hatred… Japan... Pointless rubbish! He was just about to stuff it, angrily, back onto the shelf, when it fell open to a bookmarked page.
The left page featured an intricate drawing. It seemed to be composed of black dots that oddly resembled raindrops against a blank white background. Otherwise, he couldn't tell what it was. He gazed at the caption for help.
Fuente de Ponce de Leon.
Ponce de Leon. Was this it? He only knew rudimentary Spanish; enough to know that de meant "from." Fuente was Spanish for something... Unless Xiao Lang was just getting more desperate than ever, the word was looking a lot like the word fountain... The fountain of Ponce de Leon... the Fountain of Youth?!
He threw a look at the picture. To his eyes, the black dots were reshaping themselves into something that resembled a fountain. A man made fountain, certainly, but maybe the meaning was just symbolic. It left no doubt in his mind, in any case: this book was the one his mother was talking about.
Excited, he turned to the right hand page, and was confronted with a handwritten note. It was on an extra piece of paper, tucked into the book upside down. Xiao Lang turned it right side up to read the words. It was written in Japanese. Without bravado, without flourish, it simply read:
"Try to find me in Tomoeda."
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Nakuru was serving tea when Xiao Lang appeared with a book in his hand from the depths of the lower hallway.
"Tomoeda," was all he could say. "The Fountain of Youth is in Tomoeda, Japan!" He seemed thoroughly surprised at his own good luck.
"You found it?!" exclaimed Nakuru, and she bounded forward to examine the book herself. Xiao Lang held it open to the page with the drawing and the note, and Nakuru read the note out loud, "'Try to find me in Tomoeda.'" She looked up at Eriol to see what he had to say.
Eriol sipped his tea solemnly before turning to address Xiao Lang's findings. "Tomoeda, Japan huh?" he said, between sips. "Tell me, do you know where that is?"
"Eriol!" Nakuru scolded.
"What?" Eriol looked surprised at his housekeeper's reaction. "I want to know if Xiao Lang knows where that is."
"I don't know," his cousin answered truthfully. Where was this Tomoeda, Japan? He glanced at Nakuru who seemed absolutely upset at her employer.
"Well, I'll tell you, even if Eriol doesn't want to," Nakuru said, casting Eriol a disappointed look. "It's a small town near Tokyo. I should know. All Eriol ever talks about is Tomoeda; he used to live there."
"Eriol used to live there?"
"A very long time ago," said his housekeeper. "Now, let me see that book." Xiao Lang handed it over, and she immediately flipped through the pages at lightning speed.
"So, how did you come up with the idea that the Fountain of Youth is in Tomoeda, Japan?" Eriol asked his relative.
His housekeeper interrupted. "There's a picture!" she gasped. "There's a picture of a fountain!" She shoved it in front of his face, causing the note to take flight.
"Yes, Nakuru, I see it," said Eriol, calmly. He was still drinking his tea. "Now let Xiao Lang answer the question."
"There's a caption!" Nakuru continued, almost deaf to Eriol's orders. She read it to him, interpreting it correctly and just brimming with excitement.
"Yes, yes." He stood up and started to clean the dining table. "But how did Xiao Lang come up with that answer, Nakuru? Let him speak."
"It was the note, Eriol, the note," said his cousin. "I'm sure it's talking about the fountain."
"What makes you think that?" asked Eriol. He stooped to pick up the note while he was heading for the kitchen sink. He paused while he read the note, the china balancing in his other hand.
"The fountain is in Tomoeda, Eriol. It must be." Nakuru gazed at him expectantly. It struck Xiao Lang that she was practically begging Eriol to agree with her.
Eriol placed the china in the kitchen sink. The two breathlessly waited for his response. Xiao Lang felt utterly bewildered. It was as though it was Nakuru who was seeking the Fountain of Youth; not him. Once again, he felt overwhelmed by his cousin's forceful housekeeper.
Eriol turned to them, and grinned. "Fine. We're headed for Tomoeda."
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Author's Notes: Thank you for reviewing, ChibiYuffie1. Thanks especially, for your patience. They're coming in the next chapter.
Additionally, there is magic in this story, as you might've noticed. It seemed inevitable, considering that the boys are chasing a magical object. Still, the rules are different from the original CCS, and they will be explained as necessary. There are no cards.