Past Incarnation
By Azi
Chapter 6: Revealing
THE DISTANT WEST
Symon woke with a slight headache: the result of draining himself the night before. He shifted and hound that his position wasn't causing his discomfort, but the floor he found himself on was. He groaned, thinking he had fallen off his bed. While trying to push himself up, he realized his hands were tied together. 'Rope,' he thought, 'at least I can get through that. What a silly prank to pull.' He struggled, trying to loosen the rope and free himself.
"You're finally awake! What did you do, crack your head?"
The voice called Symon from his struggles. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't tell where it came from. He looked around, finding people he hadn't noticed before. "Where are we? What happened?"
"You don't know what happened?" A young man stepped forward and kneeled beside Symon as he spoke.
The advisor – former advisor – shook his head. "Not really. I remember the fires. I tried putting them out with my magic, but I only saved three houses. At least that's all I remember saving."
A girl who was sitting on a cushion moved nearer to Symon and scrutinized him. "You must have drained yourself when you were doing that. That would explain why you slept so long. You're much stronger now than you were before. Your aura was so weak; we didn't think you had much power."
"You all have magic?" Symon asked, looking around him to see everybody. There were six other people in the room and the all nodded. "I see," he said while he started to struggle with the ropes again.
"Let me take care of those for you," an older man said as he pulled a knife from nowhere. "We were a little unsure what side you were on so we thought it safest of we bind you." He deftly cut the rope and freed Symon's hands.
"Well descendant of Eria, what brings you to this country? Shouldn't you be further North with others of your birth?" The voice came from an elderly lady, who was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. "Not that we mind your being here, you make us seven: a very good number."
Symon looked at her questioningly. "How would you know if my blood comes from her line? I've never met you before>"
"I would know because I too am a descendant of Clow Reed."
The advisor's eyes grew wide at this revelation. "Then you are more displaced than I am, Li-san. Tell me, what brings you from China?"
"It would be polite to answer my question first." The locked eyes and held the gaze for a few minutes in a silent battle of will.
There was no way Symon could hold up against the stubborn, elderly lady. He looked away as he answered, not willing to see the triumph that clearly showed in her eyes, though not on her face. "Six years ago, one of our daughters started behaving differently. No one noticed except her teacher, who kept written reviews, and other notes about young Ria, magically sealed. We determined that the disturbances originated from here so I was sent to investigate. So far, I've found nothing."
The Chinese lady nodded. "I see. Our situations are similar then. Our Xiao Lang underwent some – changes – around the same time as your Ria. The Clan decided it would be best to send someone less conspicuous to find the cause. As this seemed to be the place where the problem started, I came here."
The room fell silent as everyone contemplated all the information that the two had 'casually' dropped. They all knew that Li Xiao Lang is the only son of Decision Maker Li Yelan. They also knew that the Eria they spoke of was the young woman who developed the new world order. She was the first Decision Maker for her country and did a wonderful job in the position. Often, her descendants earned the position as well.
Most of Eria's descendants can be hard to find because they didn't stick together like the Li Clan did. They had scattered themselves across their country like explorers, wanting to see more. Many people from her line knew nothing of their magic or their relation to such an important person in history. There were several who kept in contact with each other, no matter where they were. This group was generally strong in magic and had good leadership abilities. It was obvious to everyone in the room that Symon was of the latter group. Likely, Ria also had strong magic. Otherwise, no one would really care.
Symon finally broke the silence as he started thinking out loud. "About the same time…both descendants of Clow Reed…it all started here. There's got to be another connection. If it was an attack against Clow Reed, it should have affected more of us. It had to be something different. It affected Will and his family doesn't draw from Eria's line."
"This Will, does he have any connection to Clow Reed at all?"
Symon's thoughts were interrupted by the question. He shook his head to clear it, and then continued speaking. "None that I know of. He is the son of Ria's teacher and has limited magic of his own, but his only connection would be being Ria's best friend. What were you thinking Li-san?"
"First, child, call me Kuai Hua, I was never fond of formalities." Symon snorted causing Kuai Hua to glare at him. "Second, we had heard that the Card Mistress had changed as well. I was thinking that if this Will-boy had a connection to Clow Reed, it may well have been some form of attack on him or his magic."
The man who had cut Symon's ropes spoke rather tentatively, "If they are not connected in the means you are trying to connect them, perhaps another angle?" He paused, waiting for a motion to continue. Upon receiving a nod from Kuai Hua, he restarted. "I believe you said that Will was Ria's best friend?" he questioned, looking at Symon.
"They pretty much still are."
"Then that is a connection. I have heard," he continued, glancing pointedly at Kuai Hua, "that Li Xiao Lang and the Card Mistress were close friends as well. Is that true?"
"They have been friends since he helped her capture the cards. Nothing more, though it would be good if Xiao Lang were to love the Card Mistress. They would have powerful children."
"Oh, I see what you're doing!" the girl sitting on the pillow exclaimed.
"And what is that, Tana?"
"Well, Symon was trying to connect all four of them, but with so many variables, that is too hard. What you've done is made two groups of two in hopes that is will be easier to connect them." She looked at the man for approval and he nodded. "So, now we can say that Xiao Lang and Ria are connected because they are both powerful descendants of Clow Reed. We can connect Ria's friend Will and the Card Mistress…" she looked at Kuai Hua.
"Sakura."
"Sakura, that's a pretty name. Because they were their closest friends at the time." Her face brightened as she finished, as though she just solved a particularly difficult math question. She sobered again as she continued, "Although this is just conjecture. It may be something different."
"Tana, is it? And…" Symon looked at the man who had been speaking earlier.
"Quirin."
Symon's eyebrows lifted as he looked at the man calculatingly. Several seconds passed and finally, he nodded. "Quirin. I believe the two of you have hit on something that wouldn't have occurred to me for quite some time. What do you think of this Caitlin?"
The girl who had spoken to Symon when he first came to finally spoke again. "It's far more progress than you've made in a long time, sir."
Symon looked at his assistant sharply, his eyes betraying his thoughts. "It's Symon. We're all on equal footing here. Well, except maybe Li-san and she refuses formalities. I will not have you call me 'sir,' Caitlin." His voice softened as he finished speaking.
Caitlin turned he head and looked down at his words, hoping desperately that no one noticed the exchange between the two of them.
Of course, that was the equivalent to asking for a miracle. But fortune smiled on her and nobody mentioned it. Although Tana did make a mental note to bring it up after they escaped. 'Escape: something to lick your lips in anticipation of. We'll work on that after we've rested a bit.' As she thought, Tana moved to the young man. He was watching over a young child.
He looked up at her as she sat. "My sister. She drained herself trying to protect a few cats and a dog. She's got a soft spot for animals."
"What's her name?"
"Irene. My father named her. His family was Greek – Irene was the Greek goddess of peace. She was his little angel. He always said that where she was; only good things can happen. I'm so glad he didn't live to see this. It would have broken his heart."
Tana laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, and then
leaned forward to brush a few stray hairs from the child's face. "Good
things will happen again. We just have to believe that someone, somewhere,
will have the strength to stop this. In the meantime. We have to rest.
Tomorrow is another day and we need our minds and bodies sharp if we're
to escape from here."
THE NORTHWEST
"Oh, come on! Please, mom?" The redhead was begging and only seconds away from getting down on her knees.
"Ria, you do realize that I'm not your mother, don't you?" The woman couldn't tell whether to be exasperated or amused.
"Of course I do, but you're the closest think I've got to one now." Ria grinned. Mrs. Sutter had been like a second mother to her for most of her life and the both knew it. "I promise we'll behave. It'll be just this once. We'll stay trapped on this Island as long as you want afterward, but let us have just this little bit of fun." Now she was on her knees. "It's 'classics night' and my favorite DJ will be there. This may be the last chance I ever get to hear this music."
Mrs. Sutter had to look away. There was no way she could stand her ground against Ria's pleading eyes. Especially when her real daughters were behind Ria, giving the exact same look.
The girls, including MeiLie and Chiharu, desperately wanted to go to a club on the other side of the bridge. It was 'classics night' – Ria's favorite type of music – songs from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Mostly, it was music that Eria and maybe her parents would have listened to when they were young.
"Fine, you girls can go, but you can't go alone. Take Takashi with you. I expect you to come back quickly if you run into any problems." She looked at her two under-aged daughters. "No drinking. You two can consider yourselves lucky to even be on the dance floor."
Ria jumped up and hugged her teacher. "Thanks mom."
"You mean even I can go?" Rynn questioned, not believing what she just heard.
"Yes," the woman sighed, "Ri is right. This could be the last chance any of you will have to listen to this music. Now go! And enjoy yourselves before I change my mind."
"If you're really lucky, Little Bird," Ria giggled as she ran off to change, "maybe Tate will let you sing. He does that sometimes. You do know the words to some of the songs he plays."
A couple hours later, MeiLie's car pulled into a parking lot and relieved itself of six passengers. All of them looked ready to enjoy a night of dancing, but Ria looked like she belonged to another era. More precisely, she looked like she belonged to the era the music was from – five hundred years ago. This was, after all, her passion.
She grabbed Chiharu and Takashi by the hand and dragged them towards the entrance.
"Tenshi's just a little excited; don't you think Taka-kun?"
"I'll say, Chiharu-chan. She's almost more excited then I've ever seen the girls back home." The two laughed as they remembered the antics of their friends in Japan.
Inside, they were greeted by loud music and flashing lights. Like most clubs that had 'classics nights' they had trappings like disco balls and anything else that would have been used centuries ago. For many, it was a friendly place; everyone was happy to be there.
Ria led her friends to a table near a little roofless room. As they passed crowded tables, people called out greetings of various sorts, some of which went ignored. Just as they sat down, a head popped out of the little room. "Hey Angel! Long time, no see. Didn't really expect to find you here – little far from home…"
Ria laughed in return. "Hey Tate. Came to see you, you're the best, you know. 'Sides, we're staying on the Island for a while. It was close, so we came."
As the two friends chatted, Chiharu turned to Takashi and said, "I guess we're not the only ones who think she's an angel."
Tate's head snapped up. "Well, she is. She helped make me famous. Her family has a huge selection of old music – she lets me use it. And, she can sing! My best shows are the ones in which she sings a couple songs." He turned back to Ria, "That reminds me, are you ready to do One again? That was amazing."
The redhead shook her head. "I Can't. It's not the same, never will be." There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she spoke, like the song reminded her of something she lost. "But Little Bird might do it. She's got a great singing voice and she knows that one by heart."
Rynn glared at Ria while the others at the table laughed. Tate just looked around, confused. MeiLie finally revealed the joke when she noticed that Tate didn't understand. "Little Bird is Ri's name for Rynn," she pointed to the glaring girl as she spoke. "It's because she sings so well."
"And flits around like a bird." Sara, Rynn and Ria finished for MeiLie.
The lights changed and one of the bartenders announced the beginning of 'classics night,' "That's my cue," Tate said as he got up. He grabbed Rynn's hand and pulled her up too. "Come with me Little Bird. You're going to be my special guest for the night. You can sing whatever you want."
As the two disappeared into the DJ booth, the gang could hear Rynn reprimanding Tate. "My name's Rynn, not Little Bird! Don't ever call me that."
Ria could just imagine Tate saying, "Whatever you say Little Bird." He had done the same thing to her a few years ago. She still hasn't broken him of calling her Angel. Now to top it off, Chiharu and Takashi had taken to calling her Tenshi, which she quickly found out, meant Angel in Japanese.
"All right, M'Lie, it's time for us to show everyone here how to really dance." Ria grabbed MeiLie and Chiharu by the hand and led them to the dance floor. In return, the girls grabbed Sara and Takashi and dragged them with them. As they hit the dance floor, Tate started a song he knew Ria would love: Born to be Wild.
Ria laughed, and then proceeded to lead the entire room in dancing the night away. Every now and then, Rynn would leave the DJ booth to dance, but she always went back after a song or two. True to his word, Tate had Rynn sing One about halfway through the night.
It haunted Ria, as it had for the past eighteen months. For the rest of the night, she could hear his voice mixing with hers from when they sang it together. Everywhere she went, the line 'carry each other' followed her. She sighed, wishing she knew where he was.
The last song, Who Wants to Live Forever, by a group called Queen, was one of Tate's trademarks. He usually left the booth and danced with someone while it played. This night, he left his booth, kissed Rynn's hand, and then went to find Ria. They needed to talk. He grabbed Ria's hand and pulled her back to the dance floor.
"You shouldn't have played that." Her blue eyes bore into his hazel ones.
"Why not? It's a crowd favorite, especially when somebody sings with it. Everyone always loved it when you sang it. Of course, the best was when you and 'Dan sang it as a duet. I think everyone was floored by it that night."
Ria flinched at the name. "That's why," she said softly, almost too softly to be heard over the music. "That was so perfect. It felt so right, so…safe and like everything was going to be okay for once. Then he left. It still hurts." She paused to take a breath before she continued. "According to Mrs. Sutter, Will and I cared about each other a lot when we were younger. Then one day, we just stopped. No one could explain it. We didn't fight or anything, we just didn't care. It affected me more than him it did Will; within weeks, he had a girlfriend. I couldn't care for anyone: it took me ages to open up to my friends again. We only know because Mrs. Sutter was locking up and protecting notes."
She sighed, and then looked down at her feet. A small smile passed her lips before she looked back up at Tate. "It was just so perfect. I thought I had learned to love again. I had thought I was incapable of loving before that. It opened a whole new world to me; then, when he left, it was like the door had been slammed in my face. Do you know what it's like to get a glimpse or small experience of something and then be told you can't have it?" Tate could see the pain in her eyes as she finished speaking. It almost made him regret playing the song.
"Every now and then, yes, but nothing that important. I'm sorry, Angel. I should have known you weren't ready." He led her off the dance floor and back to her friends.
MeiLie clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Well, kiddies, it's time to be going." Everyone groaned. "What?" she questioned, "we've got a curfew…of sorts."
Sara grinned, "That's M'Lie for you: always the adult."
"Well somebody's got to be. Lord knows Ria would just keep us out until next week. She likes this stuff too much."
Under their breath, both Ria and Tate muttered, "Music is life." Takashi and Chiharu, the closest to them, heard and started chuckling.
"No wonder Will likes you so much. You're just the mother figure he needs." MeiLie turned to glare at the offending speaker but burst out laughing when Tate interjected.
"Oh no, Little Bird, you're got that all wrong. Being the mother hen is Angel's job. She's the one who keeps tabs on us and worries when she hasn't heard from someone in too long."
Chiharu looked around. "Speaking of Tenshi, where is she?"
Ria popped out of the DJ booth, her arms full of Tate's music. "I'm right here. Thought you lost your mother, did you?" The entire gang started laughing. "I'll be done packing in a few, just hold on and then we can go."
Tate joined her in the booth and started helping her pack. "Why exactly are we packing my music, Angel? I'm not going anywhere, am I?"
"As a matter of fact, you're coming with us." Tate raised his eyebrows to question her. Ria sucked in a breath and started to explain. "Something has started out there. Whatever it is, it's bad – I'm sure you can smell the smoke outside. It's not safe on the Mainland, so we're moving to the Island. You're coming too." She snapped his music case shut and picked up his car keys. "You'll drive Rynn and me. I'm sure that's enough to insure you actually get there." Ria tossed the keys to Tate and continues speaking, "We'll contact Will when we get back."
There is no fighting Ria when she got like this. She really was the mother or leader of her friends; even if Mei was more responsible. "Yes sir!" Tate joked. "And what do I get in return for this service?"
"Only the pleasure of our company." With that, they
left the booth and joined the rest of their friends. There were in for
a long night if the didn't leave soon. It would be full of lectures about
contacting the adults and not being late.
JAPAN
Sakura rolled over and took a deep breath. Her pillow still smelled like Syaoran. It had been days since he had slept in her room and she had slept in her father's office. But somehow, even after so brief a contact, the room clung to memories of Syaoran. Or maybe memories of Syaoran clung to the room. Either way, Sakura took another deep breath and let out a sigh. There was something about the shirt he had absently left behind, the scent that stayed with everything he had touched, the little notes he had written while sitting at her desk – they all invaded her and refused to leave her alone. Each one brought back a memory like the tingle she felt every time they touched, or the brief moment their lips met when he saved her life. She smiled absently as she fingered the shirt.
Suddenly, she shook her head. 'Stop being silly, Sakura. You've got to get ready for training or else you'll be late. Besides, having your head in the clouds is not a good idea if you intend to help Adan-kun strengthen his fighting and magical skills before he leaves.' She sighed. "He's leaving in a week," she said this out loud to the empty room. Sakura was unsure whether she was happy or sad about that. Truthfully, she had been confused ever since Syaoran came back. Something other than the problems in the Distant West was wrong and she couldn't pinpoint it.
She quickly dressed in training clothes and headed
for Tomoyo's house. The four of them – she, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Adan –
had been training there for the past few days. Syaoran and his mother had
moved to stay in the larger Daidouji house after the first night. 'That
certainly spares us any more embarrassing moments.' With Adan already staying
there, it was a three-to-one vote for making only one person have to walk
between the two houses. Sakura didn't really mind. She used her rollerblades
and enjoyed the exercise.
"Would Sakura-chan get here already?!" Tomoyo impatiently paced around her backyard garden.
"Sit down already, Daidouji-san! She's not even late yet, give her at least half an hour. Besides, if you keep pacing, you won't have enough energy for training and Keane here will be able to beat you."
Tomoyo huffed, but sat anyway. "She's not always late anymore, you know. That just started again after you came back. Maybe she's been trying to avoid you all this time. That could explain her perpetual lateness whenever you're around."
Adan laughed. His constant good nature was usually masked by a look of seriousness: he was a friendlier version of Syaoran. "Really, if you two keep up the banter, neither of you will have energy when Sakura-chan gets here. If that's the case, I'll whip you, Tomoyo-chan, and I might even have a chance of landing an attack on Li." Adan knew he was just a beginner and let everyone have a laugh at his expense.
Syaoran and Adan got along rather well considering both had the tendency to become jealous of other males near their female friends. It was almost like Adan's jovial behavior rubbed off on Syaoran. The amber-eyes warrior smirked, he had a comeback. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted before he even got a word out.
Sakura came zipping into the garden, her hair flying behind her. "Sorry if I'm late guys, I kinda spaced out on my way here," she giggled as she apologized. There was no way she was going to tell them she had been thinking about Syaoran.
All three of her friends turned their attention o her as she gracefully skated towards them. Only Tomoyo was truly paying attention as Sakura skated straight for a rather large crack in the walkway. She was about to warn her ever-cheerful friend, but figured it was too late anyway: Sakura wouldn't be able to stop in time. Tomoyo hid a small grin behind her hair when she realized what would happen. She flicked her gaze to Adan for a second before settling her eyes on Syaoran. 'This should be good. I'll have to tape it.'
Adan noticed hot the sunlight caught the natural red highlights in Sakura's hair. It made her hair glow almost like fire. For just a moment, he could swear he was staring at the goddess he left behind. He shook his head, knowing it was impossible. They were definitely two different girls. 'But they look so similar.'
Syaoran had stood up and turned around when he heard Sakura's voice. As he caught sight of her, he became and remained motionless. He smiled, remembering how she looked the day he arrived. She had definitely been a sight to behold as she twirled under the cherry blossom trees. Today wasn't any different: she looked amazing. 'But, of course, she is amazing.'
His thought betrayed nothing and he didn't fight with himself over if. The young man did, however, wonder when he started to think that. Perhaps it had been the night he slept in her room. It had been both his worst and best night of sleep ever. The whole room was filled with her aura which comforted him and lulled him to sleep. Unfortunately, it was also filled with her scent. As he breathed the sweet cherry blossom scent, images of Sakura floated past his closed eyelids, depriving him of sleep. Syaoran spent the whole night confused. Something told him that he knew Sakura was amazing before then and for a few brief seconds after seeing her, he tried to remember when.
All these thoughts flashed by in mere seconds. An onlooker would have seen a girl enter a garden on rollerblades, then a boy stand up and turn around. Then another girl would turn to greet the first one, glance around at her friends and pull out a video camera. She could be seen aiming it at the standing boy, then focusing it on the moving girl. The forth person in the garden, if the onlooker noticed, looked up when the others turned. He had a slight smile on his face, but appeared to be lost in thought.
Sakura's mind had kept drifting back to Syaoran as she skated to Tomoyo's house. She didn't really notice she had arrived until she saw her friends. She apologized for being late and then scolded herself for being preoccupied. 'Somebody could have snuck up on me with no problem. I have to be more careful.' As she thought to herself, she didn't see the crack in the ground.
Her left skate got caught in the sizable crevasse. Due to her speed, she went careening through the short distance between herself and Syaoran. Before either of them realized what was happening, Sakura smashed into Syaoran, causing them both to fall to the ground.
To anyone who hadn't witnessed the crash, their new positions would be shocking. Sakura was nearly straddling Syaoran with her hands resting on his shoulders. In return, Syaoran had his arms wrapped around her waist. Of course, the most shocking part was during the moment of impact when, once again, Sakura's lips accidentally met with Syaoran's lips.
Syaoran slowly opened his eyes and peered up at Sakura. "Did you feel that too?" Syaoran asked, referring to the little jolt of electricity he felt when their lips touched. His voice was low enough that Tomoyo's video camera didn't pick it up, but that didn't stop both Tomoyo and Adan from catching his words.
Sakura worked hard to get her breathing under control before she answered. 'Did I feel it? Of course I felt it! But…what does it mean?' In response to Syaoran, she nodded. She wasn't sure whether or not to continue, but after a few seconds, she moved her mouth close to Syaoran's ear and whispered, "And I think I liked it."
Even if her camera couldn't pick up the soft voices, Tomoyo still could. As usual, she voiced her thoughts on the matter. "Cute! That was sooo sweet! And I got it all on tape. Except maybe for what you said at the end. I'll have to get you to do that part over again."
Tomoyo's shouting brought both magicians back to the real world. After noticing how they were laying, they scrambled to get up, both turning red and apologizing.
Hearing Syaoran apologize, Sakura protested. "No,
no, Syaoran. It was all my fault. If I hadn't had my head in the clouds,
thinking about a dream I had last night, I would have noticed that crack
and I wouldn't have fallen on you." Sakura blushed, remembering that she
had been thinking about Syaoran. 'At least I had that other dream that
I can tell them about when they ask.'
Adan, finding a way to tease Sakura and relieve some of the embarrassed tension between the Japanese beauty and her Chinese friend, decided to be the one to question. "Were you dreaming about me last night, Sakura-chan? You know it's not nice to dream about people without their permission, but I'll forgive you this time."
Sakura blushed and then flashed her friend a grin before replying, "Oh, you might have been in my dream, but I don't remember seeing you there. You must not have left an impression. Tomoyo-chan was there, and Syaoran-kun and Eriol-kun. There was a stranger standing with us too. He had magic too, a brown aura, I think." Adan started laughing at the look on Syaoran's face after Sakura mentioned Eriol. "And there was another girl. She looked just like me, almost."
Adan stopped laughing abruptly and turned to Sakura, his eyes wide. "When you say 'she looked just like me,' what do you mean by that? Do you mean it's the mirror card? Or do you mean there's another girl who looks almost exactly like you?"
"She could be me, except she's not. Her aura is orange, not pink. She wears her hair differently than I do, but I expect it's quite long. I didn't see her full face, but I saw her profile as she and my dream-self looked at each other: it was the same as mine. She was sitting on the ground with Tomoyo-chan, they were concentrating on something else while I used shield and the others fought. She was quite pretty."
Tomoyo grinned and put an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "She would have to be if she looks almost just like you. Especially since you're so pretty, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura laughed and waved off Tomoyo's comment. Sometimes her cousin could go overboard.
Neither girl noticed as Adan sighed and whispered, "Angel."
Syaoran noticed and decided to ask 'Keane' about it later. 'I wonder if that's the girl Hiiragizawa was talking about,' he mused as he beckoned everyone to stretch in preparation for the day's training.