Chapter 6: Round Two
AN: Happy birthday to me . . . Nov. 6 makes me 21.
Syaoran was, of course, annoyed by the fact that he'd been such a dunderhead and had forgotten to ask for a harder opponent. Today, he was facing one of the few men that had been paired with someone equally weak in the first rounds.
He sighed and massaged his temple as the man postured. When the trumpet rang out, Syaoran darted forward and placed a kick in the middle of the man's chest. This both knocked the wind out of him and made him fly from the circle. Syaoran sighed as the woman marked down another worthless victory, and he turned toward the champion's fight.
She was just standing there while her opponent hurled himself against what seemed to be an invisible wall.
He hurried over and stood next to the young woman called Tomoyo, asking her what was happening.
"He withstood her Windy," she said, looking nervous.
"He did. I think it's his boots." The king had come up behind them so silently that Syaoran jumped at the sound of his voice, then blushed at his own reaction. "They must be weighted. Clever of him. She had to switch tactics because of it. She was prepared, though -- used Shield to protect herself and now she's waiting for him to get tired before she finishes him."
"How can she finish him if Windy doesn't work?" he asked, anxious.
The king smiled, a beneficent smile that put full faith in the young woman on the field. "She has more than just Windy, of course. A number of her spells aren't powerful, per-se, but pack quite a punch in the right situation."
It turned out that the king had sneaked a pun in without Syaoran noticing it, because pack quite a punch she did. They were close enough to hear her initiate another spell -- "Fight." After that, Syaoran couldn't have torn his eyes from her for all the gold in the kingdom. She was swift and silent, the whisper of her feet and the turning of her body like birdsong on a dewy morning -- pure, untainted poetry.
With a swift jab to the man's midsection, she toppled him over the line and claimed a victory. Her breathing was even and quick from exertion, but she was smiling as she approached them.
"Well done," the king said, giving her an exceptionally sweet smile.
Tomoyo threw herself forward, her arms reaching around the champion's neck. "I was so worried!" she cried. The champion grinned and blushed at the same time, letting out a surprised laugh, and her eyes came up to meet Syaoran's as if she could feel how steadily he was looking at her.
She smiled just for him, and he looked away -- embarrassed at the way his lips wanted to stretch up in return.
"I am impressed more and more every day," the king said, clapping his hands as Tomoyo released her blushing hostage.
The champion bowed, pink with pleasure. "Thank you."
"Yeah, not bad for a monster," came a taunting voice, and the champion's cheeks flushed red with anger. She glared at the man approaching.
Syaoran turned, watching the prince approach. He was striding forward, hands on his hips and teasing smile on his lips. He was obviously very proud of her.
"I'm not a monster!" she protested when he was nearer.
"Sure, monster," Touya replied, handsome and tall in his dark, diamond-studded clothes.
She tried to stamp on his foot, but he moved it and instead swept her into a bear hug, grinning. Her anger melted, and she smiled as he murmured into her hair, too low for anyone else to hear, "Don't get hurt, okay?"
"Okay," she replied softly, and they were both smiling when they parted.
Syaoran felt like his head was stuffed with cotton and his heart with knives. Everyone was looking at the two with tenderness and adoration, but his face was hot with jealousy and his heart stabbed through with pain. He'd said he would steal her even if she was the prince's, but . . . they loved each other. Even he could see it, plain as day. The prince ruffling her hair and her straightening it with a scowl. The prince laughing as he walked away, smiling in the satisfaction of knowing she loved him. . . . Syaoran would smile like that, too, if he knew that she loved him. If only . . .
He hadn't expected her to already love someone. Maybe . . . maybe it was better that he didn't try for her. Maybe . . . he should walk away.
It was at this gloomy moment that Tomoyo turned and brought attention onto him. "What did you think, Syaoran Li?" Her eyes were laughing but her face was composed. She had seen the emotions in his eyes when her cute champion fought and when she had been hugged. On meeting her gaze, Syaoran saw that she understood him better than he wanted her to, and he decided that the twinkle in her eye was a sign of the devil if ever he'd seen one.
"It was a good fight," he stuttered out, flushing red and rearing back as if that could get him away from her.
She only smiled and turned, inviting him by her posture to walk back to the castle with her and the champion, who was on her other side and looking at him curiously. So he fell into step, supremely uncomfortable, but grateful for the chance to be so near Daidouji-Champion. He was grateful for and resentful of Tomoyo at the same time, because she kept the conversation flowing easily, but she also kept him from talking directly to the champion.
There was no way he could speak to her alone, anyhow, with Yue looming always near her, but it seemed that Yue would not be such an inconvenient buffer as Tomoyo was.
"Did you get a more difficult opponent, Syaoran Li?" Tomoyo was asking. He had forgotten that she knew about that.
"No," he blushed a little, looking down at where his feet were going and not into the inquisitive gaze of the champion. "I . . . forgot to ask."
She persisted. "But I saw you go over to ask last night." Here she turned to her cousin. "Did he not ask you for a more difficult opponent last night after dinner? His have been too easy."
Daidouji-Champion looked at his averted eyes and tense shoulders, remembering what had happened when he spoke to her the night before, and said, "No." Her voice was soft and he could feel her eyes on him.
"Well, he can do it now. Can't you?" Tomoyo smiled at him and he wished his face would cool.
Before he could say anything, though, the champion laughed and put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "I think you've already asked for him, Tomoyo," she said. "Don't make him repeat it."
And he knew he loved her.
"Oh, there is my mother!" Tomoyo said, sparkling and waving a little. "Let me go say hello. You can get to the castle yourselves?"
"Bye!" the champion called after her. Syaoran was silent because he could swear that he did not see Duchess Daidouji anywhere.
After a few moments walking in silence, before they were to the castle but after they had passed a few courtiers, she spoke to him. "I want to thank you for last night." She held her hands tight in front of her and did not look at him as she spoke. "Few people would be so concerned about me." A small cough from behind them made her turn and smile. "Let me rephrase. Few people participating in this tournament would be concerned about my health and welfare." Here she gave Syaoran a mischievous look, her green eyes flashing in the sunlight. "Yue always cares. He's really a big softie."
"I am not soft." Yue's voice made Syaoran shiver -- not from its tone, but from its quality. He spoke with simple matter-of-factness, but his pale, quiet voice was filled with power and cleverness and danger. While Tomoyo's voice was quiet and sweet, his was soft and deadly like falling snow. More than that, it was all the active things that snow could do -- it was frostbite and hypothermia made sound.
How that made Daidouji-Champion smile again, he did not know. She was not frightened or intimidated by this towering sorcerer (Syaoran had been unsure before, but this close he could feel the waves of power coming off of Yue -- so he followed the evidence to its most logical conclusion). He was surprised and intrigued. Did this mean she was more powerful than he thought?
That afternoon, the champion provided entertainment. She made a glow fall over the castle and produced a singer so heartbreaking that even the rowdiest of the visitors were temporarily stunned to silence.
Syaoran noticed that the champion slipped out while everyone was distracted, and he followed her. Outside was a balcony, the glow falling and staining everything with soft light.
Daidouji-Champion was near the railing, trying to persuade Yue to do something. She was laughing and smiling and holding one of his hands in hers, as if pleading with him. But her cheeks were so stained with humor that he knew immediately not to worry.
Yue was looking reluctant, a grimace on his beautiful face.
"Please, Yue? It's not half as fun to do alone. I don't feel so stupid with a partner."
Yue looked long-suffering. "'If it were anyone but you, I would not," he said and put a long-fingered hand to his head. "Fine."
And then something very odd happened that made Syaoran sink deeper into the shadows and stand riveted.
They grew wings.
"The singing is so pretty tonight," Daidouji-Champion said as they rose into the air, and that was the last Syaoran could hear from either of them. He watched them waltz in the air, Yue distant and silent even when pulling the champion close. The champion . . . was a young girl again. Not a warrior or sorceress, but a girl who could laugh and dance and have fun. She produced her own glow in the night sky, apart from the small lights that flitted around them. Their wings twitched and fluttered and they moved with grace in an airborne pattern of dance.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Syaoran turned to the unexpected woman, knowing who it was before he saw the long dark hair that melted into the shadows. "Yes," he said, looking back up.
"She gets him to do this every now and then," Tomoyo continued, her voice low. "He's the only other one who can dance in the air. Technically, Kerberos could, but he's not a great partner."
"Kerberos?" Syaoran's eyes never left the couple in the air, but he gave his ear to the woman beside him.
"Another royal guardian." She brushed it off, and they were silent a little more. After a few minutes, she spoke up again. "I think he's been worried about her. She's never had to fight this much at once, and this tournament is dangerous. Most people didn't want her to be champion -- the royal family particularly protested -- but she insisted that this was her heart's desire. And how could they argue with that?"
"It wasn't their idea to let her fight?"
He heard Tomoyo shake her head. "Of course not." Another thoughtful pause. "Yue was also against it, though she'd managed to persuade Kerberos it was the best idea.
"Yue doesn't show emotions well, but she can read him better than anyone. She always looks a little guilty around him, like she's trying to apologize for doing this."
Syaoran frowned. "I hadn't noticed."
Tomoyo shook her head again, and he heard a smile in her voice. "I've made it a point to notice everything having to do with S--her--since we were children."
He did look at her now. "You care about her very much."
She smiled, and her look was a little inquisitive. "So do you, even though you barely know her."
He looked away -- not up, just away. "You noticed."
She tilted her head to the side and spread her hands. Her voice echoed in his head, I've made it a point to notice everything having to do with her.
Laughter rang out and they turned. Fluttering wings sounded as the pair landed on the balcony. The champion was out of breath and Yue was watching to see if he needed to steady her.
"You looked beautiful," Tomoyo said, stepping forward and clapping a little. "You are so graceful in the air." Her smile was in place and happy.
"Thank you, Yue." She smiled up at the tall man and he gave the barest of nods, folding his arms as his wings faded away. But the pink flush of exercise was high on his cheekbones and he gave the smallest, sweetest of smiles at her beaming face.
"Touya told me to rest. He's worried about Yukito," Yue told the two women, his voice floating like cool mist through the air. "I believe that I will retire now. You will be safe?" He looked at Daidouji-Champion and she beamed at him.
"Yes," she replied and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his jacket. "And thank you."
He smiled again and touched her hair. Syaoran suddenly felt uneasy at being there, as if he were spying on something very private, and he looked away. "Of course."
When he was gone, Tomoyo took her cousin by the elbow and walked, white arm in white arm, toward Syaoran. He wanted to dart away into the safety of the corridors inside, but he couldn't move without being seen.
"You were very graceful. I felt such joy in being able to watch you." Their faces were sweet and round in the glow around them. "Isn't that right, Syaoran Li?"
Daidouji-Champion's head turned in his direction as he moved from the shadows, both of them startled and a little embarrassed. He merely bowed in answer.
"I was telling him what a wonderful dancer you are," Tomoyo was continuing, not seeming to notice the averted eyes and blushing faces of the man and woman beside her. "But I'm sure he saw for himself." She snuck looks at the pair. "Oh!" she suddenly cried, waving at someone inside, "there's my mother. I should go see what she wants -- you can stay here." And she trotted off and left them, smiling her cheerful smile.
"I'm sorry for intruding," he said after a moment's awkward silence.
She stumbled over herself to make him feel better, jumbling her words until she finally came out with, "It's okay, really."
He did feel better to know that she didn't hate him. And the way her eyes got large and round, sparkling in the glow falling around them, so eager to make him feel better . . . it made him want to . . . to do something . . . stupid . . .
He leaned forward, taking her gently by the shoulders. She'd gotten closer in her haste to put him at ease, and now he leaned in, not sure what exactly he was trying to do. He just knew that her hair smelled sweet and her lips looked soft . . .
She looked uncertain as they hovered close to each other, and that made him pause, thinking maybe he should get away from her intoxicating presence while he could . . .
"What the hell are you doing to my sister!?" The voice was deep and shattering, making the pair jump away from each other. Daidouji-Champion was staring in horror at the young man storming toward them, but Syaoran couldn't take his eyes from her face -- because he knew that voice. And if she was his sister . . .
"Touya," she pleaded softly, giving a small shake of her head to ward him off. Tomoyo came hurrying up after him, sensing trouble.
The prince of the Kinomoto Kingdom promptly got in Syaoran's face, repeating in a hiss, "What. The. Hell. Were. You. Doing. To. My. Sister."
The obvious answer was "I was trying to kiss her," but Syaoran was neither foolhardy nor brazen enough to actually say anything. Instead, he looked at the girl.
She was talking to Tomoyo. "Did anyone else hear?"
"No," Tomoyo was saying, looking deeply concerned. "I'm sure of it -- they're all drunk and someone had just told a joke -- and Touya didn't speak loudly at all."
"Sakura?" Syaoran asked, and her luminous eyes raised to his, emotions running like water through them. She was mostly embarrassed, but he saw hints of frustration and yearning underneath, as if she wished that they had been able to finish what they'd started.
So did he, but he didn't have time to think on it because a strong fist had suddenly picked him up by his shirtfront and slammed him into the rock wall of the castle. "That's Princess Sakura to you."
Syaoran felt his body reacting before he could stop it, arms coming up and breaking the prince's hold, sliding into a defensive stance. The prince mimicked him, using a Japanese style that Syaoran was only faintly familiar with.
Neither of them noticed the dark-haired girl flying into the great hall, searching frantically for someone, until a worried voice came to them. Soon, richly-clad arms encircled the girl and pulled Touya away. "What's going on?" the king asked them, looking more concerned than angry. "Tomoyo said that there was trouble."
"This guy thought he could take liberties with Sakura," Touya growled, glaring Syaoran down even as Syaoran glared back. "Where is Yue?" he shot over his shoulder.
"I let him go to bed," she replied, shaking slightly in her father's arms.
The king understood several things at once. The first was that this young man now knew that the champion was the princess -- something they didn't want anyone to know yet. The second was that Touya, his somewhat overprotective son, had walked in on something he was not likely to forgive anytime soon -- a man noticing that Sakura was a beautiful woman and acting on it.
"Let's go inside and talk about this, then." He'd noticed a few warriors coming out since Tomoyo had taken him away so hastily. "Touya?" he said, and his son turned to him, still keeping an eye on the young man as he did so. "Would you go get Yukito and Kerberos and meet us in the blue room?"
He didn't seem happy with the job, not wanting to let the young man out of his sight, but complied. They watched him trot out of sight, then the king turned and beckoned for them to follow him. This they did without a word, all the way into the hall, then the corridors, and eventually into the very farthest visiting room in the castle.
"Please, make yourself comfortable," the king invited Syaoran as the ladies took chairs -- Sakura clenching her hands in her lap and Tomoyo putting her hand over the princess' to steady her. "I want to have a word with you before my son gets back. Please, both of you, tell me what happened."
This was more embarrassing a command than any Syaoran had ever been given by his mother. His eyes flitted away, landing on Tomoyo's understanding face.
"I left them alone, my uncle," she said, holding Sakura's cold hands in her own, "because he loves her."
The king's eyebrows flew up at this and he turned to his daughter. "Is this true?"
She was looking at Syaoran. "I did not know."
"I do," he said, affirming it but not looking at anyone. "You asked me once why I was in the tournament if I did not want to win." He turned his face toward her but did not lift his eyes. "It was so I could be close to you." This was almost a whisper and took every ounce of his willpower to utter.
A long silence, then, "I see. Now tell me this and it will be all: Is there any reason Touya should be angry?"
"Nothing happened . . . but it would not have been against my will," Sakura murmured, not able to look up either.
"Nothing happened," the king repeated.
"No, nothing." Her face was anxious and she met her father's kind eyes.
"Okay," he sat back and opened his mouth, but the door burst open and a small yellow rocket shot itself toward the princess.
"Sakura! Are you alright?!"
She laughed -- the first time since she had finished dancing with Yue. "I'm fine, Kero. There's nothing to be worried about." She held the small animal close to her and Syaoran looked at him curiously. It seemed like a tiny doll with wings -- and a loud mouth.
"Sakura," another man greeted, his voice soft and warm like a summer breeze or the smell of cookies baking. It was a comforting sound. "I heard you were attacked. Are you all right?"
"I was not attacked, but thank you for your concern." She smiled so sweetly at the man that Syaoran felt like shooting him a glare, but the idea had less appeal under the kind manner of the king.
"I thought Touya might have exaggerated things again," the man said, soft laughter in his voice and gentle humor in the look he sent the glowering prince.
"There is no 'again,'" the prince grumbled, "the jerk tried to kiss her. I was doing what any concerned sibling would."
"Is that all?" The laughter in the man's voice was very gentle and the prince seemed to be soothed by it. "I thought someone had tried to kill her. So who is her suitor?" He looked around and his eyes fell on Syaoran, who was watching them. "Ah, am I right in assuming?" He gave a bow and Syaoran stood and bowed back. "I am Yukito, a friend of the royal family."
"You are family," Sakura interrupted and he shot her a sweet look.
"Syaoran Li." He said it simply and without any real flourish.
"You are in time to hear what I have decided," the king told them. "Please sit." Yukito only sat after the prince did, remaining very near to hand. "Sakura is to go nowhere unchaperoned. I am very distressed that she was left alone with a stranger -- worse things can happen than being kissed." Sakura buried her head in her lap, groaning with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but it's true. You have to be careful with all of these men around. It would kill me if anything happened to you."
"I know," she whispered, nodding for him to go on and making herself face it.
"We have to, however, get Li's cooperation in keeping this secret." He turned to Syaoran. "We did this in order for her to remove unacceptable prospective husbands from the tournament. We also want a man who can appreciate Sakura's power and perhaps match it. To prevent fortune-hunters tricking her, we decided that the contestants should not know who she is while she fights.
"Our own courtiers, some of whom are participating, do know who she is but are under the strictest of promises not to let her identity slip. These men cannot fool Sakura as strangers could because she has known them all of her life.
"What I want to know from you, Syaoran Li, is what your intentions are toward my daughter and whether you will keep her identity secret."
Syaoran sat for a long moment, silent. At length, he spoke. "My intentions on entering the tournament were to win the hand of the champion. In that respect, they are still the same. However, my methods of achieving that have obviously had to alter. Before, I could not win the tournament if I wanted to achieve my goal. Now I must. Though this makes it harder on me, I am glad I found out.
"As for telling anyone about who the champion really is, you must see that it is an advantage for me if they do not know. My original plans to get to know Sakura would have put me at an advantage anyway, though not in the way I expected. I plan to continue my first inclinations but with a different strategy in light of this new information."
"Then we will trust you to be honorable." The king rose and gestured for Sakura to take his arm. "That's all. Tomoyo, will you and Kero lead Syaoran Li back to the dining hall?"
Tomoyo bowed.
"Thank you."
Syaoran decided, as the princess' eyes flickered up to meet his as she passed him, that all of the embarrassment was worth it. Because he saw, in the brief flash of green, a curiosity and wonder that buoyed his spirits. While she was still uncertain as to her own feelings, she was warming to him.
He had a chance.
Touya's uncharacteristic hug came out of his intense worry for her safety. Because of this, he was a little more demonstrative.
Sakura was clueless in the anime and has been somewhat clueless here. Now she's very aware of Syaoran.
Yue:
In the show, Yue is sometimes cold and silent (like the first fight against him and the Kero's bath episode where he never said anything or smiled but cleaned up the mess when they weren't looking), and I think he only really smiles once (or twice?) in the anime . . . But he does care. I'm trying (note trying, which doesn't imply success) to find that balance of faithfulness and stoicism. Here I let him show his softer side -- one which, I think, he wouldn't want to show in public. Which is why I've had him be so cold in other chapters -- there were always other people around. As for his dialogue, I'm heavily leaning on the episode where Yukito and Yue are worried about Sakura and Yukito says "Yue says he is very worried." and Yue appears and says "I didn't say 'very.'" That quality seems to imply that while he does care very much, he's not into excess of emotion or showing it often.
I hope this all works together and doesn't look like I'm breaking Yue's personality up too sharply. I'm running on the assumption that he will act differently in different situations.
As for Yue's voice, I was trying to describe the Japanese voice actor, who has a very soft, somewhat scary voice. It was an effort to blend the voice's somewhat subzero qualities with the complexities of his personality. Again, I'm not sure how well I pulled it off.
And I'm sorry, Kero fans, for not having him more. He'll play a minor role in this story but I do love him too. Hopefully, he'll have more time if I do other CCS stories.
Reviews make me happy!