Author's note: So sorry to leave you with a cliff hanger on the last chapter. Here is the next installment of my story. Please be kind and review. Constructive criticism welcomed, flames not.
Somewhere in Syaoran's mind
A boy stood in the middle of a large white field. For as far as the boy could see, there was nothing. No hills, no grass, no trees, no life. The boy looked around, eyes scanning for any feature that would indicate where he was.
An alien wind drifted slowly across the field, causing his hair to be ruffled. The boy took one more look around him then parted his lips to a question.
"Where am I?"
The words rang out through the strange world. The alien wind came rushing back towards him. Theboy's amber eyes looked around in question, and then he waited. His patience paid off - he heard a distant footstep. He turned his round and in the distance saw a small figure.
It came rushing towards him, flying several feet above the ground. The boy's eyes locked onto the creature as it approached him. The boy looked at the creature, eyes wide in wonder. He quickly gained control over his curiosity, and parted his lips once more.
"Where am I?"
The creature gave no sign it understood. It stood several feet above the boy. Its body consisted of a mix between a horse and a human.
"Where am I?" The boy asked one last time.
At last the creature gave a sign it understood, with a tilt of its chin upwards. 'This'. a soft voice echoed in the boy's head. '...is what you have created, deep inside your mind. It is the most sacred is place, locked from within. No one from the outside world is allowed in or out of it until permission is granted.'
"By whom?"
'Either by yourself, or whoever put you in here.'
"Did you lock me in here?" the words were full of mistrust and anger, something the boy did not mean to show.
The creature remained motionless, unaffected by the boy's harshness. 'Yes,' its voice echoed.
"What reason have you to do so? What does a centaur want with a human?"
'I am merely a messenger.' The creature began to slowly circle the boy, waving his long fingers in the air. 'Do not confuse me with any mortal being on this world, Human. In order to appear to you in aphysical form, I had to go through your memories and pick out one that would not frighten you, nor give you any sense of ease. I choose a magical creature, this centaur, you call it, so you would know that you arenot dealing with simple beings.'
The boy glared at the creature. "What do you want with me?"
'Help.' the voice said. 'You have a power unlike any in my world. A pure heart, a clear mind. But that is not what makes you important.'
A twitch in the boy's eye revealed his surprise at hearing this, yet he kept his comments to himself. The voice continued.
'The one thing of importance you have on this world is a connection. .'
A swift rage swam over the boy. "What! I am more than that! I have more power than you imagine, Messenger! Don't you dare upset me," his threat was responded by silence.
The centaur approached the boy slowly and leaned over so far the boy could see the different shades of gray in its eyes. 'You simple human!' the voice inside of the boy's head said, for the first time in what the boy would call anger.
'You have complex thoughts, emotions, and more power then you desire or deserve! Yet you fill your mind with what you call honor and tradition, blinding you from what makes you important and necessary in this world! You dare and think that you were placed on this world to become a leader of a family centuries old?'
The boy felt shame for the first time in this mysterious place. The sound of the centaur's voice in his head was harsh and grating, causing the boy to kneel before it. His rage, however, was not satisfied to leave.
"What is this?" the boy spat. "What the hell do you want with me?"
The centaur stepped back, a calm voice returning. 'You have the most valuable connection to the one whose help I need. Without you, I am lost. My world. This world. All will be lost.'
The boy's curiosity sparked again and before the boy could stop himself, he asked another question. "What connection?"
'Your importance on this world is that connection. Your power thrives to quench the thirst of the connection. So as long as you are alive, your power will continue to grow. Thus the connection will become stronger. It is the bond you share with this other person that keeps you alive. Likewise, the same is for them. If either of you die, the other will go soon. But combined, your connection is the strongest.'
'Time is short. Your body is trying to repel me. Listen to me now, human, for I have followed your connection this far. My strength to hold you here is great, thus I will not be able to come to you again for a while. You must find your 'other'. You must find them soon, or all else is lost.'
"Why? What is lost? What connection?" the boy shouted. As the words were spoken, the land around began to melt. The whiteness was replaced by black, and the boy felt as though a large weight had been taken off. He was plunged into darkness, no sound, no centaur, no white field.
Inside the Kinomoto household.
Darkness surrounded Syaoran. There were odd smells in his nose, something he did not recognize. His body tensed up. 'Where am I?' he thought and listened, not daring to move.
Sounds of clothes ruffling reached his ears. Breathing. Humming. Footsteps on a wooden floor.
'Was I kidnapped? Why am I lying down? What am I lying on?' he thought.
His questions stopped when footsteps drew close. All thoughts were gone from his mind, as though their absence would help his hearing. A slight wind touched Syaoran's skin as a body passed by him. 'They are close'.
Shuffling. Humming. More footsteps.
'...closer...'
Something large passed by him, again causing a slight wind, but this time it did not move forward. It stood right next to Syaoran. He held his breath.
Something brushed up against his face. He felt his hair tickle as it was swept away to the side of his head. The person's hand stayed on his cheek a awhile longer. He heard a long sigh then footsteps moving away from him. 'What was that?'
The creak of a door opened and Syaoran strained his ears to hear. A deep voice was talking.
"-I'm back. How's the Gaki?"
Syaoran's eyes flashed open and he sat up. Colors and shapes blurred his image from being in darkness. 'I know that voice,' his mind was racing. 'No, it can't be! I must be dreaming!'
A new soft, woman's voice answered the deep one. " He's fine now. Just a few minutes ago he was moving around on the couch, shaking his head, muttering something. But he suddenly stopped, as though nothing happened."
At last Syaoran was able to see where he was. He touched his feet to the carpet, and attempted to stand up. Dizziness rocketed his head as soon as stood, and he had to balance with his arms to not fall down.
The voices were now moving, coming toward him.
" It was scary to see him like that, I didn't know what to do." the soft voice said. "I wish he would wake up-"
The two people rounded the corner, stopping in their tracts, staring at Syaoran. Syaoran looked at the girl and the man, two people who he had put in the back on his memory for so long. Two unmistakable people, lost under years of new memories, and now they were standing in front of him.
"SYAORAN!" The girl yelled and ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck. The weight of the girl proved a challenge, along with dizziness, and Syaoran fell backwards onto the couch.
'She is real. She is not a memory anymore. She is right in front of me.' Syaoran thought. He felt wetness on his neck. The girl pulled herself up from him, letting a tear drop fall. 'Are those tears? Why is she crying?'
"Get off him, Sakura." the man said, his tone calm. The girl looked up and nodded, smiling. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, offering a hand to Syaoran. He took it and pulled himself off the sofa. At last, he opened his mouth.
"Sakura?" he looked at her. She nodded quickly. He looked at the tall man. "Touya-san?"
Touya nodded his head once. Syaoran eyes wandered around the room he was in, questioning. His lips moved apart, but before he could get a sound out, Touya held up his hand.
"Let's first get you some food." his eyes looked the boy up and down. "And some new clothes." Without waiting for a response, Touya went up the stairs. When he came back down, arms filled with clothes, the table was set and Sakura was running around the kitchen, smiling. Syaoran sat at the round table uncomfortably, still unsure of why he was there.
Touya tossed the clothes to Syaoran. "Get up. Put this on," he gestured toward the pile in Syaoran's arms. "Those are my clothes, so they'll be a big on you."
Syaoran said nothing and went upstairs to change. A few minutes later, he came back down slightly resembling a clown. The sleeves of the shirt Touya gave him went far pass his hands, so he had to roll them up numerous times. As for the pants, a small leather belt was all that was keeping them from siding off his waist.
Touya snorted when he saw the boy, while Sakura seemed not to notice. She quickly placed a plate of warm food in front of Syaoran, who eyes gave away his hunger. The dinner passed much in silence, Touya leaning back on his chair, Syaoran stuffing food in his mouth, and Sakura looking from her brother to her friend.
"So, Gaki, are you going to tell us why you are here, or do we have to guess?" Touya said, keeping his eyes glaring at Syaoran.
Syaoran looked up from his food, glancing at Sakura. "How long have I been here?"
"One full day. Touya found you in the street not far from here." Sakura said. "What were you doing, Syaoran?"
Touya eyes flashed in anger for a moment when he heard his sister call the Gaki by his name, instead of Li-kun, but he bit his tongue.
Syaoran paused for a minute, trying to remember. "I don't know. Last thing I remember is being in the jungle, training. I don't know how I got here."
"Where have you been all this time?" Sakura asked.
"China." he said, glancing at her, "I've been training to take over the family. The Elders are getting ready to appoint new members and I..." he shrugged. "I just have to be ready." he then looked down at his plate, attempting to hide the small red color his cheeks got when he looked at the girl next to him.
Touya felt himself get annoyed with their small talk, and before either of them could say another word, he spoke. " You still haven't answered my question, Gaki. What are you doing in Japan?"
" I don't know." Syaoran whispered, "Something made me come here."
12: 24 at night in the Kinomoto house
Syaoran lay awake looking at the ceiling. He rolled over onto his stomach and looked out the window. After dinner, Kinomoto Fujitaka came home from his work. He expressed his joy over Syaoran being awake and another small interrogation followed. Kinomoto-san question Syaoran for ten minutes over what he remembered, which was nothing, then gave up. ("My only guess is that this is a bad case of sleep walking" he joked.) Touya then took Mr.Kinomoto off Syaoran's shoulders, leaving Syaoran alone with Sakura in the living room for a few minutes.
Most of that time passed in an akward silence, neither sure of what to say. Sakura finally broke the ice by saying, "We were all worried over you, Syaoran. Even Touya."
"Thank you," Syaoran said, "Saku...Kinomoto-san"
Sakura looked at him with a confused look. She then broke into a sweet smile. "It's alright. You can call me by my first name. You allowed me to use yours, right? It's only fair." Sakura then stood up. "Well...goodnight, Syaoran." she hesitantly said, gave him a small hug, and ran up the stairs before Syaoran could respond.
He felt heat rise up in his body and wondered if he was blushing. Syaoran did not know what to call her after so many years. The fact was, he never did. Sakura's name was something he would whisper to himself at night, when no one was around. This was very rare, only in times when he felt the sting of being alone.
Alone is what he had been for the past three years.
The Elders had devised a new training plan for Syaoran to become the "greatest leader of all the Li clan". Inspired by their plan, they asked the women closest to the young heir, if they could test this training for a few months. Syaoran's mother was a first very hesitate in letting the Elders take total control of her son, yet with advise from the oldest of the Elders, she agreed to it.
Syaoran was then moved away from his life, and put into a survival camp for a few weeks. To the Elders surprise, Syaoran quickly grew very bored of the camp, mastering the basics in days. Thus, a new plan came into being. Syaoran was then on full training for the next two years. The Elders soon began to take great pleasure in testing the boy, appointing harder and harder tasks for him to complete. Syaoran's power never succumbed to the tasks, instead seemed to grow, a side effect the Elders took no notice in.
Along with Syaoran's power, the Elders pressure on him seemed to only increase. Sleep was no longer easy, meditation became very hard, and simple spells now took much more energy then before. He could still accomplish them, and the effect was greater each time, but it also meant that he had to finish his enemies quicker in battle. Once he had completed his mission in minutes, then had to collapse for the rest of the day.
After a year of this training, the Elders began to wonder what was making Syaoran so powerful. His mother managed to avoid all questions about her son's power. She did, however, seem to know the answers, and took great joy in occasionally dropping hints. ( "His power grows every day, and so does his heart...", " I wonder who he fights for...", " Two great magicians, connected...") She would never complete her phrases, leaving them for others to wonder about in agony.
Syaoran's memories of Japan were filled with his friends. In darkness, when he was alone, these memories would remind him of somewhat carefree days. Before he would drift off to sleep, Sakura's face to float into his mind. Her green eyes, happy expression, and welcoming smile would put him at great ease. It was then that he would whisper her name into his pillow.
An overwhelming pain of regret would sometimes emerge from the pit of his stomach, and he would stay awake for the next few minutes, quietly whispering her name to himself, over and over, until he was calm again. He never told her how he felt about her. Syaoran did not know why this regret bothered him so. It was distracting and annoying, yet he could not get rid of it, try as he might.
He also began to notice another presence inside of his aura. At first, he was greatly alarmed. Only powerful magicians could put their aura into others. He went to his mother and sisters and told them his fears. Instead of banishing the aura from his body, they rejoiced, and told him to never attempt to get rid of it.
So mysterious aura became a part of Syaoran. At times, he played with it, hoping to discover whose aura it was. It gave off a small tingle of warmth whenever his aura neared it. Syaoran's aura would 'touch' the other aura gently, and a small feeling of pleasure would then diffuse through his body. After hours of playing with the aura, all he ever found out about it was that it belonged to a girl. 'That's fine for now,' he reminded himself. 'Its not like this aura is going to be leaving me any time soon.'
Syaoran rolled onto his back again. He pushed the thoughts of the aura out of his mind, concentrating instead on the newest issue of the day. Sakura.
Throughout the whole dinner, Syaoran could not seem to keep his eyes off the girl next to him. She had grown so much since the last time he saw her. There was an air of maturity around her along with a small bit of motherly nature. He could tell she was still forgetful and clumsy when she almost dropped a frying pan, yet many rough edges seemed to have smoothed themselves out greatly.
Plus she was stunning. This was the main reason why Syaoran could not stop looking at her. She still had those large emerald eyes and a enthusiastic warm about her, but now curves lined her body and 'cute' could no longer be an adjective for her. Beautiful. Graceful. An angle. These were the first words inside Syaoran's head when he saw her.
Syaoran then felt horrible. He cursed himself for looking at her in a strange, almost lustful, manner. If there was anything his mother and sisters had taught him, it was to never underestimate a woman. Syaoran had grown under the influence that to think about a woman in a disgraceful way was shameful. ( "A woman is not the tool of a man, to be used and showcased like an animal. She is a companion, a friend, and sometimes she is the only thing that man is living for." Yan Li had once said.)
This had never once caused a problem until recently. When he was young, Syaoran still had the notion that girls were a mix up in nature. 'How on earth could they affect a man like that?' he would wonder. It was so bizarre to him that when he found himself drawn to a girl, not a guy this time, he mistook it for almost anything. ( "I was sick this week, maybe it hasn't worn off yet." ) Yet, after he finally admitted to himself the truth, somewhat horrifying to one so young, he felt the feeling was quiet nice. 'I will tell her, one day.' he promised himself. The promise has yet to be fulfilled.
The next day at the Kinomoto House
Syaoran stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He crossed over from the couch to the kitchen, and was reaching for the toaster, when Sakura bolted in-between him and the machine.
"Morning!" She said happily, and turned around. "I can't have you make your own food! What kind of hostess would I be if I allowed that?"
Syaoran quickly jumped back to put some distance between them, blushing slightly. He glanced back at the girl, then sat down at the table.
"...h-hey, Syaoran?"
Syaoran looked up at Sakura, who was hiding her face beneath her hair. "What?"
She bit her lip. "Er, well, since you don't have anything to do, do you want to go to school with me?"
Syaoran was taken back by this question. Since he had not been going at all to any regular school, training taking up most of his time, the thought of going back to such a thing seemed funny. As much as he missed the routine of going to classes everyday, he had lived for too long without it.
Sakura continued to stare at Syaoran, and made a cough in her throat. Syaoran jumped from his thoughts and realized he had not given her an answer. "Sure. " He figured there were two positives in going with Sakura. One, he would be able to walk around the city and try to figure out what made him come here.One teenager walking around might look a bit odd, but with two teens the cover might work. People would just assume that they were walking home from someplace.
The second positive was that if he was with Sakura (preferably alone), he might be able to fore fill the promise he made to himself so long ago. The thought of it made his skin become hot.
Sakura gave a small shout of joy and returned to cooking. Syaoran spied a newspaper across the table and reached for it. It was a small attempt to keep himself distracted from looking at Sakura, and within a minute had failed.
Sakura took no notice of his actions as she continued to cook. Before either of them could speak, Touya stumbled into the room, his hair wet from his shower. He first glared at Syaoran, who ripped his eyes away from Sakura, hoping the older brother did not notice what he was doing.
"Morning, Sakura." Touya said and gave his sister a pat on the head. Sakura gave her brother a confused look.
"I'm not a kaiijuu this morning?" She said, suddenly breaking into a grin. "Look, I made breakfast!"
Touya admired her food before turning to the table. He walked behind Syaoran's chair and leaded over him to grab the newspaper. When his mouth was by Syaoran's ear he paused.
"Ever look at her like that again, you're dead." His voice hissed and he pulled up. "Thanks for the newspaper, Gaki!" he said loudly, and slide into his chair, ignoring the hatred in the younger boy's eyes. He smiled to himself.
Sakura was at last done with the breakfast, very ignorant of the glares thrown across the table. She turned her eyes at look at Touya.
"Oniichan, what are you doing today? You have one day before you leave, right?"
Touya bent the paper back to look at his sister. "I leave tomorrow morning." He took a second to glare at Syaoran before he continued. " I have to meet with Yukito again, but then you and me will do something." He pointed his finger and Sakura.
Syaoran was silent while watching the conversation. He noticed that Touya had only pointed to himself and Sakura, excluding him. That was fine, he concluded. He had no need to join on any outings today, very content with staying inside the house for today.
He also noticed the utter resentment Touya had towards him. Where this was coming from, Syaoran did not focus on, but he concentrated instead on matching the anger. It was at first hard to summon up, considering this family was the first humans he had seen in months. The mission the Elders sent him on took him to the wilderness of China, deep in the mazes of trees and mountains.
Sometime in those months, he was kidnapped, and brought here to Japan. His thoughts were interrupted by Sakura speaking.
"What about Syaoran?"
"The Gaki stays."
Syaoran looked up. In a flash, his anger towards Touya took whatever rational thoughts he had seconds before. "Why? I'm not going to stay locked up in here." he said, more harshly then he intended.
"Because," Touya said through gritted teeth, "We don't know if you are all right. You could fall over unconscious again, and then what would we do? It is safer for you, dear Gaki, if you stay here and rest". A smile tugged at his lips. Syaoran realized Touya was right.
You fool, Syaoran thought. You should have known that. Touya seemed to enjoy to point the obvious to Syaoran. He was waiting for you to retort, Syaoran growled to himself. He turned his head away from Touya's arrogant face and instead came into contact with Sakura's green eyes. She quickly averted them,and Syaoran felt another blush rising up, against his best efforts. What the hell is wrong with me? he thought.
"When is Yukito coming?" Sakura said, quickly changing the subject.
"In a hour. " Touya replied. The tone of his voice told that he did not want to elaborate, and the discussion was finished. "Then, in three hours, I come by again to pick you up."
Sakura grinned again. A silence took up the rest of the conversation, with Touya reading and trying his hardest to ignore the occasional looks between Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura and Syaoran, on the other hand, were trying their hardest not to let the other person know that they were staring at one another. All three failed miserably, and Touya got up discussed from the table five minutes later.
Touya and Sakura later that day, walking.
Sakura loved the evenings. The setting sun was putting on a wonderful show of colors which danced across the sky. There were patches of red and purple, pink and orange, all set against a golden background. It was nature's glory at its best.
Sakura outlined the clouds with her finger, giggling. She twirled around, letting the colors make her dizzy,
and fell down onto a carpet of grass. Her voice rang out in a sweet laughter and she breathed in the cold air.
"Watch it, Kaiijuu."
Touya glided over to where Sakura and leaned over her. "Come lay beside me, Oniichan. It's fun!" The corners of Touya's lips turned up into a smile and he flopped himself down next to her. The wind caught smell of coffee and tea from Touya's brown coat and blew it past Sakura. Sakura knew the instant the smell entered her noise her brother was beside her.
It was just the two of them, on the ground, staring up at the sky in the park. The rustle of leaves and snaps of twigs filled the silence between them. There was no need for words, neither Sakura nor Touya wanted to bring up the pain of Touya leaving. They just wanted to enjoy each other's company for the small amount of time that they had.
At last, Sakura spoke. "Thank you for today, Oniichan."
Touya grunted in reply, which Sakura knew to mean 'You're welcome'. "I'm really happy you came this weekend," she paused, "Sometimes, at night, I am really sad that you are gone. As much as I said I wanted you out of the house, I really miss you. It is never the same now. Food tastes different, walking home from school seems lonely, even doing chores seems odd. Whenever I feel like that, I try and remember all the fun times you and me had. Just remembering the small things, like chasing after you on my roller skates, can make me happy. Then I am not sad anymore. "
Sakura waited for Touya to say anything. His only response was silence. "When I am not sad, I can think about all the good you are doing. You are living your life. You are changing the world. Someday, you will have a family, and kids, and a wonderful wife. I just want to tell you, Touya, that...that..." She paused again, replaying memories. " I am proud of you."
Unknown to Sakura, Touya's emotions had battled their way up to the surface and, for the first time in months, his eyes were filled with tears. The drops tickled down his cheek, while his numb mind was frantically trying to come up with anything to say to his sister. It was hopeless, as his mouth seemed to have been stuffed with a cotton ball and disconnected from his body. Touya choked on his words, and concentrated on finding her hand. At last he reached his destination and gripped her fingers. Sakura understood. In one, unspoken motion, Touya managed to send his thoughts and feelings to Sakura in thousands of words. She held his hand. It was impossible for him to speak his feelings, Sakura knew, yet she was content with this simple gesture. As far as she was concerned, holding his hand was even better.
Author's note: At long last, chapter three is done. I am in such a good mood!! Why? It is winter break and I have at least two beautiful weeks to relax AND type! Chapter four, by the way, is well underway and going through the painful process of editing. Expect sometime in a week. (Cuz by then Ch.5 will be underway....)
Author's note2: First, I would like to thank my wonderful reviewers. It has lifted my spirits and inspired me to write more. Plus, the questions that you asked were SUPER! Please review, constructive criticism is always welcomed (and always needed), flames not. Thank you.