Revised. Again, thank you Miaka Kiri!
The last four years in Syaoran's life had not been pleasing. Before he had gone to Tomoeda, he would have done all that he does now without any complaints. After all, before Tomoeda, he had not known a life beyond Hong Kong. However, his patience was slowly diminishing and the fact that being a seventeen year old boy with a nasty temper was not helping him out either. After an entire day of Kung-fu practice, Syaoran Li was ready to hit the shower. His mother had sent him to practice on purpose. He was not scheduled for Kung fu today, in fact he was not scheduled for anything today. It was his day off, out of the whole week.
Grumpy and in a foul mood, he relished in his hour long shower but it did nothing for his mood. When he sat down for dinner with his family, everyone noticed the dark aura coming from him. His four sisters were currently giggling at something the younger one had just said and paid no never mind to Syaoran. The dinner was all set and prepared, the only one missing was his mother.
As if reading his thoughts, Li Yelan entered the room, gracefully floating inside and noiselessly sitting down. The room went quiet as the servants passed out the food and tea. The five sibling waited until their mother took the first bite before they too started to eat. No one spoke. Dinner was eaten quietly and without any disturbance. That is, any disturbance that could be heard. Li Yelan was not a common woman. She was very powerful and as powerful as she was, she could feel the feeling rotting out of Siu Lohng.
"What is the matter with you today, Siu Lohng? You are disturbing the meal."
Syaoran may have been only seventeen years old but he managed to do things that many adults could not do. One of them was to control his emotions. He had an excellent control of his inner feelings and could willingly hide them if he pleased. However, he did not wish to hide them today which is why his mother was looking at him as if he had grown two heads, though his mother's face was expressionless as always. Her tone of voice had been more than enough to tell him what she was feeling.
"I am tired, mother. You have sent me to work out for an entire day."
"Yes I have. How was the practice, Siu Lohng?"
Sighing, he deliberately took a bite and chewed it carefully. He prolonged his answer, letting her question hang in the air. His sisters cast him with anxious looks, saying nothing but the knowing what he was doing. After a while, he spoke calmly,
"Tiring," was all he said.
Li Yelan swallowed her last piece of the meal and put down her bowl. Her aura got stronger and Syaoran knew she was upset. Whether she was powerful or not, they were all family and they could read each other perfectly well. Syaoran knew his mother's temper. She was as quick witted and spoken as he was. But she too could control herself and at this moment, her control was unwavering.
"I see. Well, maybe it is those phone calls you have so late at night that keeps you so tired, my son."
Looking at his bowl still filled with rice and sauce, he scoffed.
"I doubt it, mother. In fact, those phone calls are the only things keeping me sane."
His younger sister began to cough, obviously shocked at his tone of voice. He was not the only one. His older sister soon spoke.
"Siu Lohng, have you forgotten your respect? One does not speak to mother like that," her eyes bore into his, her lips set in a grim line, "she commands respect."
Nodding, Syaoran took another bite of his meal.
"I have never doubted that, sister. I do respect her. It is her choices I do not respect."
"Siu Lohng!"
"Take the plates out," commanded Li Yelan to the servants, "have them eat outside."
The servants bowed to her and did as she commanded. Syaoran remained seated as his sisters quietly left the room. Li Yelan signaled for the servants to retire as well. At last, only mother and son remained.
"What disrespect is this, Siu Lohng?" demanded his mother, not as other mothers would with anger and irritability but the question had strength in it.
"You know what it is, mother," said Syaoran, slightly mumbling by now. He did not wish to have this conversation all of a sudden.
"Yes, the girl from Japan, is it not?"
Syaoran nodded. He heard his mother sigh deeply. A quiet rose and fell between them.
"I respect the girl, I could go as far as to say I like her," began his mother thoughtfully but soon, a new kind of voice appeared, one that sounded like his mother but he did not recognize it,
"but you recognize what the elders say."
"No!" said Syaoran angrily, raising his eyes to meet his mother's, "I don't care what the elders say. Is it not up to you, the clan leader, to make the decisions?"
Sighing wearily, her fingers fidgeted with her chopsticks for a second before realizing what she was doing.
"You know it is not that simple, Siu Lohng."
"Why not?" Syaoran retorted angrily, "what is it that terrifies you so?"
"It's not as if you do not know how things are done here," continued his mother, raising her eyes to meet his, "they have the last say on determining a situation."
"But you are the Clan lead–"
"That's enough!" stated Li Yelan angrily, standing up which meant Syaoran had to stand up as well. She looked down on him (though she had to admit he was rapidly growing and soon, she would no longer have to be the one looking down) her eyes steely but harsh.
"I understand the situation more than you know, Siu Lohng and believe me when I say I have tried to help you," her eyes softened on her gaze towards h er son when his eyes fell to the floor, "you need patience and control of you temper is you wish to acquire what you want."
"I've tried, mother," said Syaoran quietly, his voice almost defeated, "but it gets hard after four years."
"Mmm–" he raised his eyes to meet hers and found a soothing smile on her face, "you are my son and as your mother, I want you to be happy."
She paused and looked at him thoughtfully, her mouth suddenly set in a grim line,
"But you also have responsibilities to your family."
Syaoran said nothing. They had had this conversation many times and it always ended this way. Yes, he had responsibilities and duties to the Clan and the elders. In other words, he could find no happiness in anything else except his duties and had to devote his life to them as his father once had and now, his mother.
Syaoran clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to his mother.
"May I be excused?"
His eyes never left the floor as his mother agreed. He turned around and walked to his room, ignoring his sisters stared and whispers. Along the way, he heard someone familiar by the door, a happy squealing voice and knew immediately who it was. He headed for the door, quickly recognizing her dark hair in a tall pony tail, a nice black skirt and pink shirt and a smile on her face as she looked at him.
"Neh, Syaoran!"
Without a word, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her along with him, angrily stomping up the stairs and into his room.
"Syaoran, what's the matter?" yelled Meilin, trying not to trip as he took giant steps, "Ow! Syaoran, it hurts!"
The door slammed loudly once they entered his room.
"Argh!"
"Syaoran?"said Meilin cautiously for she knew well what kind of mood he was in. She guessed that another talk had happened between he and his mother and it obviously had come to the same conclusion as before.
"She won't open her eyes!"
"Syaoran, do try to understand–"
"You as well, Meilin?"
"No, not me as well," said Meilin irritably as she sat next to Syaoran, who had flopped down face first on his bed and was mumbling something into his pillow. Meilin had to laugh. Though Syaoran had grown up a lot over the last few years, he still had the tendency to act like a child sometimes. Especially when he did not get what he wanted.
"But auntie has it pretty bad too," she continued, taking his hand and patting it consolingly, "she has to deal with those crazy old goons!"
Turning around, Syaoran put his arm on his forehead, looking up at the white ceiling thoughtfully.
"I do understand," he said after a while, "but I need someone to understand my feelings as well."
"I know, Syaoran."
While he was looking at the ceiling, Meilin had the chance to look at his face. He had grown out his childish look and now, he had a strong jaw line and more defined face shape. His hair had grown because the elders had decided to have Syaoran look the role of Clan leader as soon as possible. This only meant he would have to have shoulder length hair and then, during meetings with the elders, have it tied into a bun. It signified importance, or something, Meilin never quite understood. She and Syaoran had watched some of the nighttime drama their servants watched and most of the men had the bun the elders talked about. At first, they had made fun of such an old fashioned idea but after a while, Syaoran became irritated by the long hair and had cut it off.
Needless to say, the elders had thrown a major tantrum (as they liked to put it) and had punished him. Syaoran laughed about it now but back then, he had to do so much and study so hard that he found nothing funny for a couple of months. His hair was long again, though. Not shoulder length but it was getting there. He usually wore it back in a ponytail and only put it up in a bun when he had meetings with the elders.
His eyes were a dark ember, troubled and sad most of the time. Meilin wished she could do more for him but she was more tied than he was. She had no real power in the Clan since she had no magical powers. She was very respected in the martial arts area but other than that, she had no real say in anything. Even Syaoran, who had a lot more power than she did, could do nothing to change the elders mind.
"I'm sorry for dragging you," mumbled Syaoran sleepily, "but I needed to let off some steam."
She noticed his eyes were getting heavy and his voice drawled slightly. She smiled and stood up besides him.
"No worries, cousin."
He didn't hear her though. He was already half asleep. She smiled sadly as she caressed his face, not knowing if she was sad because of his problems or her feelings. She turned and left the room, walking slowly back to her own room. She didn't have such intense feeling for Syaoran anymore but he had been her first love. First loves don't really leave you. They're always with you, whether you want it or not. Meilin had stopped feeling so sad after a while and was soon his confidante. She was the only one who truly understood his feelings for Sakura for she had found it extremely easy to like her as well. She couldn't even hate her for having Syaoran fall in love with her and break off Meilin's engagement. But there were times when Meilin felt a strange pang of sadness, whether it was late at night or in the middle of an actinity. It was as if those feelings were dorment most of the time and when something triggered it, it caused her a hollow feeling somewhere in her chest. Memories of days past when she and Syoran were still engaged and Meilin had not worried he would fall for someone else.
It was kind of ironic that she hand Syaoran were better friends now than they were before. Perhaps it was the fact that she was no longer all over him or dragging him everywhere. In fact, nowadays, it was the other way around. He trusted her with her problems and they usually spent lots of time talking. Arriving in her room, she smiled ruefully. The feeling was gone now. It was replaced by a more relieving feeling, one that made her feel tons better. She had lost her first love but she had gained a great friend in him. She flopped on her bed as well and closed her eyes, a small smile on her face.
The next day Syaoran had the whole day to himself. Although he should have been studying, he waved the thought away as he looked out the window. The day was gorgeous. The sun was beaming down on them, tantalizing them to spend the day outside. Meilin decided they should have a picnic and to her surprise, Syaoran had agreed. As they were leaving for the park, his two younger sisters invited themselves as well and so, the group of four left for the park. The day was spent there, eating all the food Meilin had prepared and going to the festivals the park provided that day. By nightfall, they began to head back, laughing and playing all the way home. In all, Syaoran had enjoyed himself even though his sisters had decided to give him a lecture in the middle of the picnic. He had barely listened though and only nodded and promised not to do it again. His sisters were satisfied and continued to have fun but for a while, Syaoran's sour mood had returned. That's when Meilin had decided for them to go to the festivals and have fun there.
Upon returning home, they ate a quick dinner with their mother because she had to meet with the elders. Once she left, the two younger sisters, Meilin, and Syaoran excused themselves quickly, way too full to eat more. They went to the living room and decided to watch a movie. Afer an hour of fighting between action and romance, the three girls won and they started to watch "Dolls".
Though Syaoran thought it was a good movie, it was awfully long and halfway through it, he excused himself. The three girls barely recognized the fact that he had gone outside, all of them too busy crying and sobbing.
Syaoran breathed in deeply. The night air felt good in his lungs and made him feel peaceful. Though he had tried not to think of it, the issue returned to his head. He had promised her he would return for her. How could he keep his promise? It was harder than he thought it would be. The elders were composed of old men, all of them with the same view of things. They were close minded to anything different and new. To them, Syaoran had to reach eighteen to be the official Clan leader and take over his mother. In their eyes, a proper Clan leader had to be a young man, not a woman. That had been the case a few decades ago, when his father had been alive and the Li Clan leader. He had married his mother and shortly after Syaoran had been borne, he had died. Syaoran did not know why. His mother did not like talking about it and his father was rarely mentioned in the house. However, he did know that at the time, there were no men of eighteen which meant that the position of Clan leader went to his mother. The elders had no other option and it was out of extreme necessity that they gave the role to his mother.
That was the whole reason he was pushed to be clan leader, to take his mother's role. It wasn't fair, he decided as he looked at the stars. There were other eighteen year olds in the Li family. In fact, a cousin of his, Jun was the same age he was. Why was he not chosen to be Clan leader? Jun was not as powerful as Syaoran in magic or in martial arts but he wanted to be Clan leader. He had said so to Syaoran once, a long time ago. He was no longer living in the mansion, though. He had been sent away to practice his magic with an elder.
It had all fallen on Syaoran. In the end, it was all up to him.
His head continued to reel in all of this when a shiver went u p his spine. It wasn't that cold outside but he knew it wasn't that. It had something to do with magic. Another shiver– and another. It settled in the pit of his stomach and wouldn't go away. The first thing that popped into his head was her. He found that he couldn't move properly and after struggling for a while, he raced into the room.
He had to call her, he knew it had something to do with her. He ran to his room, ignoring the shouts from his sisters. Something was wrong with Sakura and he had to know what. He dialed her number with worried eyes and heavy breathing but found her line to be busy. Cursing, he sat on his bed, phone in hand and decided to wait.
Those were one of the longest minutes of his life.