Well here we go people!
And once again I must remind the world (I did have one guy from a book company call me up one time asking for me….FYI: I told him I wasn't here. I have reason to believe he was after me, n it's not because he loves my stories.) that CLAMP IS NOT MY OWN! Tho I wish…
---------------------Hidden Power: Chapter 7-Running out of Time
It was a good thing that Syaoran did not really have much to lose by going into a cheesy fortune telling shop. Because he was hightailing it out of the shop within 10 minutes. Eriol was behind him laughing.
"SAD! That was SAD!" Syaoran cried.
Eriol chuckled, "Well, to be honest I didn't really expect much myself. I'll admit that I don't believe in divination at all."
Gaia came out of the shop frowning deeply, "What a fake. How disappointing. I thought for sure she would help us when she said that there was a spirit in the room."
"Obviously Skye has good ears, because he dove into her turban and found them," Aqua laughed and Skye turned pink.
Eriol opened his mouth to say something until he noticed something odd.
The bell to the fortune-teller's shop had begun to quiver. The odd thing was that the door was closed. The so-called fortune teller was obviously making a last attempt to convince them of her spiritual powers (which she did not have). But he knew that couldn't be true when the bell started to ring more furiously and a waiter in the café nearby screamed as the cart she was pushing along toppled over on its own accord. In a yard nearby a dog began to bark frantically. Then the truth dawned on him and he cried out a warning.
"EARTHQUAKE!"
Instantly things got worse as people panicked and everyone started screaming. The ground began to shake and tables in the café toppled over. Alarms of parked cars starting to go off around the street went unheeded as people rushed into buildings for safety. The fortuneteller who had previously proven herself to be a fake came out of her shop screaming at the top of her lungs about the end of the world. Syaoran ignored her and followed Eriol into the woman's shop under the desk.
Finally after what seemed like hours the earthquake died down and Skye stopped trembling from within Eriol's hood.
"This is not good," Gaia clenched Eriol's glasses, her eyes clouded with worry.
"What's going on? It's just an earthquake. Not that I liked being caught in the middle of it," Syaoran muttered.
"It's getting worse. Time is running out and Chaos is getting closer. That's why we had an earthquake."
"You're kidding me! We get earthquakes here in Japan. Shit happens," Syaoran pointed out.
"You won't be saying that when it starts raining ice! I wasn't the same for weeks," Aqua retorted. A/N: Aqua is water remember? Water and ice always stick or something similar, don't they?
"It's CALLED hail," Skye jabbed his little sleeve at the..erm…sky.
"Well, whatever happens we have to find the others," Eriol said. "Clearly we're running in circles here as time is running out."
"All I want to know is how are we going to find the next Guardian?" Pyro sighed.
The annoying babysitter (who had turned tail and disappeared during the earthquake) chose that specific moment to appear again and press his nose into Pyro's face. Much to his misfortune, Pyro was more than happy to burn it and flared up immediately.
"Owwwwww choo! Have plan! Have idea!" he wailed forlornly crossing his eyes in an effort to nurse his nose.
"Oh please, like YOU have something that might work!" Gaia said dryly.
"You have plan, choo?" the babysitter glared reproachfully, his nose very red indeed. No one had a retort to that one.
"No," Syaoran admitted with a sigh. "What do you have?"
"Nose!" the babysitter frowned and pointed to his scorched nose.
"Didn't think so," Syaoran muttered sounding a little disappointed. "We don't have the time for this."
"No! choo! Smell! I smell Guardian!"
"…………oo……………."
"No way," Eriol breathed.
"He's bluffing," Aqua said as the babysitter took off down the street with his nose to the ground. Apparently if it was possible, he'd caught onto the scent. Whether he was fooling around again they didn't know, but they really had nothing to lose by following him.
Eriol was about to protest when suddenly someone screamed from not too far off. His heart thudding rapidly he followed the babysitter around the corner.
Syaoran cried out to see a giant bundle of vines wrapped around someone stuggling to get free. On the side a young girl with long brown hair tied into a ponytail wearing a sort of red and orange kimono tied in the most complex way stood with her hand splayed before her, annoyance creasing her face.
"I want an answer! Where are the other three gua—" the girl stopped abruptly when she saw Syaoran and Eriol.
"Nevermind. It looks like they finally found you themselves." Her captive struggled and gave cries of warning most heartily.
"Welcome Guardians," she greeted them with the enthusiasm of a preppy teenager. "I am Kotoko." And without further ado a torrent of vines rose into the air and rushed to meet them.
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It was a short chapter, but I had problems with separation so I thought it might be a good idea to dedicate the next chapter mostly to the struggle that will take place. And for all the people getting sick and tired of me referring to that…er…annoying person/thing as 'the babysitter' don't worry. He'll definitely be named soon.
Hey hey! I have to cry out! I'm really enjoying myself here.
Everything is going so good. I'm finally getting somewhere with this story after YEARS of trying to write it again and again, I think I finally did it at the right time!
I have actually written the next few chapters but I've been very unfortunate to lose it on my computer, which has a virus (I'm on the laptop right now). Give me a while to get it back okay? Thank you every one who is still reading this and who has waited so patiently.
Well, please please review review! I'd love to see my email bombarded by the likes of you reviewers/flamers. Feedback it the best thing!