Stupid Cupid
Intro: Judgment Day

Cupid: According to Google, Cupid was the Roman God of Love (his counterpart being Eros, the Greek God of Love). Some portrayed Cupid as a little boy with wings, a bow and an arrow. He would pierce the hearts of his victims with his arrow – thus making them fall in love with whomever he wanted them to.

Dictionary (dot com) says the same thing. When referring to love, Cupid remains as one of the many symbols of this indefinable emotion.

His mother was the famous Venus – Goddess of Love. It's also said that Cupid fell in love with a mortal human who went by the name of Psyche. Being the mortal that she was, she could not look upon the God she so dearly loved, but she was content being with him. But due to the prodding and urgings of her sisters, Psyche looked upon Cupid, and for that he left and disappeared as punishment.

Psyche went to the temple of Venus. The Goddess didn't like the mortal, and in an attempt to destroy her, told her to go to the Underworld and retrieve some of Proserpine's (Queen of the Underworld) beauty and put it into a box – but she was not to look into the box.

Curiosity getting the better of her… she did. She didn't find anything in it but a deep slumber. Cupid found her lifeless corpse and swept the sleep out of her and trapped it into the box.

In the end, the Gods, being impressed by Psyche's love for Cupid, made her a Goddess.

…Even in the Greek version of Eros and Psyche do the two end up happily ever after.

And they say all Greek stories end in tragedies.


Today was possibly one of the most important days of his life… At least for Li Syaoran it was.

Today was Judgment Day… his Judgment Day… the day he'd become an official God of one thing or another. And he was excited. This was the day he lived for. This was the day he waited for with vigor and patience. Oh yes. Today was the day Syaoran would no longer be a boy… but a man – a God.

And he was going to prove to everyone what a damn good God he can be.

Ever since he could remember he's always pictured himself to have a powerful title… maybe something like his cousin, Kaijin, the Sea God… or even Dojin, the Earth God…

He always pictured himself to have a title that everyone would worship and fear; to be a God no one would dare to anger or question. He'd make a powerful God, and he knew it. He was a fierce young lad after all. His features were handsome. His amber eyes glowed with flecks of gold. His chestnut brown hair splayed about in a messy show. But oh how it suited him. The way he kept his eyes carefully blank and his lips resolute in a frown… it made him look fierce.

He was young. He was fit. He was handsome. He was powerful. He was strong – and he was going to let the World know it one day.

He balanced a pebble in his hand, moving it around in his fingers before flicking it at the water. It bounced once or twice along the surface before sinking into the pond. He was standing on a small bridge arched over the pond in the gardens. There were lily pads floating around on the surface. The water itself was clear and clean – clear enough that he could see the many other pebbles sitting at the bottom. A ripple passed along the surface, having been disturbed by the pebble he had tossed before it smoothed out again that he could see his reflection.

A shadow descended upon him, something he noticed from the corner of his eye. Syaoran turned around to face the approaching figure before bowing to show his respect.

"Mother."

He stood back up as he straightened his posture. Dark ebony eyes stared back at him. The woman, or Goddess that he called mother was a firm looking woman – maybe more firm looking than himself. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail, and even then her hair trailed behind her back and to her waist. She was a tall and slender woman with a narrow face, pale skin and rosy lips. It was evident where Syaoran got his good looks from because his mother was the definition of all things beautiful and lovely. And even though she looked firm, when she reached out and held his chin, she did so with such delicacy and gentleness that it was almost hard to believe she could crush a mere mortal with a single squeeze of her hand…

This was why many revered and feared Yelan, the Goddess of Love.

"You are nervous." It was not a question, but rather a simple statement. Her ebony eyes stared into his chestnut ones, searching deep into his soul and reading him as if he were an open book.

Syaoran turned away and leaned back on the railing of the bridge. "Hn."

Yelan studied her only son with those calm stormy eyes of hers. He was a silent boy who kept to himself most of his days. As a child he was mischievous and always getting into trouble… but after his father died and his soul passed away to the Land of the Dead, he became passive. He became the young man standing before her.

She rested a hand on his shoulder. It was a light touch, a simple weight upon his shoulder. And yet, such a simple gesture felt like the most reassuring thing in the world at that moment. Syaoran glanced at his mother.

"Let us go. The Council waits."

He closed his eyes for a minute before sighing and nodding. They made their way out of the Gardens as they passed beneath an arch. The pavement they walked on was made out of ivory, as were the fountains and the benches they passed by. Grassy hills loomed to their sides, each hill decorated with a cherry blossom tree. The trees themselves were magical in their own way. They changed depending on the season, and, evidently, it was springtime. They wandered through Shinshuu (Land of the Gods), and made their way to a certain temple.

It was cool inside. Statues aligned the aisles, as did tapestries and velvet curtains. Pillars held the roof in place, some of the pillars engraved with ancient texture. The aisle was wide in width and long in length. At the very end they could see a table set out with a torch standing on each side. A blue flame danced upon each one.

Syaoran paused for a moment before squaring his jaw and approached the awaiting Council; walked towards his Judgment. Yelan fell in silent strides behind him, but she kept at a distance.

The Council of the Gods. They were the ones who defined a God as a God, or a Goddess as a Goddess. They were the ones who passed Judgment – who decided what you are to be the rest of your immortal life. They were the Elders; the oldest of all of those who walked upon Shinshuu. Syaoran didn't necessarily know how old they were. Some said they were as old as the Earth itself.

All five Elders sat at the table. One of them was flipping through several scrolls, while another was writing something down. Two of the other Elders were murmuring things to each other and the fifth looked up and peered at him over round spectacles. His blue eyes glinted.

"Li Syaoran."

All chattering and shuffling and scribbling ceased there. All five of them faced Syaoran, each one staring down at him with all the wisdom in the world. It was overwhelming to have such aged eyes looking at him so because each one told him the story of how the world formed. Each pair of calculating and disturbingly old eyes told him of things he knew not of; things he never experienced; knowledge that surpassed his own… knowledge that he knew he could never have unless he were one of them. And it was very, very overwhelming indeed. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at end. His breath caught in his throat as his mouth suddenly felt dry. All words escaped him. It was as if for a moment he forgot his identity, his name and his reason for being there. It was as if he forgot to breathe – which he did because as soon as he regained his composure, he found himself breathing harder than he remembered.

Syaoran gave them a hasty bow after averting his gaze away. "Council."

"Li Syaoran," another elder repeated his name, although in a musing manner. "The son of Yelan, the Goddess of Love…"

"You already know why you are here," a third murmured in a gruff voice. He was the one who was shuffling through some scrolls. He resumed doing that until he found what he was looking for and plucked it out of his pile. "Today is your Judgment Day."

Syaoran remained silent. There wasn't much for him to say anyway. He just wanted them to pass judgment and get it over with.

The Elders themselves remained silent as Syaoran went over the possibilities of what kind of God he will be. Maybe he can become the next War God? There can be more than one God of the same thing, right? …Well not really, but one can hope.

Or maybe he'd one day become as powerful as Raijin? The God of Lightning? The King of all Gods?

Even though that was a title rightfully reserved for Raijin only…

Ahh keep dreaming, Li Syaoran…

Or maybe he'd be like Ryuujin… the Dragon Go –

"Ai no kami."

Syaoran blinked and lifted his head up. "…Excuse me?"

"Ai no kami," an elder repeated flippantly.

It was so abrupt… so sudden and so bluntly stated that it took Syaoran a very long time to process what the Elder had said.

"Ai…no… kami?" he repeated, letting the words gradually sink in.

"…"

"God of LOVE?" was his first reaction.

And when he realized he had completely blown up, Syaoran struggled to compose himself before he bit out as calmly as he could through gritted teeth: "…You must be mistaken."

The fifth elder peered at him amusedly over his spectacles. "We are never mistaken, Syaoran. It is a fitting title seeing as how you are the son of a Love Goddess."

"But…"

Love God! Not that he wasn't respectful of his mother's title as a Love Goddess… it was just that… he's a man! He's a fighter – not some damn love-sick fool who goes around with a bow and arrow shooting hearts at people!

Syaoran pursed his lips.

Sure he knew what love was… he learned enough from his mother. But he didn't necessarily understand it. It was an emotion he could never comprehend. It was an emotion he simply never felt besides the family and familiarity love you feel towards your parents and friends.

So how the hell did he get stuck as AI NO KAMI?

This just didn't make any sense! None whatsoever!

"Please tell me this is all a practical joke," Syaoran persisted.

"We do not… 'joke,'" the fourth elder stated. His bony fingers were weaved together as he leaned his elbows on the table.

"Do you doubt our judgment, Syaoran?" the second elder slurred.

Syaoran fumbled for words before dropping his gaze and bowing again. "No, Elder. I apologize for my impudence," came the light murmur of apology.

"Good. You will be spending one Earth year on Earth."

"…What? Why?"

"It'll be good exercise to practice your power…"

"…And to make people fall in love," came the teasing gesture of the fourth elder.

Syaoran bit the inside of his cheek. How was he supposed to make people fall in love when he didn't even know how?

"You will learn," the first elder said shortly, as if reading his thoughts. "You are dismissed."

Syaoran lingered longer than he meant to.

The fifth raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you need, Syaoran?"

"I…" He opened his mouth, and then closed it. "No. Good day, Elders." And with one last bow, Syaoran turned around and stalked out of the temple. Yelan stepped out from the shadows as she hovered by the table where the Council sat at.

"Are you sure that was wise?"

"Yelan-sama, as your son we know he has the ability to do what you are capable of," the fifth reassured, not even bothering to glance over at her. "I am sure you are aware of that, too."

She looked over where her son had recently stormed out of before nodding. "…I am aware of that."

"Then do not worry."


Syaoran, meanwhile, stalked back to the gardens in order to brood over this so called judgment of his.

It sounded more like a death statement to him.

Ai no kami.

He snorted and scowled at nothing in particular.

This sucks.

To be continued

Yay. Haha. I swear I couldn't help myself but start another fic (again)… I was trying to think of other things to make Syaoran since I was bored… Like, I've written fics where he's a God, a Prince, a thief… a vampire… and I was thinking… what else? And then I got the idea of Cupid. Mwaha.

This is just my twisted way of torturing Syaoran. Ooh yes. I'm going to have much fun.

And I couldn't help but make references to Google and Dictionary (dot com). Haha.

Anyway! Don't forget to leave a review!