Chapter Eight
Accidental Fate

Sakura and Syaoran finished their chores in strained silence. Eventually, their peers began to trickle into the room one by one. Tomoyo was one of the first to enter, grinning from ear to ear. As soon as she came in, Sakura gave her a death stare, grabbed her arm, and ushered her into the hallway. Eriol almost collided with them as he attempted to get through the door. He followed them with his eyes and chuckled softly before ambling back to his desk.

Syaoran took his time putting the broom and cleaning supplies away so that he wouldn't have to sit next to Eriol when they were virtually alone in the classroom. The last thing he needed was another one of Eriol's prophecies.

"Why didn't you tell me about the change in the schedule Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked, yanking down on her friend's arm. "You must've known. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and he was standing there!"

"I don't have to imagine your surprise," Tomoyo said, noting Sakura's tone when she said "he." Judging by the lingering anxiety attached to the syllable, Tomoyo still had a lot of work ahead of her.

"Hoe?" Sakura said, blinking at Tomoyo's mysterious choice of words.

Tomoyo grinned inwardly. Sakura was an extremely intelligent and focused person, but she tended to be ignorant to what was going on right under her nose. One cryptic comment and she lost her focus. Tomoyo took every opportunity to exploit this one flaw (but only for Sakura's own good, of course.)

"We better get back to class or we'll be late," Tomoyo said, leaving her befuddled friend behind.

"Alright everyone. May I have your attention?" Terada-sensei's voice brought everyone out of their morning stupor. Study hall was just about over and math class was next. However, it was strange for Terada-sensei to make an announcement just before the study hall period was over. An air of uneasiness infected the room.

"Last night Tsutsumi-sensei had an accident in her home. She slipped on a wet spot on her kitchen floor and broke her ankle."

A murmur of concerned whispers flared, but Terada-sensei held up a hand and quickly stifled the noise.

"Needless to say, she won't be able to teach math for several weeks while her ankle heals. However, we were able to find a substitute for you, even on such short notice."

Terada-sensei turned to the door. "Come in please."

The door opened and a woman with pale skin and long shockingly red hair that flowed past her waist stepped daintily inside. She had a rather long neck and a bright smile on her face. Her hands were folded innocently in front of her as she bowed deeply to the class.

A wave of dread crept over Syaoran like a swiftly approaching summer thunderstorm. The aura was exactly the same as it had been the night before when he spoke with Ruby Moon. This woman's presence practically choked his soul and seemed to seep into every corner of the room. And Syaoran couldn't be sure, but her gaze seemed to hover around Sakura's location as she scanned the faces of the room.

"Hello everyone. My name is Kaho Mizuki," she said in a voice smooth like silk and just as elegant. A few strands of hair fell over her face as she spoke. Syaoran watched in fascination as she weaved her spell on the class. "I hope I can meet your expectations of a good math teacher while your regular instructor is away. Shall we get started?"

She nodded gracefully to Terada-sensei who smiled and left the room. As he shut the door, Syaoran felt as if he was being locked inside the tiger's cage.

There's no mistaking this aura, Syaoran thought to himself as the woman energetically lectured the class. It's muffled, but that's just because she's trying to hide it. I know she's Chaos and now she's closer to Sakura than ever.

With a shudder, Syaoran realized just what this meant. Chaos had taken a vital position of power in Sakura's life. As a teacher, this woman could direct Sakura's actions much more effectively than any other force in Sakura's life. It was only a matter of time before Chaos exploited her influence.

"Well, I think that's enough for today, huh?" Mizuki-sensei said, closing her book for emphases. The students sat captivated. Math had never seemed more interesting. "I think I'll let everyone out early for recess just this once." She winked. The class cheered and headed for the door. Syaoran was the only one who didn't move.

"Oh, Sakura Kinomoto-san," Mizuki-sensei said over the din of the classroom rush. "I would like to speak with you before you leave."

Sakura froze as she was passing the teacher's desk.

Syaoran tensed as if ready for battle. Already Chaos was using her position to influence Sakura's actions. He was determined not to move from the spot. What would she attempt to do while Syaoran sitting right in front of her?

Tomoyo gave Sakura an encouraging smile and left the room with the rest of the class. Suddenly the three of them were alone.

"Reed-san," Mizuki-sensei said, her voice rippling through Syaoran's aura. She stared straight back at him. As he looked into her eyes, he had no doubts. This was Chaos in disguise. "This is a private conversation. I'm sure Kinomoto-san would feel much more comfortable if you kindly left."

Sakura slowly turned around and looked at Syaoran as if it was the first time she had noticed him. Then she quickly turned back to Mizuki-sensei.

"Uh, it's fine if Reed-kun would like to stay," Sakura said meekly. "He always sits in the classroom during recess. I don't want to bother him."

For an instant, Syaoran was positive that Mizuki-sensei's face had broken into Ruby Moon's wild grin, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by the woman's warm, disarming smile once again. "Very well."

"Kinomoto-san," Mizuki-sensei began. "May I call you Sakura?"

Sakura nodded. Syaoran cringed inwardly.

"Sakura-san, it seems your math scores are a tiny bit below average. It's nothing major, but you seem to be struggling. Am I right?"

Syaoran could see Sakura wring her hands behind her back. "Uh, well, math isn't my best subject. I wish I was better at it."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our weaknesses."

Did her eyes just flick in Syaoran's direction?

"If you feel you could benefit, I'd be happy to give you extra lessons after school. I always find that a little one-on-one attention helps students find out exactly where they're having trouble. How about it?"

"Really?" Sakura said, leaning forward. Syaoran could practically see the light that was emanating from her face. "I'd like that a lot."

"Okay then," Mizuki-sensei said, smiling softly. "Take this form home and have your father sign it. Then we can start after school tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Yes!" Sakura said, grabbing the paper. "Thank you very much!"

"You're very welcome Sakura-san."

Sakura cried "thank you" a few more times before finally leaving the room. Syaoran could hear her skipping down the steps.

As soon as she was gone, Syaoran got out of his seat and moved to the front of the room. Mizuki-sensei smiled serenely as he walked up and placed his both hands on the teacher's desk. He leaned forward.

"I feel like I could benefit from some extra lessons as well," Syaoran said, his aura flaring.

"Syaoran Reed-san," Mizuki-sensei said, still smiling. "Your math scores are exemplary. There is absolutely no indication that you need any tutoring. You seem to be grasping all the concepts with ease."

"I feel as if I'm not being challenged," Syaoran said, switching gears abruptly. "Maybe you could give me some extra instruction that is above the average level."

Mizuki-sensei shook her head, her red hair glistening hypnotically in the sunlight. "I use what little free time I have to tutor those who are falling behind. If you feel you aren't being challenged, I can always recommend you to a higher grade level. This school has an excellent math club as well."

Syaoran resisted the urge to glare. She was making this really difficult.

"However," Mizuki-sensei continued. "If for some unexplainable reason your math scores were to drop significantly, I would have no choice but to offer you the same help that I offer to any other struggling student."

Now Syaoran couldn't help but glare. It had to be some sort of set-up. Why would she so openly give Syaoran the loophole he needed?

But it didn't really matter. Syaoran felt he could handle anything Chaos threw at him, as long as he could keep an eye on Sakura at all times.

"It's only a matter of time before I start falling behind because of your horrible teaching methods," Syaoran said seriously, turning to leave.

"Now, now, Reed-san," Mizuki-sensei said, drawing her hands up under her chin. "Is that any way to talk to your new teacher?"

"You're no teacher," Syaoran said, clenching his fists.

"On the contrary," Mizuki-sensei said sweetly. "Education exists solely to help children prepare for their adults lives. And if life can be defined by a series of chaotic events, then I think I'm more than qualified to teach a high school math course."

Syaoran whirled around, shocked that Chaos would reveal herself so readily. But Mizuki-sensei just smiled.

"I never meant to hide my identity from you, Syaoran. It's much more fun this way," Mizuki-sensei turned her head to stare wistfully out the window. Then her expression changed abruptly, as if realizing something that disturbed her.

"I think I left my bags by the gym door. You know, the one that opens up into the courtyard?"

The woman turned back to Syaoran, smirking. "Sakura-san uses that door a lot, doesn't she? I hope she doesn't trip and fall somehow…"

Syaoran gritted his teeth and then took off down the hallway. Sakura did use the gym entrance to the courtyard a lot, but he could hardly trust what Chaos was telling him. So instead of heading directly after Sakura, he used the front entrance to the courtyard and came around to the gym entrance.

Sure enough, a big, black rolling briefcase was sitting obtrusively right next to the door. Syaoran quickly approached it and wheeled it out of the way. Feeling satisfied that he had saved Sakura again, he was about to head back to the classroom when the door sprang open and violently collided with his entire left side. He couldn't feel any pain, of course, but the force of the impact swept his legs out from under him and he fell to the ground on his stomach. There were a couple more impacts to his ribs and then a muffled "Oof."

Syaoran lay there for an instant, stunned by the series of rapid events and pondering the awesome power of physics. It was a few more seconds before he realized that Sakura was laying askew about a foot away from him, just as stunned and confused. They seemed to become conscious of each other at the same moment.

"Are you okay!" Syaoran said, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Are you okay!" Sakura said at the same instant, getting to her knees and wincing slightly.

"You're not okay," Syaoran said, glaring at Sakura's wince. He looked her over carefully, his eyes coming to rest on her raw, bloody left knee. "You're bleeding!"

"Hoe?" Sakura said, following Syaoran's gaze to her knee. She wrinkled her nose at it. "I guess I should've kept my knee pads on…"

Syaoran stood up and held out his hand. "You should go to the nurse."

Sakura hesitated for just an instant before taking Syaoran's hand. It was really cold and light, as if he were hallow inside.

"It's just a scraped knee," Sakura said. She pretended to dust herself off, but she really just wanted to wipe away the feeling of Syaoran's ice-cold hand on her palm. "No big deal. But what about you, Reed-kun? I know I hit you pretty hard with the door and I'm really sorry! Are you sure you're alright?"

"I didn't feel a thing," Syaoran said dully, still eyeing Sakura's bleeding knee. It looked awful and he felt awful when he looked at it. How could he be so stupid to fall for such an obvious trap? Sakura could have been seriously hurt. What if she had hit her head on a rock or something? With a twang in his aura, he wondered if she was more injured than she looked.

"You should go see the nurse," Syaoran repeated, a little more forcefully. "I'll go with you."

"I'm fine," Sakura said, twirling around on her heal for good measure. "See? And look, the blood's started to clot already."

Syaoran continued to glare and was about to say something when a yell from behind them cut him off.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo's voice drifted up to them. She was smiling widely, but the grin waned when she saw Sakura's knee.

"Sakura-chan, are you hurt?" Tomoyo asked already going over Sakura like a worried mother.

Sakura blushed. "I fell."

"Come on, put your arm around me," Tomoyo said, grabbing Sakura's arm. "I'll help you to the tree so you can sit down."

"I can walk just fine on my own, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said with an embarrassed smile. She walked a few paces ahead of Tomoyo to demonstrate.

"Reed-kun, could you please go get a few wet paper towels?" Tomoyo asked as Sakura walked ahead. "We should at least clean the gravel off her knee."

Syaoran nodded firmly and headed back inside. On his way to the men's restroom, he passed Terada-sensei and another teacher talking softly to each other in the hallway.

"How is Tsutsumi-san?" asked the teacher Syaoran didn't know. "I heard she had to go to the hospital."

"She's in pretty bad shape," Terada-sensei replied gravely. "Her husband found her lying unconscious on the kitchen floor yesterday afternoon. No one knows how long she was there, but she hasn't come out of her coma yet. I just didn't have the heart to tell her students about it. They seemed to really like her."

"How awful," the other teacher replied. "But the students seem to be taking to this new teacher pretty fast. I've heard a lot of good things and she's only taught the one class."

"It was a miracle we found her," Terada-sensei replied. "We thought finding an indefinite substitute instructor would be downright chaos, but she just kind of fell into our laps. We were really lucky…"

Luck isn't the word I'd use, Syaoran thought to himself as he gathered paper towels. It seemed that you all got more chaos than you bargained for.

"Does it hurt, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked as she dabbed the wound carefully with a wet paper towel.

Sakura winced. "Not until you started touching it."

"It needs to be cleaned," Naoko said. "Otherwise it could get infected."

"Are you sure you don't want to go see the nurse?" Chiharu asked, eyeing the broken flesh. The wound looked really painful in her eyes.

Sakura sighed. It was the car thing all over again! "I'm fine you guys! Stop making such a big deal out of this. It's just a scraped knee. I think I'll live."

"If you say so," Rika said. She looked over to Syaoran who was sitting silently a few feet away. Turning back to Sakura, she asked, "Now how did this happen?"

Sakura glanced over to Syaoran. "Actually, I'm not really sure. I was coming out the gym exit and I must have hit Reed-kun so hard with the door that he fell to the ground. Then I tripped over him and scraped my knee." By the end of her explanation, she was blushing furiously.

"Why were you in front of the gym exit, Reed-kun?" Tomoyo asked. "As far as I know, Sakura-chan is the only one who ever goes out that way."

Syaoran pulled a few blades of grass out of the ground. "Mizuki-sensei left her briefcase by the door. She was afraid someone might trip over it, so she asked me to move it for her." It wasn't exactly a lie.

"And instead of the briefcase, you became the hazard," Chiharu said, laughing.

"Still, it was really nice of you to help out Mizuki-sensei," Rika commented.

"Yeah, and don't worry about Sakura-chan," Chiharu said with a grin. "She's always getting in the way of something."

"Hey!" Sakura said, raising her fist in mock anger as the girls burst into giggles.

Syaoran pulled up a handful of grass. He didn't see what was so funny.

"What did Mizuki-sensei want, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked after the laughter had died down.

"I almost forgot all about that," Sakura said, pulling the consent form enthusiastically from her pocket. "Mizuki-sensei says she'll help me with my math. We'll have extra lessons every day after school."

"That's really nice of her," Rika said. "But you don't need help that badly, do you?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan," Chiharu said. "I mean, I know you're not exactly acing the class, but you must be at least pulling a B right?"

Sakura bit her lip and lowered her gaze. "Actually, my grade's… a little lower than that."

"Really?" Naoko said. "That doesn't seem like you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded. "Well, you guys were a little bit ahead of the school I transferred from. I was able to keep up for a while, but now you've kind of lost me. And I've never been that great at math in the first place."

"Well, Mizuki-sensei seems to be the best person to learn from," Rika said. "Her class was so interesting. She's a pretty good teacher, huh?"

The girls murmured an agreement as Syaoran glared at the ground.

"You seem to be pretty good at math, Reed-kun," Tomoyo said, turning toward Syaoran. "What do you think of Mizuki-sensei?"

Syaoran stood up. "I don't like her."

There was a beat of awkward silence.

"You don't?" Naoko said.

"Why not?" Chiharu asked.

Syaoran paused for a second. "I don't like her methods."

"Her teaching methods, you mean?" Rika said.

Syaoran nodded slightly, staring straight ahead. "That too." He turned to Sakura.

"I'm sorry about your knee," he said, looking down to her. "I won't let it happen again." He turned to walk away.

"Leaving so soon, Reed-kun?" Tomoyo said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Why don't you stay and have lunch with us?"

"No thanks," Syaoran said over his shoulder. "I'm not hungry."

Sakura watched him walk away, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"He's… kind of weird, isn't he?" Chiharu said once Syaoran was out of earshot.

"Chiharu-chan!" Rika said scoldingly.

"Well, he is!" Chiharu said.

Tomoyo chuckled and looked over to Sakura. She was still staring after Syaoran, her eyes narrowed in thought.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked softly.

"He acted like it was his fault," Sakura said, flexing her knee. "But it was just an accident. Why was he so upset?"

"I think he just feels guilty," Tomoyo said. "It's not that unusual."

Sakura shook her head. "It's not like he just feels guilty… I think he feels like it was his fault, you know? Like this accident couldn't have happened to anyone else at any other time."

"Hmmm…" Tomoyo said, putting a finger to her chin. "Then that would mean that Reed-kun doesn't believe in accidents. He must be a man of fate."

"A man of fate…?" Sakura said, her thoughts lingering on the words. Then she nodded to herself.

Yeah. Somehow, that sounded just about right.

Syaoran walked around aimlessly for a few minutes, not exactly sure where to go. He couldn't go back to that classroom because Mizuki-sensei could still be there. He couldn't stay with Sakura and her friends either because...

Well, he wasn't sure why, but he knew he just couldn't stay there. Something about the situation made him anxious. Maybe it was the fact that being so close to Sakura meant he couldn't keep an eye on her surroundings. He much preferred to keep his distance.

Syaoran paused under a tall oak tree and leaned against it. He looked up to see the sunlight streaming through the gaps between the leaves as the branches swayed easily back and forth. Something about the sight panged in his aura, making him feel uneasy. It was like there was some kind of hidden code inside the leaves and the sunlight; something he just couldn't quite grasp…

He turned around and touched the tree trunk. There was no feeling in his hand. He may as well have been touching a brick wall or a slab of sheet metal.

And yet, he knew what it should feel like. The bark should have been rough, abrasive, and not entirely pleasant. It should've broken his skin and made it bleed.

But it didn't. There was no pain. There was no feeling at all.

With a shrug, Syaoran grabbed onto a lower branch and hoisted himself up the tree. He found a particularly thick bough about a fourth of the way from the trunk that made a great resting spot. He let one leg dangle over the side and put his arms behind his head.

In his earliest memories of being alone in his old house, he used to climb the trees in the backyard a lot. It was hard during the day because the sun made his ghostly body weak, but he always found his way up a tree at night. It was a habit; almost like an irresistible urge. Syaoran remembered being very confused and uncomfortable in those days. He felt as if he had simply appeared one day out of nowhere and just began… being. He always remembered he was himself, always known that he was somebody, but there was nothing in his head. Not even a name. If it hadn't been for Yue, Syaoran may have lost his mind entirely.

"Yue, my head feels empty," Syaoran said softly one night over the wind that hummed through the branches. "I don't know who I am."

Yue had looked down at him, his arms crossed and the moonlight dappling his features. It looked like he was full of holes. "Why do I find you in the trees every night, Syaoran?"

Syaoran looked up to him, his aura twisted in confusion. In those days, he wasn't used to the way Yue tended to talk around a subject until he lead Syaoran full-circle through his thoughts. Eventually he shrugged. "I just like to climb them is all."

"Does anyone order you to get into the trees? Are you ever forced up here?" Yue asked, his voice prodding.

Syaoran shook his head, still completely oblivious as to why Yue was asking.

Yue gave Syaoran one of his super-rare smiles where the corners of his mouth ever-so-subtly curled upwards. "Well, there you have it then. You are a person who enjoys climbing trees. It's part of who you are. And this is only one aspect of you that makes up your being. You say your head feels empty, but that's because you aren't in your head. You are here Syaoran. You are in these trees and in that house." Yue dropped his arms to his sides and flared his wings. "You belong here, Syaoran. Never think otherwise."

Eventually, Syaoran didn't feel the need to climb the trees as often anymore. Once in a while he would sit in one just for a comfortable change of pace, but it was no longer a habit. In time, he began to form an identity and that sense of individuality never left him again. The confusion subsided and the emptiness in his head filled with ideas and emotions. He finally felt like he didn't need to be in the trees all the time to be himself.

"Diadouji-san said something very profound about you today, Reed-kun."

Syaoran looked down to see Eriol squinting up at him against the sunlight. His aura rippled a bit in frustration. How had Eriol known he was up in the tree?

"She said that you are 'a man of fate.' Don't you find that interesting, Reed-kun?"

Syaoran glared down at Eriol. The blue-haired boy looked particularly pale against the deep brown tree trunk.

"I'm not fate," Syaoran said.

"No, she said you were a man of fate," Eriol said. "I think that has a whole different meaning. Diadouji-san means to say that you believe in fate. Do you have faith in fate, Reed-kun?"

Syaoran crossed his arms. Something about the way Eriol spoke to him made him irritable. He wasn't even paying all that much attention to what Eriol was saying. "Not really."

"Is the way I address you bothersome, Reed-kun?" Eriol asked. "Would you rather I called you something different?"

"It doesn't matter," Syaoran said. His identity wasn't in his name. Whatever Eriol called him was going to be just as maddening.

"How about I call you…" Eriol drew out the last syllable for a few seconds as if searching for the right word.

"Xiao Lang Li."

Time stopped and the world went black.

"Xiao Lang! Where are you? Dinner is getting cold!" A pretty woman with long black hair and a strange accent crunched through the leaves below him. Syaoran snickered and clutched the tree branch tight, even as the bark scraped his fingers raw.

The woman's head snapped up and looked at Syaoran right in the eye. "There you are. Now get down here this instant and inside for dinner."

Syaoran groaned sadly and deftly slid down the tree trunk to the ground. The sun was setting and the air was chill. The woman put her arm lovingly around Syaoran as they approached the house – his house.

"It's cold out here. You need to start wearing a jacket outside, Syaoran," the woman said, switching from the foreign dialect back to Japanese. "Otherwise you'll catch cold."

"Okay, okay…" Syaoran was saying.

The blackness lifted and Syaoran found himself lying on his back in the grass with Eriol's pseudo-concerned face hovering over him. Instantly, Syaoran slid out from under the boy's gaze and got on his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Syaoran hissed, his aura flaring.

Eriol smiled gently as he rose to his feet as well. "I thought the information could be useful to you in the future."

"What information?" Syaoran asked, glaring.

"That was your real name, wasn't it?"

Flashes of the woman from the dream came back to him in still-shots. He remembered the rough bark under his fingers and the chill in the air. He had actually felt those things. They were real once.

"Real?" Syaoran repeated.

"Don't forget about it now," Eriol said over his shoulder, walking toward the school's entrance. "It's important."

Syaoran glared after Eriol, wondering for the millionth time who he was and why he knew so much.

He turned back to the tree trunk and put his hand on it.

Nothing.

And yet, he knew what it should feel like.