Chapter Ten
The Madness of Chaos

"What happened, Reed-san? This quiz score does not match up with your usual work."

Just as he'd hoped, Mizuki-sensei had asked Syaoran to stay after class to discuss his quiz grade from the day before. This was just the chance he'd been waiting for.

"Tsutsumi-sensei had a different way of teaching it," Syaoran replied. "I'm having a hard time switching between teaching methods."

"I see," Mizuki-sensei said, nodding her head sympathetically. "Well, perhaps some after school lessons will help you get used to me. How does that sound?"

"I'd like that very much, sensei," Syaoran replied, forcing himself to sound sincere. "Thank you."

It was like the two were acting out their parts on a stage, even though no one was around to see their performance. Mizuki-sensei was playing the perfect "deeply concerned teacher figure" and Syaoran followed her lead by playing the perfect "politely grateful student figure." Like any good actor, Syaoran took his cues from Mizuki-sensei and played off her facial expressions and the inflection in her voice. It was like they were a student and teacher playing the role of immortal enemies who were playing the roles of a student and teacher. Syaoran would have described the situation as surreal-- had his entire existence been anything less than surreal itself.

Somehow Syaoran felt that, aside from Ruby Moon's out-of-character performance the day before, Mizuki-sensei was bound to a whole different set of rules than Chaos was and she had to act the part of a normal human while in this form. It made a stupid kind of sense. Yue once told Syaoran that the universe was made up of billions of crazy and unintelligible rules that were infinitely contradicting and negating themselves. Chaos wouldn't have been able to take human form without a major sacrifice— like a sacrifice of her own personality, for instance.

"I would be more than happy to tutor you, Reed-san," Mizuki-sensei said warmly, reaching for a folder on her desk. "Just take this form home to your parents and have them sign it. We can get started on Monday."

Syaoran's aura rippled with frustration as he took the form feeling defeated. So this was Chaos' checkmate. He knew it couldn't have been this easy.

"I'll see you Monday," Mizuki-sensei said. There wasn't a hint of maliciousness in her warm, disarming smile or in her tone of voice. "Have a nice weekend."

Syaoran lost his composure for just a moment, glaring at the woman as she swept out of the room.

He sighed through his aura and wandered over to the window. He rested his forehead against the glass, watching Sakura in her usual spot with her friends. She was laughing at something.

Syaoran had been nervous about Sakura being alone with Mizuki-sensei for forty-five minutes after school, but she had emerged from the classroom completely unscathed. However, Syaoran just felt like she had been lucky this time around. Chaos was definitely planning something—there was no mistaking that. While the character of Mizuki-sensei may very well legitimately care about her students, Chaos was still just playing the part and had a much broader plan in the works.

But it was impossible to know what that plan could be, since it really could be anything. In theory, Chaos could simply drop a meteor on Sakura's head and get rid of her that way. However, Chaos was obviously bound by certain rules that wouldn't allow her that kind of freedom. If it had been that easy, Sakura would definitely be dead by now. Chaos was making it pretty apparent that she had to go about her plans in a very sly and backhanded way. And, by extension, Syaoran had to be sly and backhanded as well to keep up with her.

After a few minutes of seething, Syaoran noticed that he was crushing the consent form in his hands. He was about to toss the worthless thing into the waste bin when a snippet of the text near the bottom caught his eye. As he looked at the form more closely, the gears in his head began to grind. Mizuki-sensei had said that one of his parents had to sign the form, but the signature line at the bottom clearly read "Guardian's Signature."

Syaoran didn't have any parents, but he did have a guardian…

The rest of the day seemed to creep by until the last teacher of the day finally dismissed the class. Everyone packed up and left, except for a few stragglers who preferred to stay and chat for a few minutes before leaving.

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, packing her things slowly. "A new trinket shop opened downtown. Maybe we could go down there and take a look this weekend?"

"That sounds great!" Sakura said cheerfully. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Tomoyo said. "See you then."

She fidgeted for a second, like she was going to say something else, but then decided against it. She slipped her book bag on her back and got up.

"Have fun with Mizuki-sensei, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said. Then she turned to Syaoran. "See you Monday Reed-kun."

"Yeah, bye," Syaoran said as she left the classroom.

There were a few moments of silence in the classroom. The Sakura turned around in her desk to face Syaoran. The gesture caught him a little by surprise.

"So what plans do you have for the weekend, Reed-kun?" Sakura asked casually.

She was making conversation. Syaoran had never really understood why Living did this. Talking on and on without purpose didn't seem very constructive.

"I don't really have any plans," Syaoran said, wary of his answer. "I'm hoping to meet up with a friend tomorrow morning, but I don't know if he'll be there."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as Mizuki-sensei swept into the room.

"Hello again Sakura-san!" she said brightly. She looked over Sakura's head to Syaoran. "And you Reed-san. Was there something you wanted?"

Syaoran shook his head and stood up. Her presence made him nauseated.

"See you Monday," Syaoran said to Sakura and he left her with the tiger.

He considered staying until Sakura got done with her lesson, but quickly decided against it. The odds that Mizuki-sensei would do anything to Sakura seemed unlikely for some reason. The sense of urgency surrounding Sakura's death didn't seem so imminent at the moment. He just had to wait.

Besides, the end of Sakura's lesson ended just before sunset. Syaoran wouldn't have enough time to get back to the park— just in case Yue decided to show up randomly. Syaoran wanted to be in the same place where they met up the first time… Just in case Syaoran proved hard for Yue to hone in on.

Syaoran made his way back to the park and climbed his now-favorite tree by the penguin slide. He sat on a high branch, scrutinizing the consent form for the fifteenth time. Nowhere did the form mention "parents," it just reiterated "guardian" over and over again.

Syaoran basked in the loophole. Now all he had to do was get Yue to show up and make him sign the form somehow. Of course, this was much easier said than done. Yue's presence had been scarce lately, to say the least. But maybe this time…

He was reading the form once more when a large box kite came crashing into the branches next to him. Startled, Syaoran clutched desperately at the bark, trying not to fall off.

"Sorry!" a voice drifted up to him from the ground. "I didn't— Reed-kun, is that you?"

Syaoran peered through the leaves to see Sakura looking up to him from the ground. She held a spool of string in her hand that lead up to the kite stuck in his tree. When they made eye contact, Sakura smiled warmly.

A ripple reverberated through Syaoran's aura. The sensation was extremely uncomfortable. And yet, Syaoran couldn't help but be relieved. Sakura had once again survived a meeting with Chaos. At that moment, Syaoran would've chosen Sakura's presence over Yue's— had he been given a choice.

"What are you doing in the tree?" she asked, yanking on the string to see if the kite would dislodge itself.

Syaoran began to untangle the string from around the branches to help get the kite out. "I was just resting…"

"Aren't you cold up there?" she asked, rubbing her arms for emphasis. Her cheeks were slightly red from the chilly air.

Syaoran shook his head as he finally got the kite loose. He jumped from the branch to the ground and handed the kite to Sakura. It was a box kite with many bright, cheery colors and a plethora of similar-colored tales.

"What's the kite for?" Syaoran asked as he handed it over.

"I made it yesterday with Mizuki-sensei," Sakura said, turning the humongous thing over in her hands. "We worked on geometry with it, but then she asked me to skip today's lesson and come to the park and try to work out these equations by using the actual wind speed and the velocity of the kite." She held up a piece of paper attached to a clipboard. "You know, all that wind speed and velocity stuff we've been learning in class."

Syaoran was a little taken back. Was Mizuki-sensei really giving Sakura a practical math lesson? What sinister intention could be behind this?

"How's it going?" Syaoran asked, curious as to whether Sakura was actually learning anything from Mizuki-sensei's lesson.

Sakura bit her lip, staring at the clipboard. "Not that great. I think I know which variable means what, but I'm still getting really weird answers."

"Let me see your paper," Syaoran said.

Sakura handed it over. And then she stepped close to Syaoran so she could read her work over his shoulder. Syaoran's aura rippled oddly again. It got hard to think.

"Uh, well, first of all," Syaoran stumbled over his words. He was preoccupied with the fact that Sakura's aura was mingling with his own. "Your… the wind speed needs to get turned in a decimal because it's supposed to be measured by percent."

"Oh yeah!" Sakura exclaimed as the recollection dawn on her. But then she wrinkled her nose at the paper. "I forgot all about that. I really am hopeless with this stuff."

"Everything else looks fine, though," Syaoran said, scanning the rest of the paper. "You have the variables down and the equation's set up right." He grabbed the pencil hanging from the clipboard and changed the numbers to decimals. "See? Now the answers work out."

Sakura looked at the paper as if she was concentrating really hard on it. "Do you mind helping me out with this a little more? I mean, if you're not busy…"

"No!" Syaoran exclaimed instantly.

Sakura looked completely downcast.

"I mean," Syaoran said, stuttering. He put a hand behind his head, fidgeting nervously. "What I meant to say was, 'No, I'm not busy.' Let me help."

Sakura smiled brightly. "Really?"

Syaoran nodded vigorously. Sakura's teeth were really white.

"Great!" Sakura said, picking up the kite. She held out the spool of string. "First of all, help me get this thing back in the air."

This was easier said then done. There was absolutely no wind so late in the day. Sakura ran back and forth in the field several times until she got winded from running around in the cold winter air.

"Sheesh," Sakura said, collapsing on a bench. "I didn't have this much trouble last time. I can't run anymore."

"Here," Syaoran said, holding out the spool to Sakura. "You hold this and I'll run."

Sakura just nodded breathlessly and took the spool without complaint.

This turned out to be a much better idea. Syaoran could run forever and not get tired since he didn't have muscles that got sore or lungs that ran out of air. Even the frigid winter air hitting his face didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Aren't you getting tired? You want me to take over again?" Sakura yelled as Syaoran ran past her for the twelfth time.

"No, I'm fine," Syaoran said. Actually, he was better than fine. He felt like, for the first time in his existence, he was being useful to someone. And not just to anyone, but the only person on earth who mattered.

A strong gust of wind blew over the field just then, lifting the kite out of Syaoran's hands. He picked up speed and threaded the kite into the air. Finally, after fifteen minutes of racing up and down the field, the kite was floating peacefully against the orange-tinted clouds.

Syaoran wandered back over to Sakura, who was grinning widely.

"Finally!" she said. "Thanks. How did you keep that up? I didn't even see you stop for breath."

Syaoran shrugged. "I just have good stamina, I guess."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow at him, but then turned back to the kite. The two stood there, listening to the flapping noise the tails made as they fluttered in the wind. For the first time since the two met, they were able to stand side by side in silence without a pressing sense of awkwardness.

It was… nice. Much better than making strained conversation.

"Pretty sunset," Sakura commented after a few minutes.

"Yeah," Syaoran said, looking at the way the orange and pink in the air played off Sakura's auburn hair. The low light kind of made it glow.

Then it hit him. Sunset! Panic welled up in his aura as he felt himself begin to slip away from the physical plane.

Syaoran backed away from Sakura. "Uh, I'll be right back, okay? Give me six minutes."

"Okay," Sakura said distractedly, looking at her math paper.

Syaoran sighed in relief as the tension in his body gave way and he spilled back onto the spiritual plane. He watched Sakura candidly as she wrote down the wind speed and tried to work out the equation on her own.

"She forgot to make it into a decimal again," Syaoran said to himself, amused. "She really is hopeless."

"Oh, isn't that the truth? Hopeless indeed."

Syaoran spun around to see Ruby Moon standing a ways off, her blood-red butterfly wings flared and a malicious grin playing on her face. Her scarlet hair fluttered in the wind, even though the wind was on a different plane.

A dark cloud fell over Syaoran's being. This was bad. The grin playing on Ruby Moon's face was downright triumphant.

"Once again, there's that aura of surprise," Ruby Moon said, taking a few confident steps forward. "Why is that?"

Syaoran wasn't about to make a fool of himself by trying to answer one of her rhetorical questions.

"Could it be because… I always show up when you're least expecting me?" she wandered forward a few more feet. "But that is the nature of Chaos, isn't it? I am always unplanned, unexpected, and unwanted."

Syaoran backed up protectively against Sakura, knowing full well that there wasn't much he could do if Ruby Moon decided to make her move now. Panic pulsed in his aura, but he stood his ground and glared. He gathered all the energy he could in preparation for whatever was making Ruby Moon look so gleeful. He was determined that he wouldn't let Sakura go without himself going first.

Suddenly, Ruby Moon faded from view. For a moment Syaoran thought that the sun had set, but a slight pulling sensation from behind him made him think otherwise. He spun around to find Ruby Moon standing behind Sakura with her hands resting on her shoulders. If it had been any other situation, the gesture would have looked kind and friendly, but right then it was just mocking and perverted.

Sakura, of course, was oblivious. Her only reaction was that she reached up and brushed her shoulder as if to sweep something away. But her hand simply passed through Ruby Moon's ghostly body. Finding nothing physical to brush away on her shoulder, she shrugged and went back to piloting the kite.

"Oh, she's perceptive, this one," Ruby Moon said, amused. "Most people don't even give me that much attention."

"Get away from her!" Syaoran said, charging forward. He passed right through Sakura's body in an attempt to push Ruby Moon's spirit away. He didn't even know if this was possible, but he wasn't really thinking— just reacting.

However, he found himself swinging at empty air. Sakura had stayed in the same spot, but Ruby Moon had disappeared. Syaoran spun wildly, looking for Ruby Moon's new location.

He found her leaning against "his" tree a few feet from where he and Sakura were standing.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if this old tree suddenly gave way?" Ruby Moon said as if just making conversation. "Sure, it looks sturdy enough, but what if the root system is rotting? What if the ground is still saturated from all that rain and getting weaker as we speak? The two unfortunate circumstances combine to create a terrible tragedy. It's what they call 'a freak accident.'"

Syaoran did a couple quick calculations. If the tree fell directly toward Sakura's location, she would be crushed by it. It was that simple. He had to make her move somehow. Just a few feet would do it.

"Most people think Chaos is totally spontaneous," Ruby Moon said in a lecturing tone. "But they fail to see all the perfect chain reactions that lead up to the spectacular chaotic event. In reality, Chaos relies more on Order than people tend to think. And conversely, Order only manifests when there's some Chaos that needs to be put in its place. So it's like this: Order begets Chaos and, of course, Chaos begets Order. Isn't the universe grand?"

Ruby Moon crossed her arms and grinned. "My point is that there's a method to my madness, kiddo. But there is no feasible way for you, as a creature of these few simple dimensions, to comprehend the bottomless depths of my madness. I've already begun the series of chain reactions that will lead, inevitably, to Sakura's death."

She disappeared and reappeared by Sakura's side, placing a loving arm around her shoulder. "When I want her, I will have her. It's that simple."

She turned to the sunset. "Aw, it looks like our time is up now," she was mockingly sad. "Remember kiddo, I'm still around, even when the sun sets. Just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not there."

Syaoran wanted to punch her stupid grinning face, but just stood his ground, glaring. Trying to hit her would just be wasted energy, really.

"I'll figure it out," Syaoran told her as the woman faded away.

To his surprise, Sakura turned around and looked at him.

"Hey. How long have you been standing there?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

It took a few moments for Syaoran to get his bearings. He resisted the urge to make sure he could touch solid objects again.

"I just came back," Syaoran said. He was nervous as hell about Chaos hovering around them unseen, but was determined to stay casual. "Did you get any further on the math?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, looking over her paper on the clipboard. "I think I'm about done."

"It's getting dark," Syaoran said. "Maybe you should be getting home."

Sakura nodded and began reeling in her kite. "It's getting really cold too. I can finish at home now that I have all the wind speed information."

They spent the next few minutes getting the kite to come down. Syaoran subtly moved Sakura out of the range of the tree.

"Well, thanks so much for your help Reed-kun," Sakura said. "I couldn't have done it without you. I'll… see you Monday, right?"

Syaoran panicked as she reluctantly began to walk away. He felt like she was moving out of his zone of protection. He had no choice…

"Let me walk you home," Syaoran said, feeling his aura flare with embarrassment. The guy always made this offer to the girl after a date.

"Really?" Sakura said, her face lighting up.

"Well, it's just getting dark and all…" Syaoran said, repressing the urge to fidget. "Besides, someone needs to help you carry that thing." He gestured to the kite that was bigger than Sakura.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, I was wondering how I was going to lug it home. I'm not even sure how I got it here."

Syaoran picked up the kite and he led her back into suburbia.

"So, do you live around here?" Sakura asked as they— carefully! — crossed the street. "You're always behind me when we walk to school."

Syaoran was a little surprised. She had noticed him all those times? He scrambled to answer her question. "Yeah, I live really close to the park," he lied. More like he lived in the park. And he didn't really "live."

But Sakura was satisfied with the answer. "How long have you been in Tomoeda?"

"Actually, I can't remember not living here," Syaoran said. He didn't want to lie anymore. "I used to live in your house."

"You did!" Sakura exclaimed. "Really?"

Syaoran nodded. "A long time ago."

"Wow," Sakura said. "I had no idea. So that's why you're always hanging around my house. You should've said something, Reed-kun! I wish I'd known sooner."

Syaoran shrugged. "It's not really that important."

"But we have something in common now," Sakura said. "It's kind of like I'm living your old life or something."

That hit Syaoran hard. "Yeah…"

Too soon, they were standing in front of Sakura's house.

It really is Sakura's house, Syaoran reminded himself.

"Thanks for everything," Sakura said, taking the kite from Syaoran. "For the math and all."

"I'm glad I could help," Syaoran said sincerely.

"Goodnight," Sakura said, walking up the steps.

"Yeah…" Syaoran said, feeling just a little bit sorry for himself.

Sakura paused on the porch and turned around. "I'm supposed to meet Tomoyo downtown tomorrow. We're going to probably have lunch and then visit the new shop that's opened around there. Do… do you want to come too?"

"Yeah, sure," Syaoran said slowly, feeling a bit relieved. It was just another opportunity for him to keep an eye on her.

"Okay!" Sakura said brightly. "How about we plan on meeting at the Penguin Slide at noon?"

"Sure," Syaoran said.

"Okay," Sakura said, turning back towards to door. "See you tomorrow."

Syaoran just watched her disappear inside the house as feeling of relief washed over him. Somehow he felt like nothing could harm her while she was in there. It was like this place was out-of-bounds for Chaos.

It didn't make any sense, but nothing ever did.

"How was that, Yue? Now I'm playing completely by the rules. Whatever results from this will be permanent."

"You didn't give him very much to work with, Ruby Moon."

"I think I gave him plenty, considering he has you, Keroberos, and the Magician backing him. Being vague is the only defense Suppi-chan and I have."

"That's funny. I thought we were on the defensive side."

"Usually you are. Only this time you're not. You and Keroberos are the ones who initiated this war, not me. I don't understand what is so important about this girl named Sakura Kinomoto, but obviously you feel very strongly that she should live. However, Suppi-chan feels just as strongly that she should die. And who am I to go against the operations of my dearest partner in eternity?"

"Don't act as if all this is a burden to you. Taking human form? Making plans and carrying them out? It all must be very exciting."

"Of course you're right. You're never wrong. I'm having a blast. I'm even getting a little frustrated down here. Can you imagine? Me, frustrated? Kaho Mizuki, you know, the personality I created for living on earth? She's all bent out of shape now about my plans. She has no clue as to what's going on, but she's beginning to rebel against what I programmed her to do. It seems that soon you'll have yet another ally on your side. Isn't that great? Then we'll really have to jump on the defensive."

"There's more to being defensive than simply reacting to disaster, Ruby Moon. It's also about prevention."

"Prevention? What does that word mean to me?"

"Have your fun Ruby Moon. Get it all out of your system. Make your plans, get frustrated, experience the world again for the first time in 700 years. I know you've been dying to give it a shot again."

"Are you really saying what I think you're saying? You want me to give it my all?"

"I'm issuing you a challenge. Do your worst, Chaos."

"And can you really handle my worst, Order? Because this Kinomoto girl is tricky to bag. Despite all the roadblocks you put up a long time beforehand, she's nearly impossible to take out in a normal way. She has a brother who can sense me coming from miles away, a luck status that's through the roof, a beautiful brain that won't let her wander into stupid situations, and an immune system that would keep mayfly alive through the rest of the century. If you're telling me to take out all the stops, I can do that. But once you let me out, no one can cage me again until I'm good and ready. Can you all handle that, Yue?"

"Do your worst."

"You'll certainly regret saying that."