Ch 8: The Distance Between Words

Tomoeda, Japan

One week later

"I'm home!" Sakura shouted cheerily as she entered her house.

"Welcome home, Sakura-san." Fujitaka replied from the kitchen. "How was your trip with Tomoyo-san?"

"It was fine." She replied as she took off her shoes. "We went to Matsumoto-san's shop with Chiharu-chan and Naoko-chan. Tomoyo-chan wanted to get some supplies for her costumes and Naoko-chan wanted to buy some for a figurine she's been making. After that, we went to get something to eat at a nearby café. We even had some ice cream." Sakura rushed eagerly to the kitchen, having caught the familiar scent of her father's cooking as soon as she entered the house. She peeked at the pot Fujitaka was stirring. "Are we having curry tonight?"

"Yes. Is that okay with you?" Fujitaka asked kindly.

"Of course it is. Dad's cooking is always the best." She replied cheerily. "Do you want some help?"

"No, it's okay. I'm almost done. Why don't you go upstairs and get changed?"

"Okay!" She had only gone up a few steps before Fujitaka called her again.

"Oh, by the way, a letter arrived for you while you when you were gone."

Sakura stopped in her tracks. "For me?"

"Yeah, the envelope says it's from Hong Kong."

The mention of Hong Kong instantly struck her. Within a second, she had already rushed back down to the kitchen doorway. "Really?!"

"Yeah, I put it on the living room table." Fujitaka said, pointing at the table.

Sakura made a quick dash to the living room table and picked up the letter. Sure enough, Hong Kong was written as the return address and next to it the sender's name: Li Syaoran. The name brought an immediate reaction; all at once her cheeks warmed up and a warm feeling flared in her chest. "Thanks, Dad!" she shouted as she rushed back upstairs to her room. With a quick dash, she closed the door to her room and pressed her back against the door, looking at the letter in her hands.

Her unusual behavior earned the curiosity of her guardian. "What's the matter, Sakura?" Keroberos asked but she ignored him and rushed to her desk. In her mind there was only the letter, sent by the one she loved. Sitting in her chair, her fingers trembled lightly in excitement as she tore the envelope to reveal the letter inside. Immediately, she saw the neat, structured handwriting that could only belong to him. Her heart began to beat faster as she unfolded the paper and read.

Dear Sakura,

At the time of writing this, it has been more than a week since I returned to Hong Kong. It's amazing how quickly time flies. It seems only yesterday that I was still in Tomoeda with all of you.

Right now, I'm back in my house with my family. It'd been a long time since I'd last seen them so I was glad that they quickly welcomed me back. I've also started school again. Catching up to the subjects has been easy enough since I'm using a language I'm more familiar with. Meilin's also helping with the materials I missed. She goes to the same school I do, but we're in different classes.

Anyways, that's all I have to say. Just wanted to let you know how I've been doing. How are things in Tomoeda? I hope there's no more magical incidents and you're doing well. Give my regards to Daidouji and the others too. I hope to hear from you soon.

Best wishes,

Li Syaoran

P.S. How's the bear doing? I may have made some mistakes in making it so I hope it hasn't fallen apart or anything.

Reading his name at the end sent her heart into overdrive. She felt as if she was flying in the sky just from happiness, and of all people, she would know with all the times she spent flying. Smiling dreamily, she didn't notice Keroberos had been floating by her shoulder reading the letter with her. His reaction was unenthusiastic, a direct contrast to his Mistress'.

"So that's what you're on about. No wonder you're acting so weird." He looked at Sakura's dreamy face and gave a dismissive wave. "Hmph. All that fuss over nothing if you ask me."

"It's not nothing!" Sakura yelled, startling the little creature. "This is the first news from Syaoran-kun since he went back to Hong Kong." Keroberos looked at her Mistress's grumpy face and knew he had stepped on a landmine.

"Okay! I take that back." he said whilst raising his arms in surrender. "I just don't see why you're so hung up on that brat."

"Oh, Kero-chan. Syaoran-kun's a kind caring person." She said, back to her cheery self. She can't help but be happy while talking about Syaoran. "You just need to get along with him better."

Kero was unconvinced. "Sure, you can say that. You're the one he's always gushing about! That brat's always trying to pick a fight with me and calling me names. He calls me a plush toy of all things! Me, the Guardian of the Clow Cards, a plush toy! The nerve! Why, I oughta-"

Keroberos' ranting fell on deaf ears as Sakura's mind was once again on Syaoran. The days after he left had seemed to pass unbearably slow so the letter was a big deal for her. It showed that he still thought of her and made the distance between them seem smaller if only by a little. Staring longingly at the letter, her thoughts drifted to it's author who was across the sea from her, and she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing there.

Li Clan Training Grounds, Hong Kong

"Again!"

Syaoran rose up with sword in hand as his instructor entered a battle stance. Beads of sweat rolled down his head, obscuring his vision. He wiped them away and put all his focus on his opponent. With a Clasping his sword with both hands, he readied it in front of him for another round.

With a quick dash, his instructor immediately closed the distance between them and swung his sword. Syaoran defended the blow, clashing the blade with his own. With effort, he pushed the blade away and countered with a high strike, but his opponent quickly blocked the attack and gave a powerful slash towards Syaoran, which he again blocked. They continued to exchange blows until Syaoran started losing ground. It wasn't long before he was entirely on the defensive. Syaoran pushed his senses to it's limit and desperately tried to read his opponent's movements to find an opening, but each time he tried to push back he got pushed back further. Realizing soon he'll be backed to the wall, Syaoran dodged a heavy swing from his opponent and made a long leap to the side. He recovered quickly and rose to face his opponent again, only to realize the instructor had fired a bolt of lightning towards him. Insinctively, he immediately took out his paper charm and threw it upwards. As he put his sword out horizontally in front of him and steadied it with both hands, the casting paper came back down and stuck itself to the sword's midsection.

"God of Thunder, answer my call!"

A bolt of lightning burst forth from the paper and collided with his opponents' a meter away from him. The clash created a blinding display of light before exploding in a wave of air and electricity. Syaoran tried leap backwards to escape the blast but he was too late. The shockwave hit him square on the body and threw him backwards in the air. He glided a few meters before he skidded on his back to a stop across the floor. A painful moan escaped him as pain immediately coursed through his body, and it took enormous effort to get his body moving through it. Somehow he managed to get into a sitting position only to find his instructor looking at him with disapproval.

"Terrible! Your form is unorganized, your reflexes are way too slow, and your spells are a joke! What the hell have your previous instructors been teaching you?! You'll get nowhere if you keep this up!"

Syaoran slowly rose up using his sword to support his weight. The pain was still fresh in his body but not as intense. He looked at his instructor again who was already waiting to begin sparring again. This was his first session with this new instructor, Fang Zhi Li. His mother had warned him the man was notoriously tough. He was a trainer appointed to advanced students who were trained to go out in the field for tough missions and notorious for his authoritarian methods. Nonetheless, he had not expected the man to be so aggressive on their first session, especially since Fang Zhi had said this first session was only to test the extent his new student's abilities. As it is, his abilities were far beyond any instructor he has been assigned to.

Sure enough, he was already berating Syaoran again. "Are you going to just stand there like a statue or are you ready to continue?!"

Syaoran suppressed the urge to collapse and lie down on the floor. Slowly, he entered his battle stance once again. Fang Zhi readied his own stance and both combatants started locking their blades again. This time however, Syaoran was unable to defend as smoothly since the pain was restricting his movements. It wasn't long before his guard was broken. With a quick swing, Fang Zhi pushed away his sword and left him open to attack. The man delivered a strong kick to Syaoran's abdomen knocked him off his feet. Once again, he found himself flat on the ground on his back. The difference was this time a sword was pointed on him a few centimeters away from his face. Holding that sword was Fang Zhi, looking at him with disapproval.

"Disgraceful! This time you went down even faster. It's clear that your stamina is also lacking." The stone-faced man withdrew his sword from Syaoran's face. "Get up!" he ordered. Syaoran got up and cleared the dust from his robes before facing Fang Zhi again. The man was not pleased. "Your performance today is abysmal! From combat skills to magic mastery, you are lacking in all aspects. It's no wonder you were not able to gain mastery of the Clow Cards with this level of skill." He winced upon hearing those words. True, he had spoken it over and over his mind but having someone else say it in a tone full of disdain was different. It's struck a chord within him and it was all he could do to keep his expression still. "It's clear to me that I have my work cut out for me. I'll have to train you from scratch. Next time, I expect your best performance, so you better deliver or you'll face the consequences ." Syaoran nodded compliantly. It was the best course of action for someone like him.

"That's it for today. You're dismissed!" Fang Zhi turned away from him and left the training arena. When the man was out of sight, Syaoran allowed his body to relax and fall to his knees. His mother hadn't been kidding; the man was tough with his words and had the skills to back them up. The last time he felt so helpless against an opponent had been when he fought Yue during the Final Judgment, and while that remained the most difficult battle he's ever had so far, this last one was definitely amongst the top of the list.

Syaoran summoned all his willpower and squashed the thought. He would not last throughout this ordeal if he kept staying on his knees. Ignoring the places in his body that screamed pain, Syaoran managed to get back up on two feet again. He walked haggardly towards the exit of the training arena, not noticing the curious eyes that were watching him.

The training grounds were an hour's drive away from his house, and for the first time he slept throughout the journey. It was only the driver's words telling him they had arrived that stirred him from his sleep. The fact that he dozed off reminded him just how much of his energy today's session had taxed him. He got out of the car rather sluggishly and reexamined his body. Sleep had taken care of some of the fatigue, but he still had aches and pains on his limbs and stomach where Fang Zhi had kicked him. Going up the porch stairs in particular reinvigorated the aches on his thighs. He entered the house feeling strained and was immediately greeted by his mother, who was standing in front of him as if she had been waiting there the whole time. The sight surprised him, and it took him a moment before his shock wore off and he bowed to her.

"I-I'm home, Mother." Syaoran stuttered.

Yelan stayed silent and continued staring at him. Once again, Syaoran felt like he was being read like a book. After a while, she finally spoke. "How was your training today?"

Syaoran considered his words. He wasn't going to lie and tell her everything went fine. She could tell if he lied and his body language has probably given her a clear picture anyway. Still, he didn't want to whine and complain to her and he didn't exactly relish the thought of telling her that he got thrashed, no matter how powerful his opponent had been. He had to be stronger than that.

"It was… difficult." Syaoran admitted. "He is as strong as you said he was and just as strict if not more. It was admittedly tough to keep up with him, but I should be able to keep up once I adjust to his training." His voice finished rather shakily. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly sure he could keep up. Syaoran desperately tried to mask his doubt with a straight face.

"I see." Yelan said blandly. Her sharp eyes were on him again and Syaoran felt his body tense up despite the aches. She seemed to be looking for something but he didn't know what, which further added to his discomfort. Fortunately, she didn't linger on him for too long. "Well, that's good then. Go freshen up and come to dinner." With that she turned and went back further into the house, leaving her confused son behind. Even for his mysterious mother, that had been a weird exchange.

'I guess she must be worried.' he thought. He'd be lying if he didn't think her worries were justified. All the same he was determined to get through this. The Clow Cards were his failure and if going through to rigorous training was his sentence than he would serve it indefinitely. He had to adapt and get stronger, but he knew the process was not going to be a fast one.

Sure enough, his second training session didn't get any easier. This time, his spell casting skills were put to the test. Multiple wooden targets had been set up around the training area set to pop up at random intervals. Placed upon them were magic charms that had been set up to shoot off a magic bolt as soon as the target popped up. Each charm had a different symbol which indicated the element it would produce. These targets surrounded Syaoran, who stood at the center with his sword in one hand and casting paper in the other. The idea was that he would have to react quickly and sense any incoming attack to counter with his own. To add to the difficulty, his movements were limited to a small circle in the center. The whole set-up was intricately designed and Syaoran couldn't help but give credit to his trainer. Fang Zhi definitely took his training seriously.

"Begin!"

His instructor's words resounded like thunder through him. Syaoran was immediately on the alert, sensing his surroundings for any spike in magical energy that indicated an imminent attack. Not a moment later, he detected one coming from his right and immediately faced the direction with his sword and paper. A wooden target popped up with a written charm carrying the fire symbol. A bolt of fire immediately shot out from the target to Syaoran. Wasting no time, he entered his casting stance.

"Water Dragon, answer my call!"

A stream of water shot forth and neutralized the oncoming flame. However, Syaoran didn't have time to relax as he sensed another magical spike coming from his behind. He immediately turned around just in time as another wooden target popped up. This one had a lightning charm written on it and immediately shot lightning at him. Syaoran hurriedly cast a bolt of lightning and countered. Having neutralized the attack, he immediately turned to the next target. This continued on for some time as Syaoran raced to sense the direction of the next attack and block it. He was starting to find himself in a steady rhythm when a particularly strong spike sent him on alert. A bolt of lightning had been discharged and was coming at him. Syaoran immediately countered with his own lightning which collided with the opposing force. However, his magic proved to be the lightning broke through his and headed straight for him. Reflexively, he lifted up his sword and prepared to block the attack. The magical bolt collided with his blade, creating a show of light and electricity. The force itself sent him back a few steps and forced him on one knee. Slightly staggered, he made to to get back on his feet when he sensed another magic spike behind him. Syaoran made to turn but he was too late to intercept and a blast of wind hit him square in the body, sending him back and knocking him off his feet and outside the bounds of the circle. Once again, he found himself on the ground as his instructor mouthed him off.

"A very poor performance!" Fang Zhi said whilst he shook his head. He looked disapprovingly as Syaoran got back up on his feet. "Warriors do not have the luxury of being complacent! Or do you expect your enemies to hold back their strength for you?"

It took Syaoran a moment to process what had happened. He had gotten used to the random nature of the spells coming from different directions. What he had not anticipated was the intensity behind the last attacks. He had been countering the spells with a certain amount of power to disarm them and was caught off-guard by the increase in power in the last one. Now he realized that it wasn't just the direction and timing which was erratic, but the intensity of each attack too.

"I'm sorry, Teacher. It will not happen again." Syaoran bowed in apology.

"That remains to be seen." Fang Zhi replied cynically. With that, he went back outside the area to observe Syaoran. "Ready yourself!" Syaoran took the cue and readied himself for another round.

In the end, he didn't manage to do any better than his first session. The continuous use of spells quickly drained him of his magic and stamina and the berating of his instructor drained him mentally. Syaoran left the training grounds that day burnt out and much like last time, he had been too tired to stay awake on the journey back, though he didn't mind. Sleep was a pleasant break from his stressful thoughts. When he reached home, his mother wasn't waiting for him at the front like last time. He ran into her later as he was walking up the stairs to go to his bedroom. Instantly, she locked eyes with him.

"How was your training today?" she inquired.

'What is there to say?' he thought inwardly. There hadn't been much change since last week. If anything he was worse off today. Syaoran thought of an answer that would satisfy her.

"It was difficult, but I'm doing slightly better. I'll do my best to keep up."

She contemplated his answer. "Very well, then." Yelan replied and she walked past him down the stairs. As Syaoran started to walk up however, she called back to him. "A letter arrived for you this afternoon. I've put it on your desk." Her words rang an alarm in his head. What she said next however, sounded blaring sirens. "It came from Japan."

Syaoran stood with a flabbergasted look. In contrast, Yelan's expression remained calm as she walked down the last set of stairs. "Don't take too long. It'll be dinner soon." she told him nonchalantly.

"Thank you, Mother!" he replied before rushing upstairs. The tiredness he felt before had been all but forgotten as he raced to his room. His eyes immediately settled on his desk, where a white envelope had been placed on top. He gave a cautious sweep of the corridor before closing the door and locking it behind him. Ensured of his privacy, Syaoran sat down and looked at the envelope, where her address and name was written. As if handling a fragile item, he slowly opened the envelope and took out the letter carefully. He unfolded the paper in the same careful manner and read.

Dear Syaoran-kun,

It's so nice to finally hear from you! I'd gotten a little worried since I haven't a word from you since you went back to Hong Kong. It's a relief to know that you're back home and doing okay!

I'm glad that you're doing well in school, though it's not surprising. You're smart and a hard worker, Syaoran-kun. Me on the other hand, I've always had difficulty studying, especially in math. In fact, I got the lowest score in math in last week's test! I didn't get much time to study since we were taking care of magical disturbances at the time. Tomoyo-chan's been helping me study to make up for it though, so I'll definitely catch up! She says she wants my help for a special project in return for her help and it involves the Cards, so I'm a little worried. But there's no need to be alarmed! It's been quiet and peaceful ever since we converted the last of the Clow Cards, although it is a bit too quiet though without you here, Syaoran-kun.

That's about everything that's happened so far. I'm glad that you're doing fine. I've relayed your message to our classmates and they all wish you the best in Hong Kong. Yamazaki even says he misses you and says to hurry back and visit. I miss you too and I hope you'll visit us when it's possible, but I understand if you're busy. I hope this letter reaches you and I can hear from you soon! I'll be waiting for your reply till then!

Your dear friend,

Sakura Kinomoto

P.S. The bear is fine! You're worrying too much. It's really well-made and sturdy. Kinda like you, Syaoran-kun! I'll make sure to keep it in good condition for you so you can see it when you visit.

Syaoran leaned back in his chair, letter still in hands. All at once, the weight that he had felt before seemed to disappear and he felt he could fly away. Right now, all he felt was happiness. She had replied to him, it was more than anything he could have imagined. He marveled at how open she was even in her letters and couldn't help but remember his own brief letter, which took him along time to write. In comparison, hers showed that she had no problems putting her thoughts on paper. Sakura was always adept in speaking out her feelings, so it was no surprise her language was so relaxed and even had personal touches here and there. In particular, he noticed she had used the Chinese letters to write "your dear friend", which she had once inquired him about when she got a letter from Meilin. The letters she asked back then were "my dear friend", which meant she learnt the Chinese letter for "your" herself to write it for him. The effort which she put on that alone put him to shame but at the same time gave him immense joy that she would go to such lengths for him. That joy was perhaps rivaled by how happy he was that she had replied positively regarding the bear, something which he had been particularly nervous about writing even with his sisters' encouragement.

These thoughts raced in his head as he reread the letter over and over, not wanting to miss anything. Finally done, he put it back on the table and closed his eyes. He imagined her features, her smile, her beautiful emerald eyes and auburn hair and thought about how great it would feel to see her again. That was his ultimate goal, to find his way back to her and if he had to face defeat over and over again to do so, so be it.

'I have to get through this. I'll find my way back to you, I promise.' he vowed silently.

That day, for the first time in his life, Syaoran was late for dinner.