"Syaoran, wake up. We've got work to do..." Eriol's voice interrupted Syaoran's dreamless sleep, and Syaoran sat up in bed.
Eriol was already up and changing into dark-colored clothes that would make him practically invisible at night. Syaoran quickly got up and started getting dressed in a similar suit. As he did he de-activated the spell that was siphoning his magical powers. He doubted he would need too much power, since the tingling sensation of magical forces at work was weak, but he liked to be prepared.
Finally Syaoran strapped his long two-handed sword to his back, shrugging to get it to hang comfortably. Eriol was also putting on his 'weapon', two leather bracelets with metal emblems that he secured around his wrists. Various symbols were worked into the bracelets, each representing a barrier that Eriol could activate. Eriol shook his right wrist back and forth a few times, also getting comfortable. Then the two brothers nodded at each other and headed out.
Not surprisingly Mizuki-san was at the door, waiting to wish them good luck. She looked concerned, but Eriol assured her that it would be a quick mission since the reading was very faint.
"It's nothing to worry about. We'll be back before you know it," he said, giving Mizuki a calming smile. She nodded, and looked at Syaoran, and he tried to also give her a reassuring smile, but it didn't come out quite right. He hoped she would just take it as his being tired.
* * *
"It's coming from near Penguin Park..." Eriol said, as they slipped through the dark and silent city. Syaoran didn't reply, but let out a yawn. Eriol cracked a small grin. "Let's clean it up and get back to bed."
As they neared the small park with the giant King Penguin slide that had given it its name, they could hear the sound of children's laughter echoing through the trees. They looked at each other, then stepped closer until they could make out a ghostly blue glow surrounding the park.
"Child spirits? I've never seen so many of them gather at one time..." Eriol said, quietly. The whole park was filled with blue orbs of spirit that were all whirling around in a huge, agitated cloud. Slowly, the brothers crept closer, trying to find the cause behind the huge gathering of ghosts. Suddenly Syaoran pointed and exclaimed:
"There's someone in there!"
Eriol looked and could just make out the form of a kid their age surrounded by all the blue light.
"They must have lured someone out in the middle of the night to sap away all their energy! With this many of them, whoever that is could collapse any second!" he said. Syaoran nodded and was already stepping forward, preparing for the exorcism.
"Rin! Pyou! Tou! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" Syaoran snapped off the 9 Kuji-in syllables in rapid succession, his hands flowing into the hand-seals that represented each phrase. He followed this with a Buddhist mantra, standing in front of the cloud of blue spirits, which had paused in their activity to watch this new arrival. In only a few seconds of chanting he was completely surrounded with a calm, forest-green aura that represented his power. He opened his eyes, which he had closed in concentration, and extended both hands forward, forming an 'x' with the first two fingers of each hand.
"KYU KYU NYO RITSURYO!" he yelled, completing the exorcism spell.
The blue spirits were blown back as a forest-green force pushed them, expanding outward from Syaoran's outstretched hands. As they scattered the figure that had been among them became clear, and Syaoran heard a startled exclamation from Eriol.
"It's... it's her!" he said, and Syaoran walked over to see what he was talking about. There, where the spirits had been dancing, was Kinamoto Sakura.
"A medium? They must have felt her presence when she moved in and they waited 'til it was night to call her out so they could drink her energy..." Syaoran said, moving over to look down at Sakura, who had collapsed and appeared to be sleeping or unconscious.
"Well, that was pointless. Let's go home..." Eriol began to walk away, but he paused and turned back when he noticed Syaoran wasn't following. Syaoran's eyes were narrowed in disappointment.
"We can't just leave her here. She'll get sick from the cold, or worse," he said, his tone reprimanding his brother for being overly callous. Eriol sighed.
"She's just a little puppy from Kereberos. Kereberos's wanko-chan. We don't need to worry about her," Eriol said matter-of-factly, and turned his back again. However, Syaoran bent down and picked up Sakura, holding her awkwardly in his arms until he could find an easy way to carry her. Finally he draped her over his back and held onto her arms.
"I'm taking her back to her house, at least. I can follow the trail of her spirit," he said, stubbornly. Eriol looked at him for a long time, then shook his head in disgust and followed his brother.
"Whatever, let's just hurry," Eriol said.
* * *
They found Sakura's house easy enough, following the trail left by her cherry-blossom pink aura. She was a Medium, so her heart and soul were open to the supernatural world. It wasn't something she could control, and it was like a beacon to all the hungry spirits in the twilight world to come and devour her energy.
"This wanko-chan is going to bring us all sorts of trouble, even when she's not doing her Kereberos thing... I should have done a more in-depth foretelling before this all started. I would have found some way to keep her from coming to Tomoeda. What a headache..." Eriol said, complaining all the way. Syaoran went on in silence with Sakura's chin resting on his shoulder.
'She seemed like such a weakling... but she doesn't feel that soft...' Syaoran thought, with his hands on Sakura's arms. Then he winced. 'What... the heck am I thinking about?'
"The window on the 2nd floor is open..." Eriol pointed out. Syaoran looked up and saw that one of the windows on the 2nd story of the small house was open and that a large tree was facing it.
"She must have climbed down? The spirits must have really been controlling her for her to go through all this trouble... her spirit resonance must be..." Syaoran said, trailing off in thought. Finally he shook his head. "Never mind, let's just drop her off and get out of here."
"No objections there..." Eriol muttered.
With two quick, acrobatic leaps Syaoran jumped into the tree and then through the open window. Eriol followed him just as quickly. Both had learned to be quite agile through their various adventures, though Eriol was a bit slower than Syaoran. By the time he landed within Sakura's room Syaoran had already laid her on her bed. Eriol shrugged and turned around, ready to leave, but Syaoran stopped him.
"Hey..." Syaoran said, in a quick whisper. Eriol turned to look at him with one eyebrow raised and there was a pause. Eriol couldn't tell that Syaoran was blushing, since they were in a dark room. "It's... cold... Shouldn't we... tuck her in?"
Eriol's mouth almost dropped open. He barely caught himself from raising his voice.
"Are... you... serious?" he asked in a furious whisper, his eyebrow twitching.
"But..." Syaoran started. Just then a cloud that had been concealing the moon parted, letting a beam of moonlight shine in through the window and onto the sleeping form of Sakura.
Syaoran felt the grip of fate.
Drawing in his breath, he looked at Sakura's sleeping face. It was his first time seeing the angelic face of a young girl sleeping. A feeling of peace settled over him just looking at it, and he felt his blush draining away. He reached out to take the blanket so he could cover her, but he was interrupted.
"Sakura?" Touya's voice was heard, and the door opened. Eriol didn't hesitate. Throwing out one arm he barked a magical command. His bracelet flashed with deep blue power.
"Barrier of Time! Stop!" he said.
There was a flash, and everything paused. The door did not open any more, but they could both clearly see Touya frozen in time. The look on his face was normal, so he probably hadn't seen them before the spell took him. Both brothers were out the window in an instant, Syaoran making sure to close the window behind them so Touya wouldn't be suspicious.
When they were on the ground they both took a moment to calm their racing hearts. Eriol looked back up at the window, panting a little.
"It'll only be a few more seconds. Let's just get out of here," he said. He then looked at Syaoran with narrowed eyes. "What's gotten into you, anyway?"
"I... don't know..." Syaoran said. The peaceful feeling was gone. He shook his head. "Let's just go home."
* * *
Sakura didn't remember anything of the night before. Neither the time stop or her brother barging in had woken her from her deep sleep, and her dreams had been nice enough. However, she felt a little tired as she went to school the next day. Since she was keeping an eye on the Reed brothers she noticed that they also had some dark blotches at the corners of their eyes from lack of sleep, but they didn't seem the least bit effected by it. As she went to sit down she frowned a little as Eriol looked at her with cold disdain and Syaoran pretended she didn't exist. At least that's the way she thought he was acting. He had such an unreadable face that she couldn't really tell.
'He looks like... a wolf, or a fox... I can't tell what kind of expression he has, like an animal. Maybe if he had a tail I could see if it was wagging or not...' Sakura thought idly, not realizing that she was staring at Syaoran quite obviously. Tomoyo had to nudge her when it was her turn to read from the book they were studying. Luckily Terada-sensei didn't seem to notice.
"The legend of the Demons' Night Parade is a clear sign of what happens when modern progress meets ancient traditions. The citizens of what is now Kyoto feared that, as more efficient tools were invented to make their lives easier, the old tools that they had used for so long would become jealous. Then, one night it all came to a head when thousands of s... sp... spi-... spirit... spirit inhabited tools known as tsukumo-gami paraded through the town in a horrible gh... ghostly... display..." Sakura read, trailing off at every mention of things supernatural. After a moment's pause she moaned "Hoe~ Sensei~ this is too spooky!"
"Haha, don't worry Kinamoto-san," Terada said, giving his reassuring teacher smile. "These things are just legends and folk tales. However..." he returned to his serious expression "... We should remember to apply these things to our modern times. Now that we have gadgets for everything and the cities are getting so big, are we remembering our cultural heritage and the traditions that make us Japanese? Japan is a place rich with traditions and beliefs, but all of these are becoming a thing of the past. Is that alright? The Japanese people used to be so good at living in harmony with nature and all its 'Gods', but would you say we're the same now?"
Everyone seemed mystified by the teacher's sudden serious monologue, but a few seconds after he finished speaking the bell rang marking the first break of the day. Sakura gave a sigh of relief. All the talk about nature spirits and tsukumo-gami was making her turn pale. The only thing worse than a cockroach that she could imagine would be if a spoon or cup came walking up to her yelling at her for abandoning it.
"Sakura-chan?" Sakura heard a voice calling her, and she looked up to see Naoki beckoning for her to come outside the classroom. Curious, Sakura went out. Naoki was waiting for her, and smiled as she walked out the classroom door.
"Sakura-chan, I just wanted to ask you something..." Naoki said, adjusting her glasses.
"Hm?" Sakura said, tilting her head.
"Are you... involved in supernatural things, like the Reed brothers?" Naoki asked, her voice innocent.
"H... Hoe?" Sakura said, looking utterly confused.
"Sorry, it's just that... most people are afraid of ghosts, but you're on a completely different level. What I've noticed is that someone who reacts that much must have had a... personal experience. So... have you?" Naoki asked, adjusting her glasses again. Her glasses caught a glint of sunlight and flashed, giving her an ominous look.
"N... No way~" Sakura said, looking pained. "If I had seen something like a g-ghost in real life I'd be in the hospital with white hair by now. I'm way to much of a scaredy cat to take something like that..."
"Really?" Naoki touched one finger to her chin, looking thoughtful. Then she smiled again, her face returning to its innocent state. "Then, I'd recommend you stay away from the Reed brothers. Those two are destined to always run into terrifying things, I'm sure."
"What? The Reed brothers?" Sakura waved her hands in an embarrassed, dismissive gesture. "I'm not really that interested in them! The only reason I asked about them yesterday is because my dad knows their dad, and he told me they'd be going to school here. I didn't know anything about all this before I came here... Is Tomoeda... really such a strange place?"
"Not if you don't go looking for trouble..." Naoki again adjusted her glasses. But then her grin re-appeared. "And make sure to always give your offerings at the local shrine!" She turned away and headed back into the classroom.
"What... was that all about?" Sakura murmured, looking in confusion at Naoki's retreating back.
* * *
At lunch time Eriol, Syaoran and Nakuru all paused by the edge of the picnic blanket they all usually sat on. Yukito and Touya were already there. Yukito looked at the three of them with a face of innocent curiosity, as if he didn't know why they were hesitating.
"What's wrong? Sit down..." he said, tilting his head.
"I don't eat with dogs..." Eriol said coldly, not taking his eyes off of Touya. Touya met his gaze with an unimpressed look, then sighed, shrugged, and stood up.
"I guess it's best if I eat somewhere else..." he said, but Yukito caught his arm.
"Everyone, lunch time is a sacred time of relaxation and food. Basically, where there's food, things like grudges and opposition cannot exist. Anyone who wants to sit down and eat on this blanket must cast aside all prejudices and treat this time of lunch with proper respect!" Yukito's voice was quiet but firm. Everyone was surprised, including Touya. No one knew exactly how serious Yukito was about eating. However, after a moment his sunny smile returned and he gestured for everyone to be seated.
"Now, sit, and eat," he said, closing the discussion.
Syaoran was the first to sit down, since he didn't really care. As far as he was concerned he and Eriol would always have problems with or without Kereberos, so there was no use worrying about every little thing. Besides, what Touya had said the day before made a little sense to him. Even he wished sometimes that magic didn't exist in the world. Or fate.
"Yukito, you're serious about things that are a complete waste of time..." Eriol muttered, also sitting down. He ate in silence for the rest of the meal, not once glancing at either Yukito or Touya.
"Yuki~" Nakuru whined, but left it at that without voicing anything else. Sitting down with a sigh she also dug into her lunch.
Time passed with only the sound of the wind. Then, suddenly, Touya's chopsticks paused halfway on their journey to his mouth.
"My sister... is a Medium..." he said, quietly. Eriol coughed on whatever he had been eating and the other three looked over at Touya with guarded expressions.
"Sakura is?" Yukito asked, tilting his head a little. Touya nodded.
"She attracts spirits... but... she can't see them herself. I can, though. Ever since she was a little kid she's been followed around by all sorts of spirits... bad and good. She's had lots of frightening experiences, all her life. I've tried to protect her from what I can but... there's times that I can't protect her..." Touya continued, his voice slightly pained.
"... and?" Eriol asked, coldly unimpressed by Touya's speech. Touya looked up at him, anger clear on his face for a moment before he got himself under control.
"I just want you to know that there's a normal, human reason why we're part of Kereberos, trying to seal away the magic of the world! I'm fighting for Sakura's sake!" Touya said, gritting his teeth a little.
"You want us to sympathize with you?" Eriol said, looking disgusted. "We of Spinel fight to stop any force that threatens humanity, using the magic we were born with. We don't do it because these things are a bother directly to us, we do it because it's right. Don't try to impress us with your story. We don't use our magic for such petty reasons."
"So you think fate and destiny should just continue dictating our lives? That people who are born under unlucky circumstances will always be unlucky? My sister should always have to suffer because that's just the way it is?" Touya demanded, his voice starting to rise as he lost control of his temper. Yukito looked torn between wanting to interrupt and being interested in what Eriol was saying. It was the first time Eriol had voiced anything like what he was saying now. Syaoran looked at his brother in a new light. He never really thought of why they fought against the spirits that went wild. It had always just been something they did.
"Fate's not something that can be defeated that easily!" Eriol said, contemptuously. "It's not a matter of wanting to or not wanting to fight against it. If we're human we accept that, even with magic, there are things we can't do. Things we can't change."
'But... weren't we going to fight against fate... brother?' Syaoran thought, in his heart.
"Giving up also won't change anything. Deciding it can't be done is worse than running away. It's not like you'd even be changing anything. You'd still be fighting against the wild to protect everyone... Kereberos isn't..." Touya said, calming down a little, but he was cut off by Eriol.
"We'll never join Kereberos! No matter how much monologue you try to throw at us it'll never be right! If you're so stubborn about your side, accept that we're just as stubborn about ours!" Eriol's voice made it clear he expected the argument to end there.
"Why? Why are you so stubborn? Because if we got rid of magic that would mean you wouldn't be special anymore? That you're all-powerful daddy Clow Reed wouldn't be all-powerful anymore? You and your brother would have to learn to live like normal kids all of the sudden? Is that what pisses you off?" Touya shouted back, a hefty dose of scorn in his voice.
Everyone was shocked. Yukito looked sad, Nakuru looked about ready to scratch Touya in the eyes. Eriol was pale, his face surprised and a little horrified. He looked quickly at Syaoran, then back at Touya. His mouth moved, trying to find something to throw back at him, but he couldn't find the words.
"So?" Syaoran was the one who finally spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him and he glared up at Touya, who had risen to his feet. "If we're talking about pride, isn't it prideful to go out looking to change the whole world for the sake of one person? No matter how many problems it causes for everyone?"
"Sakura's... worth that to me," Touya said. His blatant reply surprised Syaoran enough that he fell silent, though there had been more he had wanted to say.
'One person is worth... all that?' Syaoran thought. Looking around at Eriol, Yukito and Nakuru. Even for his brother, for Eriol... would he do something like that? Something like trying to destroy fate, and end magic? Would he bear other people's hatred and scorn and fight against people who were honest and normal? 'Kinamoto Sakura is... worth that?'
"You can't... be serious..." Syaoran muttered, more shocked than anything else. He was about to start up again with Touya, but Touya was already closing up his lunch box and walking off.
"Sorry Yuki. I understand you guys have your reasons, but I just can't take it all sitting down. I think I'll eat alone for the time being, so you guys can figure out what you really want to do with your powers," Touya said, over his shoulder. Yukito merely nodded, understanding, but his face still looked sad.
"Good riddance," Eriol said, with a note of finality.
* * *
That night the phone rang in the Kinamoto household, just as the sun was setting.
"Hello?" Sakura shyly answered the phone. Since they had just recently moved in it was odd for someone to call so late at night. The Kereberos staff usually called them on private lines so... who could it be?
"Sakura..." The voice on the other end was mechanical, obviously disguised by computer equipment. "Tengu have appeared in the forest reserve."
"Ho... Hoe? Who is this?" Sakura said, though her eyes became serious as she heard the mentoin of Tengu.. demon birds... dangerous to any humans they came across.
"They will appear tonight," the voice said, completely ignoring Sakura's question. Then there was a click and a dial tone... whoever it was had hung up after delivering the message.
Sakura said nothing, but stared at the phone receiver with an expression full of alarm and suspicion.
* * *
Somewhere a shadowy figure took her hand off the phone receiver and looked over at her companion.
"And now we'll see what Sakura-chan is really doing here..." she said.
The other figure nodded silently.
* * *
The forest reserve was a deep wood at the edge of Tomoeda, full of old legends and shrines from back when the area was still barely developed. It had been preserved as a monument to the traditions of the region. It was also a favorite haunting-ground for spirits. The Reed brothers had been their many a night fighting back anything that tried to make a break for the city to cause chaos. They were there that night too.
Sakura and Touya went by motorcycle. Touya drove, dressed all in a black leather suit, with Sakura holding onto his waist. She was dressed in a pink jacket and jeans, and her face was worried. Touya also had a serious expression.
'Following mysterious messages to a dark forest at night... is a really bad idea...' he thought, but Sakura had been adamant about their going.
"It's what dad sent us here to do!" she had said, and that had decided it.
The two groups met at the entrance to the reserve. The Reed brothers, Yukito and Nakuru all turned to look as the motorcycle pulled up. Touya and Sakura stepped down and took off their helmets, and for a moment everyone simply stared at each other, each trying to predict the actions of the other.
"Go home, it's a school night," Eriol said, at last.
"That's my line. I told you you could have some time to think about joining Kereberos or not... I didn't say you could go back to using your magic willy-nilly. This is our job. Civilians should stay home," Touya shot back, his face and voice grim.
There was a metallic sound, and Syaoran's two-handed sword was free of its sheath, his bangs casting a shadow over his eyes as he bowed his head a little. His face was also grim. Nakuru looked at him, smiled thinly and looked over her shoulder at Eriol and Yukito.
"You two can take care of the Tengu. We'll keep them out of your hair," she said.
Eriol nodded, turning. Yukito looked at Touya, let out a long sigh, and followed after him.
"You're going to fight us?" Touya said, looking incredulously at Nakuru but making no move to follow the other two. "That's idiotic!"
"There's no reason to do this! The important thing is sealing the Tengu!" Sakura said, her voice pained. She was looking at Syaoran, who met her gaze cooly and kept his blade raised.
"Eriol and Yuki are more than enough for the birds. Me'n Syaoran here are just going to play with you a bit, test your mettle. If you lose..." Nakuru said, gritting her teeth and grinning with battle lust "... how about you leave Tomoeda?"
"You're crazy!" Touya said, then he put out his leather-gloved hand "I take back all the diplomatic things I said. For people like you, suppression is the only thing you'll understand!"
A circle of magic, brown like the Earth but glowing with living energy, appeared around Touya on the ground. His hair was raised as powerful wind rushed up around him.
"Blade that hides the power of the Earth! I, Touya summon you under contract... Daichi!" Touya said, his hand reaching out, grasping. In a flash of brown energy there was a blade in his hand; a dai-katana... a huge katana whose blade was as tall as Touya. The naked blade glistened in the moonlight. "Let's get this over with..." he growled.
"Greatest hunter, lend thy daughter your blessing..." Nakuru held her hand up in front of her face, fingers curled slightly as if waiting to seize something. "Artemis!" A scythe, silver like the moon, appeared. Nakuru caught it and held it with the blade toward the ground. Then she lifted it and spun it in a glistening blur over her head. "I'll make you eat your words. All of them."
Syaoran was not speaking, but he watched Sakura with his sword drawn. Sakura met his gaze steadily, her expression slowly fading from pain and sadness to one of resignation. Then, surprisingly, something flashed in Sakura's eyes, and her childish chin raised a little bit. For the first time since he had met her the day before Syaoran saw determination appear in Kinamoto Sakura's eyes.
And for that moment, Syaoran's breath was taken away... because Kinamoto Sakura was beautiful. Her eyes blazed with a petite green flame that shone like emerald, her small mouth formed a stubborn line, her delicate eyebrows drawn down in concentration. It was then that Syaoran realized that the silly girl that had laughed at herself so often since she first appeared was not the real Sakura... or rather it wasn't her whole self. The girl that had only taken a half-step while trying to strike in the dojo was like a Sakura that had been sheathed when out of battle, but now she stood in her true form. He could see her soul, and he realized that he had underestimated her greatly. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted his grip on his sword. Regardless, she was his enemy right now, and he doubted the fight would be anything like he had thought it would.
"Blade that hides the power of my star! I, Sakura summon you under contract..." Sakura called out, a cherry-blossom pink aura swirling around her and forming a magic circle much more vibrant than her brother's had been "... Koboshi!"
A long rapier appeared in Sakura's outstretched hand. It had no basket-hilt, but looked more like a training weapon. Where the circular hand-guard would have been on a normal fencing rapier there was a five-point star whose points curved backward toward Sakura's hand. The blade was thin, keen, and bright. Just like Sakura, it had a plain appearance but glowed with an inner beauty and power.
Clenching his jaw and dropping himself into the void of battle-hypnosis, Syaoran crouched, tensed, and leaped forward, already bringing his sword around in a wide arc. Sakura dodged, barely moving since the move was too broad, too obvious. Syaoran wasn't through, though, and he paused the sword half-swung and changed its direction, shifting his body and weight perfectly to accent the abrupt redirection. His movements flowed perfectly, losing none of the momentum of the original swing. It was that single movement that made Sakura realize that the boy she was facing was a swordmaster the likes of which the world had not seen since the medieval era.
Dodging, Sakura tried to regain her balance enough to counter, but Syaoran was still attacking. Since his blade was heavier than hers he had to continue his sweeping strikes relentlessly lest Sakura get a chance to seek an opening with her more nimble blade. Still, while leaping on the balls of her feet away from each new attack, Sakura's eyes were taking in all of Syaoran's movements and stances, looking for the slightest thing that would let her act.
Nakuru and Touya's battle seemed laborious and lumbering compared to that of the children. Both their weapons were large and their only available attacks were wide, sweeping slashes that left gleaming crescents in the air as the moonlight shone off of their blades. Nakuru was slowly forcing Touya back, though, as he kept glancing in Sakura's direction, unable to concentrate with his sister also fighting against a formidable opponent. Twice he almost dodged too late and both times he saw wisps of his own dark hair float by as Nakuru's Artemis nearly cleft his skull. He knew the fight was nothing to play around with... Nakuru was blank-eyed, concentrating only on the fight, and he knew she wouldn't hesitate to injure him at least. Not kill, of course... but injure... maybe badly if he was stupid about it. He gritted his teeth and tore his eyes away from his sister, trying to focus on Nakuru's nimble movements and whispering silver strikes.
There was a metallic ring, and Sakura finally managed to catch the blow from Syaoran's sword against her own. She had to place her off-hand against the blade of the rapier to support it as Syaoran shifted his weight, pressing to try to throw her off balance.
The moment of pause was all Sakura had been hoping for. She jumped backwards, letting Syaoran withdraw his attack. However, the fact that she had stopped his momentum already gave her the slight advantage she had been seeking. Now it was her turn. Syaoran found himself helpless to counter as an absolute barrage of silver thrusts came at him. Sakura's arm seemed to blur as she jabbed in all directions, trying to catch any slip or unbalance in Syaoran.
Syaoran didn't panic, nor did he show any signs of worry. His deep brown eyes flicked back and forth, barely keeping up with the lightning-fast thrusts. His stance was solid, and he simply shifted his body whichever way was necessary for the attacks to pass harmlessly by him. Then, in an instant, he saw an opening. Crouching, he thrust forward, pushing his blade straight at Sakura.
There was a whisper of movement, and Syaoran felt something pass by his head, and Sakura was gone. He turned, stepping back, and saw that she had dodged to his side... but it wasn't just a dodge. Syaoran felt warmth on his forehead and his right eye started to sting. He wiped it with the back of his hand and saw a bright smear of red.
'She... cut my forehead, right above my eye? She found the absolute best attack for the situation... a lightning-fast tactical strike to limit my visibility and depth perception...' Syaoran thought, losing his concentration for a moment as he looked in slight awe at Sakura. She met his gaze with her fiercely determined eyes.
'I'm at a disadvantage... I need to end this within the next few seconds or it'll only get worse...' Syaoran thought, closing his eyes to clear his mind. He shifted his grip on his sword, holding it more loosely so he could switch hands more easily as he swung, thus making it more maneuverable. He then reached up to wipe away the blood one more time. He'd have to end it before the blood could run down his forehead again or Sakura wouldn't hesitate to strike again in his weakness. It would be a matter of milliseconds.
Sakura was just about to lunge forward with another round of attacks, when Syaoran acted. He jumped forward and suddenly his large sword became a cyclone of flashing strikes. Sakura was completely thrown off by the swiftness of the attacks. There was no power in them, but Sakura still couldn't bring herself to block them. As soon as she would raise her rapier to block he would already be coming in from a different angle. All she could do was keep her blade centered to block any attacks right at her body. After only a breath her sleeves were covered in small cuts.
Then it happened. A sudden thrust by Syaoran, straight at Sakura's face. She saw it coming and shifted her body, letting it pass by her head so she could get within Syaoran's range and attack him while he was still extended in the thrust. However, even as it was passing by her face the blade paused.
'What? He's going to change it into a slice? But his body is extended and... there's no way he can put any power behind it... Wouldn't it be a useless attack?' Sakura thought, feeling her body freeze. She shifted her weight again, trying to leap backward before Syaoran could execute his attack but...
Syaoran's blade was suddenly in the ground on Sakura's left. She blinked a few times. When had it moved? She hadn't seen the movement at all. Then, with a great howling Syaoran's attack finally registered. Sakura was pushed off her feet by the wind created by the strike, and she fell on her rear hard. Her clothes were slashed from her right shoulder to her left thigh. Any second she expected blood to start staining her shirt and pants, but there was nothing. Under the ripped clothing her skin was untouched.
"H.. Hoe~?" Sakura looked up at Syaoran, who was standing over her with his sword extended. Blood was running over his right eye, which he had closed.
"SAKURA!!" Touya yelled, feeling the force of Syaoran's magic strike and turning as if to run to her. Instant mistake. He barely managed to notice and raised his left arm defensively. Nakuru's Artemis passed through the flesh of his arm from wrist to elbow in a single strike, throwing a splash of blood into the air. "Tch!" Touya bit back a yell of pain and fell backward, bringing Daichi up with his good right hand to block any further attacks. However, the battle was already over.
"Game over, doggies," Eriol's voice drifted to them and he and Yukito appeared. They were both sweating with exertion, but neither had received any injuries. "The Tengu have been sealed, Mr. Dog is crippled, and little Ms. Wanko-chan has been hit with Syaoran's patented Soul Eater, an attack directly at the spirit that draws out all your energy and dispels it into the Earth. It'll be hours before little wanko-chan can even stand on her own again."
Touya stood up, clutching his injured arm and glaring.
"Soul... Eater...?" Sakura's weak voice was barely heard, but her eyes were wide with confusion and fear. She looked up at Syaoran but he was already sheathing his sword and turning away. Their eyes met, and Syaoran paused. He didn't know why there was so much confusion in her gaze. Was she having trouble understanding that she had lost? That didn't seem to be the case. Then what was it?
"Today is our victory. It might be time for you to reconsider things... Tomoeda isn't the place for you two. It would be best for you to go home," Eriol said. His eyes were on Touya, and it was obvious he was still angry at what Touya had said to him during lunch.
There was nothing else to be said. Yukito laid a hand on Eriol to prevent him from continuing, and his sad gaze met Touya's. Touya looked away. Slowly he walked over to help Sakura up. For a moment Yukito looked like he'd go offer a hand but Nakuru caught his gaze and shook her head. Yukito sighed and nodded. Then, with Syaoran, they departed, leaving Touya and Sakura alone in the forest.
* * *
After Nakuru and Yukito had parted from them Syaoran and Eriol walked home in silence, each thinking about the day. Finally, Eriol paused. Syaoran kept walking for a second, then stopped and looked back.
"Syaoran... I'm sorry... At lunch..." he tried to say more, but trailed off. He had promised to fight against fate with Syaoran, and then ridiculed that very thing to Touya.
"Eriol... I've known for a long time that you really like being a mage. It's because your Clow Reed's son, and so am I... We're both magic-users, and we're not going to change that by fighting. We fight because it's what we need to do, because it's right, remember? I think it's more important for us to find a way to be happy with our fates, rather than looking to destroy them," Syaoran said, his brown eyes softening as he met Eriol's gaze.
"Syao... ran..." Eriol's voice was weak. His brother's words were like sun through the clouds. He thought he had betrayed the only person in the world that understood him, but it turned out that Syaoran had understood him even more than he thought. They really were brothers... the only person the other could trust in the whole world. He moved forward, and suddenly hugged Syaoran, placing his head against Syaoran's chest. He kept his head low so Syaoran couldn't see that he had tears in the corners of his eyes.
"Hey... this isn't like you... Don't look so depressed. We'll find a way to be happy. Somehow, these last few days, I've started to think something like that is possible. We'll find a way together. Eriol," Syaoran patted his brother's head then gently pulled out of the hug.
"Right..." Eriol said, his normal prideful tone coming back into his voice as he recovered from his emotional display. Even though Syaoran was talking about finding happiness, he felt happy right then because he had someone like his brother to be there for him. "We're Clow Reed's sons, right? We'll definitely do it."
* * *
"Sakura... Hey Sakura!" Touya shook Sakura as she stood with her back to a tree back in the clearing where the fight had taken place. Her eyes were far away and she still looked confused and very frightened. Touya had spent a few moments tying off a bandage on his arm to stop the bleeding so he could get them home.
Sakura looked up at him as if not seeing him. She had his big leather coat draped around her shoulders to cover up the places where her clothes had been slashed open. She hugged her arms around herself.
"Onii-chan... why did Reed Syaoran know that skill...?" Sakura asked, her voice very weak and quavering.
Touya froze. He had hoped she wouldn't have noticed, that she wouldn't put two and two together, but Sakura was too smart for that. Of course she would know.
The technique called Soul Eater that drained an opponent's energy was developed specifically as an anti-mage fighting style. It had been developed by a master swordsman, and he was the only person they had ever seen use it.
Namely, their father. Kinamoto Fujitaka.
Cardcaptors Alternative Syaoran 2nd Thread ~Kiseki no Umi~
… Woven
Anjin's Comments – Yay! Second Thread is done! The title of this thread is 'Sea of Miracles'. Why? Well, you'll remember that every thread is named after an anime opening or ending theme. To see this thread's theme you'll need to look for 'Lodoss War OP' on Youtube or whatever. I recommend watching the shorter version unless you want to get the whole song (which is also okay). I chose this song to represent this chapter because of the duels at the end. Parn and Deedlit from Lodoss War remind me a lot of Sakura and Syaoran from this story. Syaoran is like a silent knight while Sakura is a lot like a nimble, nature-loving elf. Plus nothing says fantasy and fighting like Lodoss War... except Utawarerumono... I'll probably use the song from that here in a bit too.
Well, a few notes about this chapter. It's hard writing a real serious story using kids because you have to be really careful about certain things. For instance, if Syaoran really had cut Sakura's clothes from shoulder to thigh her pants would've fallen off... yeah, not gonna happen. Although, I guess if she was half-jumping backward at the moment her legs would be farther forward than her hips which would sorta explain it.
I hope nobody knows who the two mysterious figures are yet. That would make me a failure as an author. Well, maybe you'll have guessed at least one of them, maybe? Don't know. I guess it'll be more obvious as I move along.
I wanted to throw more stuff in here like maybe even Tomoyo seeing the fight and recording it? But it just didn't flow out when I was writing and I don't like going back and adding scenes in since that makes it feel choppy.
I noticed that a lot of people have read the first chapter but no one has done any reviews yet. I understand since there's like a billion new fanfics each day and no one knows if it'll just be one chapter then peter out and die, so I can assure you that I'm dedicated to this one! Feel free to write up a review or two of what you think of the story. Since it's a fanfic please accept that there might be missed punctuation or maybe a mis-spelling or two in there. I'd rather like analysis of the characters and the plot. What do you think of what I've done with everyone? It'll get even more crazy, trust me.
Oh, and one last thing about the Japanese I'm using. In the first chapter Eriol called Sakura and Touya 'Kereberos no Inume', which means 'Dogs of Kereberos'... only more like a swearword (the 'me' at the end adds vulgarity to it... inu of course means dog). Then he always calls Sakura 'wanko-chan' which means 'puppy'. Wanko is a baby word made up of the words 'wan' (bark, the sound a dog makes), and 'ko' (child). So... little-bark... or puppy. Same as Nyanko which means kitten.
Comments always welcome at anjinforeverATgmailDOTcom
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Rika: Want to start your day off right? Make sure to eat a healthy breakfast of juice, toast and a big bowl of Syaoran with milk! It'll give you the energy you need to get the most out of your day!
Announcer: Card Capters Alternative Syaoran 3rd Thread ~???~
Rika: They're gr-r-reat!