Hi everyone! How's everyone doing? Yeah, I didn't get that much time to write this week...final exams. Ugh *shudders*. But now I'm back, and you guys can enjoy this chapter! Dedications for this edition: Numero uno goes to deathscythe24, for reviewing. I'd also like to dedicate it to Padme4000, for encouraging me and really making me feel a little better.
So, this chapter may seem a little strange to you (I know it does to me), but overall, I think its pretty good. It picks up where we left off, but it has a twist, so its not going by the script. Just have fun reading it!
~Sakura
Disclaimer: Alright, to be frank. Me no own Tsubasa. Me want to own Tsubasa. Me is hopeless. End of story. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders.
Fai followed me around the town, this time having complete faith in me. I thought about my magic, and wondered how powerful it was, if it was still as powerful as it used to be… My magic…it's not gone. So what's that supposed to mean? That Yuko lied? That she never met her end of the bargain? My mind was working so hard that it was hard to breathe. And…what about my name? What did Yuko do with it? I felt tears on my cheeks, and I resented them, flinging them off my face with a bitterness that I rarely showed. Fai took note of my behavior, but decided to keep it quiet, which was probably a smart idea, because when I got mad, I got mad.
My mind flashed back to the dreams I had had during the short time I traveled with the group. I remembered the one about my kudan, and the one about Fai, but those weren't of my greatest concern. The dreams that disturbed me most were the ones that were hardest to decipher—the one about the man and the woman talking, and the one about the girl who could see the past and the future. Neither of these two made any sense to me at all. But although I couldn't connect them to my past, I could connect them to each other: I was pretty sure that the man and the woman in the first dream were the same people as in the second dream. Like that's going to help at all. I scoffed. But I must know them from somewhere; because their voices sounded so familiar…it's too bad I can't remember what they looked like.
I could see Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane, and Chunyan from across the square. They seemed to be unharmed, and actually having an enjoyable time. I smiled at the sight of them bonding so quickly, and was about to drag Fai to the other side of the square when suddenly, somebody let out a startled yelp. "Don't! Please!" Immediately, all of us—including the others—turned to face the commotion, and found a young maiden and an old man, kneeling on the floor at the feet of the man we had met the day before.
"Your store hasn't paid the Ryanban's tax money yet, hasn't it?" The man snarled. Yep. He was just as ugly and immature as I remembered him to be. I had to fight the urge to take my anger and frustration out on his ugly face.
"My father is old and sick!" The maiden cried desperately. "And a sick Haraboji needs his medicine!" Tears flowed from her eyes. "All I ask is for you to wait a little while longer!"
"No more waiting!" The Ryanban's son insisted. "You will pay all the taxes you owe in full now!"
"We can't!" The woman cried, hugging her father close to her. "You're charging twenty times what the old Ryanban charged!" She let out a muffled sob. "There's no way we can pay that!"
The Ryanban's son raised the whip in his hands, and I was about to rush forward and beat him up, but Fai held me back. His eyes told me to wait. The man yelled, "Then this old man of yours is going to feel a lot more of my whip! One hundred lashes!"
The two clutched to each other, bracing themselves for what was to come. Chunyan stepped forward and shouted, "Stop it!" But the blood-thirsty look in the Ryanban's son's eyes was still there. Sakura involuntarily slid in front of the old man and his daughter, willing to take any pain for them. When the whip lashed out, the three of them cringed in fear, and I found myself struggling against Fai's grip to help them.
But just as the whip was to meet their skin, it dropped to the ground, and we all looked to see the cause. Syaoran had jumped up and kicked the man in the face for the second time since our arrival. I giggled, and Fai wore an extremely amused expression on his face. The man tried to scramble away from Syaoran (particularly his foot), but didn't succeed. He pointed a trembling finger at Syaoran. "Y-you're the bastard from yesterday!" I rolled my eyes. No duh! The man's expression changed from one of fear and shock to one of rage. "Get out of my way!" He growled through gritted teeth.
Syaoran pushed his foot farther into the man's face. "I will not." He still seemed upset that the man had hurt his loved one. Speaking of which, Sakura was still sprawled in front of the old man and the young woman, so I left Fai's side to retrieve her. I held her hand gently as I led her to the side, and out of harm.
The man grumbled, obviously distraught. "Do you really want to know how terrifying the Ryanban of Ryonfi can be?!" He again tried to move away from Syaoran's foot, but backed into a crate.
That set Chu'nyan off. "You're not him! You're just his son!" She snapped, grumbling, "And a stupid one at that!" I chortled behind Chu'nyan, and I could tell she was happy she could get me to laugh.
"Shut up!" Shouted the Ryanban's son, his face turning purple with hatred and rage. Just at that moment, Syaoran-kun leapt into the air, sensing an attack from the man. Sure enough, the stupid man pulled out his weapon of destruction: a…fan?
The fan was huge, and was a vibrant, dandelion yellow. It was delicate and beautiful, but there was something about it that made me shudder in fear. "I know that fan!" Chu'nyan exclaimed angrily. The man lifted the fan high above his head, and brought it down. The gust of wind that resulted was nothing compared to what came out of the fan—a fully armed, armored warrior, who held a blade, glinting in the sunlight.
"Go!" The man shouted, and the warrior bounded out of the fan, charging at Syaoran with his sword. Syaoran dodged the attack, but just barely made it out alive. I wanted to rush into the middle of the scene and stop the battle, but there was no possible way I could.
"He came out of that fan?" Sakura and I asked in unison, the tone in my voice being much more aggressive than the tone in hers. I looked at Chu'nyan, and saw that it was a topic she was not comfortable discussing.
"That was my omoni's fan!" She explained, her eyes boiling with fury when she saw that the man had her mother's fan. If that fan belonged to her mother…I backed away from the group, needing time to think. I knew that the group didn't need my help there, anyways. If it did, then her mother must have been very powerful. Not many magicians get to use magical items such as those these days.
I turned my attention towards the sky, which was as bluer than I'd ever seen it. The birds chirped, and the trees swayed in a gentle breeze. So why did something feel so wrong? As I pondered the dark thought, the air suddenly froze. The warm draft was no longer light and cheerful; it had become a chilling isolation. The other villagers did not seem to notice the change in atmosphere. In fact, it could have been that there was no change in the atmosphere at all, except that I knew there was something very wrong. And then I noticed: there was no sound. The birds no longer chirped happily, and the townsfolk no longer chatted away comfortably. I took a step back involuntarily, and bumped into a man behind me. I turned around, and was about to apologize, but never got around to it. The man who stood before me looked so familiar that I was sure I would burst if I couldn't figure out who he was. No, he wasn't the man in my dream, that was for sure, but still, I knew him from somewhere.
He grinned at me, revealing crooked, yellow teeth. His hair was short, and had a streak of grey in it, and he wore a monocle. I knew who he was. I just couldn't put my finger on it. "Er…I'm very sorry, sir." I kept on trying to remember who he was, ignoring the fact that there was still no noise, and that the air was frozen. I took a good look, but there was nothing. "Umm…do I…know you?" I asked. Without realizing what I was doing, I reached my hand out to him, as if to touch him to confirm his existence.
With the speed of a tiger, his hand snapped out from nowhere and snatched my wrist. It knocked the wind out of me, but that wasn't the biggest of my concerns. Now, the world was not only silent and still, but it seemed to disappear, turning black around me. Luckily, he had gotten my good hand. I struggled against his grip, but he was strong, and twisted my arm further. I let out a desperate cry for help, but the man said, "There is no point, my dear." I turned to him, and I fought the urge to reach out and slap him, but my arm was still in a bandage. I gave him a cold glare, but he only chuckled. "Child, nobody can hear you. Nobody else exists at the moment. It seems the surrounding environment has just…gone." He smiled maniacally again.
"You're wrong!" I shouted, tears spilling down my face now. "You couldn't be more wrong! They're all still here…" I tried to convince myself that it wasn't true, and that everyone was watching this man beat me up, even though I couldn't see them. But in my mind, I knew he was right. As long as he had me in his grip, I was powerless. I bit at his arm, but it almost seemed as though it were made out of iron. I gave up, and yelled instead. "What do you want from me?!" I panicked.
"I want nothing from you, child. I am, instead, here to warn you." I blinked at him in disbelief. So there he was, randomly attacking me out of the blue, and now he was telling me that he was here to warn me?
"Why should I believe you?" I spat. I kicked at him, struggled to free myself, but again to no avail.
The man only sighed, and twisted my arm even more, making me yelp out in pain. I begged for him to let me go. He shook his head defiantly. "You should believe me, child, because if you don't, I shall end your friends' journey with the snap of a finger." I froze. I had no choice but to listen, even though I guessed that it wasn't really true. But I wasn't going to take my chances. I gave him a curt nod. He continued. "You, child, are in danger." He stated.
"From what?" I hissed disobediently.
"Yourself, child, yourself. Your past, at least. So I have come to take you out of your misery." He whispered. Before I had time to react, he snapped my good arm, and I cried out in pain and fell backwards. I hauled myself to my feet again. Ok…so maybe I can't fight with my arms, but I still have my legs! I charged at the man, kicking him right in the face like Syaoran had done to the Ryanban's son. He stumbled backwards, but growled. "You shouldn't have done that, daughter of the dark!" His last remark caught me off guard, and I just stood there, but it wasn't the best time to be stunned.
A familiar-looking black dragon rose up from the ground, opening its mouth and releasing a mighty roar. I screamed, realizing that my former kudan would kill me. If my last trick didn't work, then I stood no chance against the dark magic-breathing beast. "W-Why?!" I called, feeling even more tears on my face. "I thought you were…different! I thought you trusted me!"
"Ah…" The dragon heaved a heavy sigh. "That is where you are wrong, mistress." I realized that it was still calling me 'mistress'. "I trust nobody but my true master, and I am quite afraid it is not you."
The dragon spread its bluish wings, and lunged at me with incredible speed and agility. Amazingly, I rolled out of the way before I was torn to shreds. Blood dripped down my cheeks, but I didn't let that bother me. I had a fifty-foot tall dragon to deal with. I jumped to my feet, and ducked right before the dragon's razor-sharp tail slashed at me. "Oh, come on!" I screamed at the man, who wore an amused expression on his face. "At least make this battle fair!"
The man thought about it, and sighed. "Well, I suppose…I do enjoy a good fight…" He armed me with two swords. I recognized them as a katana and a wakizashi, swords that only skilled samurai used. But…I've never handled a sword before! How can he expect me to use one that requires such skill? And on top of that, my arms are broken! I tried to ignore the pain, but it didn't really work, however, I didn't have much time to think, though, as the dragon charged at me, its mouth wide open. I shrieked and dove for the ground, trembling in fear.
The dragon was towering over me; I could just feel it. I knew it was going to attack sooner or later. It rammed into me, and I slid back a few feet. I sobbed, "Stop! I can't! I can't! I'm not strong enough to fight you!" More tears.
The dragon laughed heartlessly. "I do not feel pity for anyone. You shall die!" The dragon lunged for me, and I curled up into a ball on the floor, sobbing and praying it would be a painless death. I waited for the inevitable moment that the dragon would kill me. I felt a powerful explosion all around me, and I guessed that the dragon was beginning his attack.
I waited.
And I waited.
The moment never came. I looked up and rose to my feet. There, the dragon was lying on its back, clearly dying. On its chest was the mark of darkness, the same one it had given Kurogane. Did I…did I do that? I walked up to it and climbed up onto its stomach with a little difficulty. The dragon saw what I was doing, and instantly, a look of fear crossed his face. "Stop!" It begged, but I raised my katana, and stabbed the dragon's chest. It roared in pain, and the mark spread completely over his body, swallowing him, and he disappeared, melting away into the darkness.
"H-how?" Asked the man. I turned on him, ready to take him on. He took a step back. "It's true. Your powers have been re-activated." He turned away, and muttered to himself, "It's not possible…she said it couldn't be…"
My body was going haywire on me. I took a step forward and lifted my wakizashi, pressing the blade into his throat lightly, raising a single drop of blood. Only one. I was careful not to kill a valuable source of information. I spoke, half expecting my voice to be shaky, but instead, it was strong. "You have come to kill me. Explain yourself, fool." I was surprised to hear that the voice was not my own, it was different, as if some being was controlling me. The voice resonated with the deep sound of magic, making me sound somewhat scary.
The man only smiled. "There is no way that I can explain, child. All I can tell you is that you must be removed before you interfere with my plans." He took his hand and lowered the sword so that it no longer threatened him. With a poof, both of the swords disappeared. Suddenly, the pain in both of my broken arms returned, but I fought the want to pass out.
I spoke, without even fully understanding what I was saying. "You dared to return, Reed. If it is my power you are after, I am afraid you'll never get it. I will never forgive you for what you have done in the past, and I certainly won't forgive you for what is yet to come."
He nodded. "Very well, child. I can easily understand your standing point, but alas, the time has come for us to part. Farewell, child." And with that, he melted into the darkness, vanishing just as the dragon had done. The moment he was gone, the town of Ryonfi appeared around me again, and I crumpled to the floor in a broken heap. I saw Fai rush towards me, yelling for the others to follow, but my vision blurred and my eyes closed.
"I'm so sorry about your brother." A girl looked down sadly. She addressed the man who stood before her.
The man tilted his head in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Are you sure you're alright?" She nodded, and repeated her question firmly. The man thought for a moment, and said, "I think you need to see someone about your visions. They are getting less and less comprehensible. As you should know, I don't have a brother."
The girl swore under her breath. "Darn." She stomped her foot on the ground angrily.
"What?"
"It's just…" The girl sighed. "The vision seemed so real. So real. You don't even know how vivid the details are. I was so sure it was your past, but it can't be, because you don't have a brother." She clamped her hands over her hears. "I just don't get it! I…I know the vision is true, but it's not about the past, and it can't be about the future."
The man gave her a long, pitiful look, as if he was powerless to help. "What…what exactly was your vision about this time?" He asked. "It's obviously troubling you. And it concerns me."
The girl turned away, ignoring his question. "Gee, I've already waited too long. I think it is time for me to get going. I have a long journey ahead of me."
"Wait." The girl turned around, and faced the man rather unwillingly. "You never told me…why you have to leave. It's the dead of winter, and it's cold. I'm concerned about your health. I just need to know why you're hiding so much from me these days."
"Look. I can't tell you much, but it regards my visions. There is something going on that is very strange. I've seen visions of a girl with black wings. I'm not sure if she's from this world, but at this point, there is only one person I can look to for help." The girl looked at him.
"The dimension witch."
"Exactly." The girl sighed. "I don't want to leave, you know. It's not like I want to leave you. I just…you know…there's no way out of it. It's my fate. Destiny. Whatever other cheesy name you want to call it."
"But why do you have to go into the forest?" The man stared at her, pleading her for an answer. "At night? It's dangerous, you know. There's all kinds of wolves and bears and sna—"
"It's where my powers are strongest." She sighed. "Midnight…the time when the moon shines its brightest…that is when I can go. I fear that if I tried to leave now, I will be weak. I don't practice my ability often, you know."
The man held her hand in his, gazing into her eyes, willing her to stay. "You don't have to go, you know. You must understand how dangerous this might be for you."
The girl sighed sadly. "Of course I don't want to go! Of course I know the dangers and consequences of this! But I have to! It's just…" She slipped her hand out from his. "I have to go, now. It's getting late, after all. It's a long walk." The girl turned around and began to walk away.
"Takahashi, I want you to have this." The man with blond hair and stunning blue eyes grabbed the girl's hand. I recognized her as the girl who was in my last dream, though she looked maybe a few months older. She turned around cautiously, and from my perspective, I could tell she was crying. The man handed her a silver bow. "It's for…safety purposes. Use it only when it is absolutely needed, though."
The girl held the bow in her hands, and the tears stopped flowing as she admired the way it glinted in the light. "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly accept this…" She shook her head firmly, and held the bow out to the man. "It's not that I don't want it or anything…but…"
"Then take it." He pushed it back into her hands. "I want to know that you're safe at all times. This bow shoots with incredible accuracy, and it's never once failed me." He reached behind him, and pulled out a black quiver, filled with beautiful black arrows. "These arrows will always return to you, unless it hits an enemy. Be careful when you use it, though. When you shoot them, they always kill, whether the victim is an enemy or not. Use them sparingly."
"I…I…Sir, I can't!" She turned her head away, slipping her hand out from his grasp. "I can't accept weaponry from you! I'm an orphan! You've got royal blood! There is no logic in giving me this weapon!" The tears came back, and she began to run away, wiping her tears on her sleeve. She was fast, taking off into the woods at Godspeed. Her feet made a light tapping sound as she went, but though they touched the ground, it looked as though she flew on silver light.
The young man stared at the rejected bow and arrows he carried, and watched as the girl disappeared into the trees. A familiar look of sorrow sprung in his eyes, and he whispered hoarsely, "Good luck."
Good luck
Good luck
Good luck
The man's voice echoed in my mind, and I knew I would never forget it.
Remember, no flames or anything! Love you all, and remember to review!
Syaoran: Hey, look lady, I'm kinda unhappy about not being in this chapter. At all.
Me: Hey, you! Why are you out of character! Wait until its your turn!
Sakura: Well, its true. As a matter of fact, I don't think I was in it, either.
Me: Look, I love the fact that you're trying to stand up for yourselves and everything, but you know, it would have been a little nicer if you had done so in the book. So just live with it.
Fai: Who was the man in the dream?!
Me: You'll find out soon enough.
Mokona: But Mokona wants to know, too!
Syaoran: Yeah, but just remember to include me in the next chapter. I don't personally care about the guy in the dream.
Me: Hey, why is Mokona the only one in character here? Syaoran, you've totally gone berzerk on me! Snap out of it!
Syaoran: Oh, I'm sorry! How about: I don't know about you, but I think the guy in the dream is the least of our worries. Our biggest concern is getting me back into the story. HAPPY?
Me: Uh...No.
Izumi: Ah ha...sorry I'm late everyone! What's up?
All: *sweatdrop*