Dancing with the Dead

Chapter Four

A/N: And school starts in two weeks…sigh…by the way, please enjoy!

There is a legend at my town of Tomoeda, about the Chinese pirate who roamed the cemetery. It started long before I was born, spanning centuries. Tomoeda is a coastal town, beautiful and quaint, and closer to the capital than Hokkaido. It used to be a bustling port town long ago, especially when we started trade with other countries. One country in particular was China.

The story goes that a young man became captain after his father passed away on a voyage during the Ming dynasty, when China and Japan had a good trading relationship. He was a good captain, until one day, he refused to transfer a certain important cargo. No word was mentioned on what sort of cargo, except it was expensive and was to be sold for a lot of money at the time. This was how he became a pirate. One day, he was captured and murdered by a rival ship, and his body was thrown overboard near our shores. Villagers recognized him, but when they went to take his body, it vanished.

They say he roams the cemetery, especially at night. They say if he looks at you with his cold and vengeful eyes, you will be whisked away by death. They say he is so beautiful to be able to take young girls away. He always wanted a bride, and he was always alone.

I was never much for ghost stories. However, I always felt sorry for the young pirate. I wanted nothing more than to ease his loneliness.

I was sent home after two more days in the hospital. Despite the insistence that I was fine, everyone wanted to keep me there for observation. No one could understand how I was alive. The impact of the crash and the blood loss alone should have killed me, but I was there, with no permanent damage, despite being dead for an hour. All my scans showed up clean, which wad astounding to the doctors. I couldn't tell anyone what happened or how I managed to come back. There were many people already concerned with my mental health, and I did not want to deepen that concern. I was assigned a therapist to help me cope with surviving, but I didn't feel as though I needed one.

When I did go home, I was visited by police officers to give my report on the crash. There were no witnesses, and the only evidence that there was a crash in the first place was the tire marks on the street, and of course, my lifeless body. Unfortunately, despite being the only witness and victim, I was not much help. I didn't see the driver. I didn't recognize the truck, nor did I notice anything strange about it. There was the instance of my pearl turning pitch black and my locket burning, but I knew better than to reveal that to the officers.

I was allowed to return to school after another week of rest, at my father's insistence that I needed more recovery time. Due to Tomoyo's dedication to bringing and teaching me the school work, I was thankfully not falling behind. I was welcomed back by my friends and classmates with smiles, and after answering their curious questions, my life had slowly returned to the normalcy I had before. It was almost enough to forget about Li and the cryptic message about my death.

My father was finally able to go on his excavation in Greece. He had postponed it due to the accident, but after weeks of me being alive and well, and after many assurances from Touya-nii, he felt confident enough to go.

"Are you sure you're fine? I can always not go. They don't need me there," he tried to tell me as his taxi was waiting outside our home to take him to the airport. I only smiled at my father, trying to be cheerful.

"I am fine, otou-san. The doctors have been very thorough. You need to go on this excavation. Your team needs you there. I am perfectly fine."

"And safe," Touya-nii cut in. "I won't let anything happen to her. This excavation is important to you, and I will make sure Sakura is fine for when you return."

My father looked a bit mollified, but he still looked at me as if I were to disappear. "I'll be gone for two months…that's a long time to be away, especially after everything."

"Believe me, I am fine!" I tried to plead, but my father only shook his head. "You're a bit different since the accident. You're not the same."

I couldn't say anything to retort that claim. It was true; I had changed. I was more aware and paranoid of my surroundings. I was easily tired and took to drinking six cups of coffee per day just to stay awake during the day. The anxiety was overwhelming, and I often cried myself to sleep. Inside, there was a feeling that I didn't belong back here. There was always an itch, like I needed to be somewhere else. I tried to ignore this feeling, but it manifested in my dreams. He was always in them, dressed in a black suit as I walked toward him in white.

I didn't see him in person, nor did I have any other instances when my locket burned or had the pearl become black. Kero stayed with me, and no one questioned his presence. I was starting to feel as though the danger had passed. But the anxiety never left me, becoming my closest companion.

"I will be fine, otou-san. I promise to be here when you come back."

"Do you promise then?" He held up his pinky at me. I linked with it and hugged him fiercely.

" I promise. "

"How did you sleep today, kaijuu?" my brother asked as he rode his old bike beside me. I had taken up to roller blading again, now that my brother acted as my personal escort to school. I was not sure when that would end.

I tried to forget about the dream I had, one that had Li dead in my arms. That was impossible. I had to remind myself of that. "I slept alright. Kero had slept on my chest, so I thought I was suffocating."

Touya-nii looked at the golden cat sitting in his bike basket in mild annoyance. Kero had also become my escort, following me everywhere, even in school. He took to settling himself in the tree outside my homeroom class, keeping strict vigil. I wondered if he was under Li's orders, and whether he kept in contact with him somehow.

If I were being honest, I would be a bit jealous if he was in contact with Li. Since that night in my hospital room, he hadn't come to see me at all, despite his warning and concern. He didn't even visit me when I was home. I knew it was silly, but he called me his Proserpina and said he wanted to marry me. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to see how I was doing, or explain my nightmares and anxiety over being alive. It was rather thoughtless.

"Sakura," my brother's voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Be careful today."

I looked at him strangely. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, it's just a feeling I have." Touya stared hard at my school, the one he previously attended, as though it were about to attack me. "Just be extra careful, alright?"

I nodded, and after a quick hug, he left while I entered. Tomoyo was waiting for me with a fresh, hot mug of coffee. The mug burned my hand, but it didn't matter to me. I drank it without pause, enjoying the burn as it went down my throat.

"Morning, Sakura-chan," she greeted with her perfect smile. "Today is going to be an interesting day. We have a transfer student."

"Hoe? So late in the school year?" I quickly changed into my inside shoes and walked with her to class.

"Yes, well, I think it will be very interesting."

She was not wrong.

"We would like to welcome Hiiragizawa Eriol to our class. Hiiragizawa-san is from England, so he may have cultural misconceptions. Please do assist him." Our teacher, Terada-sensei introduced the new boy. The girls were very excited in their seats, leaning forward to get a better look at him.

It wasn't hard to see why. He was beautiful with pale white skin, dark violet blue eyes, and jet black hair. He was also tall, not as tall as Li, but just as towering. The moment he smiled and said, "I look forward to making friends with you all," in a very charming voice, I knew he won over my class. Even Tomoyo-chan chuckled, and she never swooned over men. Curiously, we made eye contact, and when he smiled directly at me, my locket felt warm once more. I opened it to find the pearl glowing bright gold.

"Hiiragizawa-san, please take a seat beside Kinomoto-san," Terada-sensei instructed and pointed to the empty seat, and the new transfer student followed suit. He walked gracefully, each step of his long legs wasting no energy as they stopped beside me.

He sat down without awkwardness and held out his hand for me. "Hello, Kinomoto-san, please regard me kindly as your classroom neighbor."

I shook his hand, ignoring the familiarly that washed through me after doing so. "Hello, you can use my first name, if you'd like."

"Sakura-san?" He smiled at my nodding of encouragement. "Then feel free to use my first name as well."

Our conversation did not continue since class went underway. I suspected that he wanted to talk to me when we were let out for lunch, but I was called away by a crying gardening club. In my absence, the gardening club had taken to tending the gardens, but it seemed they didn't have my personal green touch, and many of the plants were dying. During lunch, I spent my time watering them, and making sure the soil was fertilized.

"I'm sorry I haven't been as attentive." I used to be made fun of for talking to the plants, but I personally liked to believe my words helped in some way. The Jacqueline Postill seemed to almost bloom into a pretty white and lavender at my words.

Kero sat patiently, waiting for me to finish. He had already drunk his milk, and was guarding me while I was out. Suddenly, his posture changed, taking a more defensive stance.

"That is impressive, to make a flower bloom in winter," Eriol spoke pleasantly. I stood up on my guard. The pearl did not turn black in his presence, but I was still suspicious.

"Daphne flowers bloom in the winter. It's nothing special." I tried to keep up an unsuspecting façade, but something in Eriol's eyes told me he didn't believe me.

"Yes, they do. But it also helps to have a deity who is full of life helping, doesn't it?"

He knew about me. My face fell from its pretense, and I clutched at my locket tightly. Kero moved closer to me, his fur looking as if it were glowing. Eriol only chuckled.

"No need to have your cat friend worry. It would be better if he didn't transform into his true form." He still spoke with a pleasant air, despite the tense atmosphere. I didn't understand what he meant about Kero, but I was not going to waste time dwelling on it.

"How do you know about me?" I asked, my voice higher than normal. "How do you know of my abilities?"

He laughed, not mocking, which was the only thing I found good about the situation. "You're quite defensive. Has he told you to always be paranoid? It would be so like him."

"Please answer the question!" I demanded still. Maybe Li was right. I am feisty…but if that would get me answers, then I had no problem disregarding my politeness and manners, even if it did make me feel uncomfortable.

"I know because I was reborn as a deity many years ago when I died in this town. I am the deity Apollo, a pleasure to meet you Proserpina." He bowed at me, and at that, Kero went back to his carefree attitude. He was mollified, and I knew I should have been too, but I was still very ignorant on the whole deity business.

"You're Apollo? What exactly does that mean?"

Without explaining, he walked up to me, and grabbed my hand. I tried to pull away, but he gently kept me in his grasp. He grinned and let go of my hand without malice. It took me a while to realize that it was the hand I burned earlier that day with my coffee. Only instead of being red, it had cooled and healed as though it was never burnt in the first place. I looked back at him in awe.

"I am the deity of the sun, honesty, and healing. At least for this country. I'm sure there are others. I am rather thankful. I couldn't imagine how hectic this life would have been if I had been in charge of a country as big as Russia."

"You're like Li!" I exclaimed, then quickly covered my mouth. Somehow, I was not sure if I was supposed to reveal anything about Li, but Eriol laughed again.

"Yeah, he and I have died and have been reborn. Others like Daidouji-san were suddenly gifted due to you becoming a deity. Li and I both died the same day, our bodies washing up on the shores of this town separately."

"You knew Li when he was alive?"

He remained quiet, looking out into the distance. "This town used to be a port town some five hundred years ago. A lot of trade came in and out from Tomoeda, and there were a diverse number of people with many different lives and stories to share. I lived here, with my Japanese father and English mother. I liked stories, and none fascinated me more than the story of the pirate captain, Li Xiao Lang."

It was the first time I heard Li's full name. I had always known he was not Japanese, but the name confirmed it. Somehow, I was familiar with the story he was going to tell. The legend of Tomoeda was something we all knew about after all. However, any word of a half-Japanese citizen of Tomoeda was lost in the story.

"There is a legend here, about a ghost pirate who died in Tomoeda," I told him. Eriol only nodded, looking highly amused.

"Yes, I've heard it. So has he, but he isn't fond of it. Though, the accuracy of it is impressive. "

I wanted to sit, feeling suddenly exhausted from all the information. Eriol must have noticed, since he quickly handed me a large mug of coffee that I hadn't noticed he brought with him. I didn't ask how he knew, but took it gratefully.

"What happened?" I questioned after finishing the contents of the mug.

"I told you, I liked stories. I fashioned myself to be a journalist. Captain Li Xiao Lang was not always a captain. He was a first mate of his father's trade ship. On one voyage, the first captain had come down with pneumonia. It was not like how it was now with medicines and hospitals. He fell ill on the ship and died on it, his young son of only twenty becoming captain right at that moment.

I was not interested in Captain Li until he became a pirate after setting free the people who were to be sold as slaves. That was conveniently left out of the story, but it's true. Because he didn't see people as cargo, he was branded a criminal, and that's when I was interested. For months, he was a vigilante pirate, preventing slave trade here in East Asia, and brought back money to this town. I was very curious. What was the male heir of a prominent Chinese trading clan doing acting as a pirate when his money could have easily bought him his freedom? I had asked him if I could board his ship once. He denied me coolly.

Then I snuck aboard his ship, the Black Wolf. I was eventually caught, but he spared me and I became a shipman while occasionally writing articles or orally telling stories. Li Xiao Lang was a pirate, but no criminal. I wanted people to know the truth of his goodness.

Eventually, word got out about my adventures with the Captain, and we were targeted by one particular group: the Mitsuwa clan. They were rich from slavery, which they did so illegally, but money buys security and power, which they had a lot of. One night while we were here in Tomoeda, they captured our ship with the men still inside. Xiao Lang heard and went to fight them. They killed him after they outnumbered him in battle and threw him in the water. My death was a little slower. To put it simply, I drowned.

He woke up before I did. At first, we didn't know what was happening. Eventually, the Fates explained it all to us. They said we were chosen for this world's deities, and our job was to keep it in order. To be honest, Xiao Lang had it the hardest. He was left with the important job of sorting the dead, and has spent many years deep in loneliness. Until he found you."

The bell had already rung, but I could not be moved from where I stood. I didn't realize the extensive history behind Li, and the burden he carried alone on his shoulders for so many years. Eriol was nowhere near as lonely or jaded. He appeared so normal, even though he had been a deity as long as Li. I never felt so sorry for another person.

"But why was it me?" I asked, my voice quieter now. "I didn't do anything special when I first met him. Why did he choose me to be his Proserpina?"

At that, Eriol merely shrugged. This response was discouraging. "Who knows? You'd have to ask him. But I knew him quite well long ago. I am just going to assume it is because you look very much like his beloved. I didn't meet her. She died way before I ever met Xiao Lang. She was also from this town, and Japanese. He rarely talked about her. I just know she fell ill and died when she was just thirteen. He had a picture of her in his quarters."

Somehow, the knowledge of this made me feel worse. The only reason he chose me was because I was the exact look alike for his dead beloved, one he could not be with in either life or death. But I was here, and he had the power to make me his. I was now cursed all because of the face I was given. Eriol did not notice my drop in mood, but I instantly wanted to go home and crawl under my covers and cry until I physically could not anymore. I never had my heart broken before, but I knew that was what I was feeling as emptiness grew in my heart. I'd never imagined it to be so painful.

"Sakura-san, why does your locket look like it's being held over an open fire?" Eriol suddenly asked. The moment he did, my chest burned from where the locket rested. I pried it open to find my pearly a dark black. Kero stood up and hissed impressively.

"I have to go. I have to run." I kept looking around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We were by the school garden and everyone was in class. Eriol also looked around with his eyes darkening.

"Kinomoto-san?" another voice chimed in. A classmate, one from gardening club was walking up to me, unaware of any danger. "Kinomoto-san, you must come with me. We need you."

I tried to smile back, but Kero kept hissing which meant there was danger in our midst. I didn't want my classmate to be hurt. I needed to leave.

"No, that's okay, I'm actually not feeling well so I am going to go home. I just really need to lie down and rest."

My classmate didn't seem to really comprehend the gravity of the situation. She blinked at me, her smile never faltering. "No, we need you to come with us."

"Who is 'we'?" Eriol stood in front of me as if he were my shield. He seemed even tenser than before. Kero started to glow and the burning intensified.

My classmate's smile fell from her face, and in its place was a scowl. "That's none of your business. We are only here for Proserpina!" she shouted in an altered voice.

Her face was no longer familiar, but was growing more grotesque. I screamed when she launched herself for me, but Eriol was quicker and grabbed her by the throat. At first, I thought he was chocking her, but the blood vessels in her neck turned black, like a disease. She howled and managed to kick him away. Instantly, he stood up guarding me.

"We need to grab Proserpina! My master wants her!"

"Tell your master to find someone else's wife!" a deep and familiar voice declared. The mere sound of it made my heart swell. I was trying to remember that I was cross with him for using me as a replacement for his dead beloved.

Without wasting breath, Li pierced his sword into her, and the monster died quickly. Her body disappeared into the ground, leaving no trace of it ever existing. I fell to my knees, finally worn down by the day and its chaotic happenings.

"You killed her! She was my classmate!" I accused Li. He didn't even look perturbed as he sheathed his sword by his side. He was all in black today as well, but I tried to focus past his attractiveness.

"No, she wasn't Sakura-san. She was a copy. Your real classmate is inside in class. This one was meant to lure you away to whoever apparently wants you," Eriol explained, holding a hand out for me. I accepted it gratefully, and he pulled me up with effortless strength.

"Eriol, what are you doing here?" Li asked, not even greeting me. I scowled to show my disapproval.

"No, 'Hello, old friend. Nice to you see you. How have you been these five hundred years? Long time no see.'? I'm here for the same reason you are. There is danger here." Eriol was much more good natured than I would have been. Li didn't even greet him properly, but Eriol grinned as though he expected as much.

"Are you alright?" Li completely ignored Eriol and finally rushed to me, holding me in a tight embrace. I quickly pulled away from him before I began to get caught up in his pull.

"I'm fine," I responded coldly without making eye contact. He noticed right away.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No." I crossed my arms and refused to face him. "But if I was cross with you, I would have good reason to be cross."

"So you are mad at me!" Li looked as though he wanted to throw something in frustration. Eriol smirked at him, finding this all in amusement.

"Hate to break your lovers' quarrel, but Syaoran, can you tell us what that was?"

Li looked at him and then back to where the monster's body once laid. His amber eyes were still as striking and intense as ever. My locket was still open, but rather than it being as black as it was before, it was now a cool, deep green.

"That thing was a decoy like you said. It was working for someone who declared war on me the moment he had Sakura killed."

Eriol groaned at this new piece of information. "Really? I mean, really? He was reborn too? That is just really annoying! Just how many of us are there, and why does he want Sakura-san?"

"I don't know, but I do plan on finding out." The way Li said this gave me shivers. I tried not to shake in front of him, since I suspected the shivers were not out of fear.

"Excuse me? But who is after me?" My voice was still curt, but it was higher than I would have liked.

"Mars, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo-chan came to me cheerfully. She was holding another mug of coffee for me, completely ignoring my shocked expression. "Mars declared war on Li and wants you as his bride."

She handed me the mug and turned to Eriol and Li, both of them looking as shocked as I was.

"Hello, I am Daidouji Tomoyo, and also Trivia. It's nice to meet you!"

I stepped up to her, dumbfounded.

"Tomoyo-chan, you know?"

Tomoyo-chan just continued to look at us with her secret smile.

Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah: So, I totally made up the stuff about Tomoeda. I don't claim to be a history expert, and Tomoeda is a fictional town in the first place. Well, the plot is revealing itself and there will be more chaos along the way for Sakura and Syaoran. I want to thank everyone for your reviews and thoughts, and hope to be able to entertain you for the remainder of this story. As usual, this story has no beta, so mind the mistakes. Please review!