"He is no normal man." - Jane, Legend of Tarzan.

LEGEND OF SYAORAN

There was a strong grip on her waist, and wind in her hair, and she was flying. With wide eyes, Sakura could barely process what was happening. She was flattened against toned muscles, and barely hanging on as the forest whirled around her.

Before she could even realize that was indeed swinging on a vine with a heroic stranger, she was deposited on top of a branch, steadying herself against the trunk.

Sakura looked down - gulp. She was so high above that she couldn't even see the ground, only more trees and foliage. Swallowing thickly and hoping that she not make any false steps, Sakura glanced around at her foggy surroundings, jumping at every shadow that moved. She looked up to see her rescuer, a tall figure clouded slightly by the fog, standing on another branch, a small skip away.

He turned around, making to leave -

"Wait!" Sakura didn't know what came over her then. She ambled forwards, only with a jolt realizing that she was on a branch. Stupid, stupid! She berated herself with mixture of horror and fright as she teetered dangerously forwards -

A strong tanned arm shot out to catch her by the shoulder accidentally roughly while Sakura winced. Suddenly, Sakura felt a surge of energy pass through her, as if someone went through her body and turned her insides out.

Next thing she knew, she was shaking her head to clear it of the dizziness, the strong grip still on her shoulder keep her upright, and her feet were resting evenly on solid grass. Sakura looked down at the grass, and the roots of the trees surrounding her, the squirrel that skeetered by.

Where was she?

How did she get there?

What just happened?

Then she looked up at the man who rescued her - twice -

She lost all train of thought, not that she had a logical one in the first place.

He was a majestic human being.

He had bright eyes, eyes like the falling sun, with a golden glow to them. And his hair, wild and mussed but seemingly soft as if floating lightly on his head. He was toned, and Sakura blushed at the thought the she was pressed up against those muscles a short while ago. She blushed again, as she realized that he was hardly dressed, only wrapped in a canvas cloth around his crotch. His leg muscles stretched and flexed as he ambled closer, his golden gaze not tearing from hers.

Sakura breathed out a small exhale, not realizing she had held her breath when her gaze fell upon his. In a tiny whisper, she breathed out, "who...are you?"

The man did not answer, instead he stepped closer, his golden irises gazing deep into her. Sakura felt as if her soul was bare for him to see. Feeling self-conscious, she turned her gaze away, fidgeting and realizing with embarrassment that she was blushing. There was movement by her foot, and Sakura jumped, holding a hand over her heart as evil yellow orbs flashed in her mind's eye. Upon second glance, it was only a small bunny gazing up at her curiously. Sakura, glanced embarrassedly at her saviour, laughing nervously as a furious blush came over her cheeks.

The spell apparently, was over, for the man. For he scowled at the grass, but addressed her snappishly. "Go home." He moved closer, perhaps to intimidate her with his height and...well, everything about him. "You will die here."

"I -" Sakura gasped, a wave of fiery defiance rose within her. "You can't tell me-"

"I," his words overpowered hers with a flash of angry gold, "tell you," he paused to make sure he had her full attention, "you will not survive the jungle."

Sakura felt a shudder pass through her. To save her own pride, she did not let it show. She pursed her lip to respond irately.

But she never delivered her remark for at that exact moment, come crashing through the trees were the men she had came to the Jungle with. The rescuer lifted his gaze towards them boredly.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Came the angry shout of Kei, the ranger. Or as the jungle native thought, the bigger annoying-looking one with the annoying tools the English always bring. What do they call it? Rifles. There he was, waving the thing about as if a toy.

Sakura's saviour only regarded the English ranger with detached annoyance, smoothly putting distance between him and the woman.

Sakura, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see familiar faces. She rushed to Eriol's side, smiling brightly albeit nervously at him. Eriol, completely opposite from the other man's reaction, immediately recognized the stranger for who he was.

"It cannot be…" He muttered lowly, to his companions' confusion. Eriol had turned white as a sheet when he laid eyes on the jungle native. The strange man with the golden eyes.

"What?!" Kei growled at him, but there was something about the way his eyes darted back and forth. A sense of suspicion creased his eyebrows, as if he was beginning to realize the answer himself but he refused to believe it.

"Eriol?" Sakura questioned curiously, her eyes shifting as if watching a tennis match between Eriol and the man. The man seemed to lock eyes with Eriol, knowing what he was referring to, and bracing himself for the reaction.

"It is you, isn't it?" Eriol stepped forward, a sort of gleeful light came into his eyes and he shifted his glassed up his nose to peer at the stranger in delight. "It is! It is true! Oh, it has always been true!"

Kei gripped his rifle tighter as realization dawned on him as well. Eriol's reaction only explained the man as none other than... "It is impossible!"

Sakura only trailed behind her cousin curiously. "Who? Who is he, Eriol?"

"Syaoran…" Eriol breathed, "Amazing…The Legend of the Jungle." He stepped forward again, tentatively, "standing in front of us."

With that one word, both Sakura and Kei turned their wide eyed gazed at the man in speechless shock.

The legend himself scowled under their gazes. He did not like the attention at all. In one swift movement, he had reached up with his strong arms and caught onto the nearest branch. Swinging with agility and experience, he leaped into the foliage and his figure faded from their sight.

"Amazing…" Eriol uttered behind his disappearance.

After that encounter the three traveling companions settled into the night in mostly silence. They ate their dinners deep in their own thoughts, and Sakura was grateful for the men's distraction for she did not want to be questioned on her day's adventure. Suddenly, as they ambled off to their own tents, Kei appeared in front of Sakura's.

Startled, Sakura nearly fell back, not only at his appearance but the wild look in his eyes. "Magic," he pushed the word at her, advancing towards her. "Did you see it?"

"Sakura?" Eriol, too, had suddenly appeared by her side. Sakura wondered briefly if her cousin had some superpower where he could sense her distress and come to her aide immediately. "Kei?" Eriol questioned, trying to pull the man away.

"Um," Sakura's eyes shifted from Kei's wild searching ones to Eriol's concerned ones. She leaned back as Kei ignored Eriol's presence completely.

"Tell me," he insisted, not to be distracted, "did you see him do magic? Did you see magic?"

"Um…" Immediately, Sakura remembered when she was on a branch, and then...she wasn't. "Um, I…" She glanced at Eriol in confusion and distress. Eriol seemed to understand immediately, but he could not pull back the ranger.

"Sakura," Kei hissed impatiently.

"I-I don't know…" Sakura heard herself lying, and she didn't know why. She understood, in that moment, that that had to magic. The being in one place, then the surge of energy, then being in someplace else completely. But she couldn't bring herself to tell Kei, or try to explain it. It didn't make sense to her, either. She had never encountered magic. How would she know anyway? Sakura glanced down uncertainly, "I don't know. I've never…"

The wild look gone, Kei leaned back with a sigh. He patted Sakura's head in an odd sort of endearing way. "Sleep well," he muttered, his usual self back. He flashed her a smile, grabbed her hand in a tight grip and placed a light kiss upon it.

Eriol and Sakura were left gazing after him. The former with suspicion and the latter with confusion.

Above them, Syaoran's lithe figure perched on a branch. He had disappeared into the trees to avoid their gaze but he felt compelled to observe them more. A light mist swirled to his right, revealing the ghostly companion from before.

Her long black locks floated in the air as she settled down lightly next to him, her pale white legs dangling carelessly. Syaoran glanced at her briefly to acknowledge her presence, giving her a rare opportunity to voice her thoughts.

'I am intrigued.' She said simply, smiling at him in a way that said, I know you are too.

He grunted, looking down at the trio again. The girl next to him was Tomoyo, a Jungle ghost.