Disclaimer: I don't own ccs or the characters! Although, I wish I did!
Lilover131: Hey everybody! I hope you liked the last chapter! The last one was to be peaceful and bring a little ease to our group. We can't have them ALWAYS in danger, now can we? Today is a VERY special day! TODAY IS THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CRY OF A WOLF! Let's celebrate! I know I didn't get a whole lot of S+S in the last chapter. I will DEFINITELY try to get more! Anyways, here is chapter thirty!
Cry of a Wolf- Chapter Thirty: The three protectors
Several men sat in a circle in a dim lighted room. Candles were lit in the corners of the room, and the walls had many ancient Chinese markings. All held a serious gaze at the miniature pool in the center. An opening in the ceiling allowed the moon to reflect into the water. Once the moon made an appearance in the reflection, the water began to glow a bright white. Now a new vision was shown in the water. The water now revealed a slumbering Syaoran, who was currently tossing and turning from his reoccurring dream.
"Something is happening to the heir," said one of the men. The men all continued to watch the water intently.
"His dreams hold destruction and pain, and the reincarnation of our ancestor seems to have seen a vision as well," said one of the men.
"What has become of Naraku?" asked one of the men.
"He is probably plotting against the heir," said a man.
"The boy is not strong enough to defeat our clan's enemy yet," said another man.
"Perhaps we should teach him to control his abilities?" suggested a man.
"He has become stronger lately however," said another man. All the men began to think deeply. However, a cold eerie voice rang through the room.
"And so have I," said the voice. The candles in the room went out, and the pool in the center rippled destroying the image. The men all looked up to the opening in the ceiling, and saw someone looking down at them from above. Red eyes glowed brightly through the darkness as the shadowy figure blocked the moon's view, and the figure's evil grin was clearly visible.
"Naraku!" shouted one of the men. Once he had been recognized, the men all began to chant an incantation.
"You don't have enough power to seal me, you fools! Even Clow's reincarnation at this point doesn't have enough power!" Naraku pointed out. He then began a laughter, which made their blood run cold. Suddenly, about three people jumped down from the opening and began to attack the men. The people looked just like women, only their skin was far too pale to be normal, and their hair was as black as night. Their eyes glowed of the same red as Naraku's and illuminated in the darkness of the room. The men did their best to fight them, but the demon-like creatures were too powerful. Their blood lie all over the floor and on the creatures, which licked it happily off of their hands, as Naraku smiled in satisfaction.
"Well done, my beautiful little demons," said Naraku with an evil grin. The demon girls grinned evilly as well and began to approach their master.
"We only live to serve you master. We are happy to satisfy you," said the demon girls in unison.
"Now that the head elders are out of the picture, maybe my true desire will be easier to obtain," Naraku said.
"You want that cute little heir's powers, right?" said one of the girls.
"Let us help you master!" said another girl. Naraku's grin widened. He placed a hand lightly on each of their heads before speaking.
"Perhaps I will," Naraku said. They had served him well before.
"But for now…" Naraku started as he looked to the blood on the floor.
"…We shall leave a message," Naraku said.
With Sakura
Sakura shifted uncomfortably from her dream. She could see a burning forest, and heard the screams of her friends. Through the flames she could see a shadowed figure. The figure seemed familiar somehow, yet she couldn't quite tell. Suddenly, a feminine voice reached her thoughts and cried out.
"Please help him…" the voice said. Sakura became confused. 'Help who?' she said in her mind back to the voice.
"Please help him…" the voice repeated again. Before she could ask again, she had woken up from her dream. Sakura gazed outside her veranda window. The sky was cloudy and looked as if it would rain later. She sighed. She was so hoping that today would be nice. Slowly, Sakura jumped out of bed and stretched. She then left her room and into the hallway, where surprisingly she saw Syaoran and Eriol. They were already dressed and seemed to be getting ready to go out.
"Good morning, Syaoran, Eriol," Sakura said, in a slightly tired tone. Both the boys gave her a smile and greeted her back.
"Are you going somewhere?" Sakura asked. They both nodded.
"Something has happened to the head elders. The others told me that I have to see something," Syaoran said. Sakura couldn't help but wonder what could've possibly happened to the elders. So to ease her curiosity, she made a decision.
"Syaoran…" Sakura started, as she tugged at Syaoran's sleeve before he could leave. Syaoran looked back to her.
"Yes Sakura? What is it?" Syaoran asked.
"…Can I go with you?"
On the way to the elders shrine
Syaoran, Sakura, Eriol, Yelan, Touya, Yukito, Kero, Suppi, and Kohaku all walked through the Li clan village and to the elder's shrine. They all received honorable bows from passerby's, and gazes from those through windows. Sakura gazed to the buildings in interest. They were beautiful, and were made of brilliant Chinese architecture. Finally, they arrived at a building much like the others. However, a crowd of people surrounded this building. All bowed in respect from their presence, and they cleared a path for the group to enter the building. When they entered, they came across a horrid smell.
"What is that smell?" Sakura asked, holding a hand to her nose. Syaoran already became nervous. This scent was all too familiar. 'Blood…'Syaoran thought, recognizing the smell.
"We'll find out soon enough…" said Eriol. The group then came into sight of what they came to see, they were all stricken with shock. All of the head elders lie dead on the ground with pools of blood beneath them. The miniature pool in the center was stained red, and blood was splattered all over the wall. Although, the most shocking thing in the room was a message written on the wall with the elder's blood.
THE HEIR WILL SUFFERSakura became frightened and grabbed Syaoran's arm in concern. Nearly everyone else narrowed their eyes.
"Naraku…" Syaoran said. Suddenly, an elder walked into the room.
"The head elders were murdered late last night," said the elder. Syaoran recognized this elder as Li Ming (Ming means 'bright or clear' in Chinese). Li Ming had always been a reliable elder who informed Syaoran and his mother on most events in the Li clan. Syaoran kneeled to inspect the cause of their deaths. There were deep irregular scratches all over their bodies; much like scratches from nails. Syaoran then pulled out his arm with a scratch from before to compare to. He had received this scratch and several others from the Sakura clones Naraku created. The same scratch on his arm was all over them.
"This is the work of Naraku's helpers," Syaoran said.
"So Naraku IS responsible for this," Eriol said with an angered gaze. Yelan gave a sad gaze to the deceased elders, and silently prayed. Sakura and the others also prayed for the elders.
"Xiao Lang-sama, the remaining elders are concerned for your safety. If the head elder's magic could not stand up to this person…then…" elder Ming said. Syaoran sighed.
"You all have no need to worry over me. I'm perfectly able to protect myself," Syaoran said. The one thing he hated the most was when people thought he needed to be protected.
"We all have complete confidence in your abilities Xiao Lang-sama, but we would feel more comfortable knowing you have complete protection," said elder Ming. Syaoran sighed deeply again. He had heard these words before. These words usually meant that he had no say in the matter and should give up soon if he wanted to maintain his respect.
"Fine. You can do as you like," Syaoran said in defeat. The elder smiled, and motioned for three people to enter the room. All were female and all shared the same height as Sakura. They looked to be close to her age as well. The elder introduced the first woman. The first girl was named Li Ai. She had long flowing black hair and radiant ruby eyes. She wore a long red sleeveless Chinese style dress that stopped at her ankles. The designs on the dress consisted of golden roses…perfect for a person whose name meant 'love'.
The second girl was named Li Lin (Haha. That sounds funny, doesn't it?). She also had long black hair, only it was set in one long braid. Her eyes were a brilliant green, however not as brilliant as Sakura's. She also wore a sleeveless Chinese style dress, only the skirt stopped at mid thigh and it was jade green instead of red. Also, instead of rose designs, hers consisted of gold bamboo and leaves. The green forest look suited her name, which meant 'forest' or 'fine jade'.
The third girl was named Li Shui. She also had black hair, although it was put into two buns on the sides of her head. Her eyes were a beautiful blue, and she wore a blue Chinese style dress much like the others, only her skirt stopped right below her knees. Instead of rose or forest designs, hers consisted of golden swirls and fish. This suited her name, which meant 'water'.
"These three girls are my daughters, and they exceed most others in their abilities. They will protect you well," said elder Ming. The three girls all bowed in respect.
"We vow to protect you no matter what!" said the three in unison. Syaoran looked away from the girls and gazed to Sakura. She smiled brightly to him. After sighing, Syaoran respectfully bowed in return.
"I am Li Xiao Lang. Allow me to introduce my friends," Syaoran said.
"This is my girlfriend, Kinomoto Sakura," Syaoran said, motioning to Sakura, who blushed bright red from the 'girlfriend' comment. Before he could continue with the introductions, the three girls interrupted.
"This is your 'girlfriend'? What a lucky girl to be dating the kawaii Li clan heir!" said the three. Syaoran and Sakura both blushed red. After shaking off the red on their faces, Syaoran continued with the introductions.
"This is the reincarnation of Clow Reed, Hiiragizawa Eriol," Syaoran said, pointing to Eriol. Eriol gave a smile to the girls, who bowed in respect for their reincarnated ancestor.
"These two are Kinomoto Touya, Sakura brother, and Tsukishiro Yukito, Touya's best friend," Syaoran said introducing the two. Yukito waved, but Touya did not respond.
"This is Spinel Sun, Eriol's guardian," Syaoran said. Suppi also did not respond.
"This fat stuffed animal here…is Keroberos, Sakura's guardian," Syaoran said. Kero glared at Syaoran, and earned a giggle out of the three.
"And lastly, my mother Li Yelan," Syaoran said. Yelan bowed and received a bow from the three. Then, the girls noticed something standing behind Syaoran's legs.
"What's that?" said Ai, pointing behind him. He looked to his legs and saw Kohaku cowering behind him.
"Oh! This is my pet wolf, Kohaku," Syaoran said. The girls smiled, and reached out to pet him. However, Kohaku growled at them ferociously. The group was confused by his reaction towards the girls.
"Kohaku? What's wrong?" Syaoran asked the baby wolf.
"He probably just thinks of us as strangers," said the girls, assuring him there was nothing to worry about. Soon after, the group all walked back to the mansion. 'I might as well get back to my training' Syaoran thought to himself.
Back at the mansion
Once the group arrived back at the mansion, the three protectors made themselves at home. They were introduced to their room, which the three of them would share. The three girls were adored by Syaoran's sisters because of their 'kawaii-ness', and they seemed to be well liked by everyone in the house, except for Kohaku. Syaoran thought they were nice, but he was annoyed from the fact that they followed him like puppies wherever he went. They were even worse than Kohaku! And Syaoran was embarrassed from the constant comments. Everything he did was adored. The way he glares, the way he walks, the way he eats, the way he blushes when they talk about him, EVERYTHING!
"They're just being nice," his sisters told him. Syaoran thought differently. He wasn't one who liked a lot of attention. Sakura also received a lot of gazes from them, and simply smiled when they did. Sakura became disappointed by the girl's constant presence though. With them always around, it would be hard for her to spend time alone with Syaoran. 'Oh well…I guess I'll just have to deal with them' she thought to herself. She could see that Syaoran was annoyed as well. The girls even followed him when he went outside to continue training with Eriol and Yue.
In the Li garden
Syaoran stood in the center of the Li garden, while Sakura and the three girls all sat on a bench nearby. Eriol had his staff released, and Yukito transformed into Yue. Syaoran stood quietly until receiving Eriol's order.
"Let's start with finding your powers again like yesterday," Eriol said. In response, Syaoran closed his eyes. However, this time Eriol began an attack before he could find the powers he was looking for. He quickly threw magic at Syaoran, who narrowly dodged them.
"What the hell was that for?" Syaoran said. Eriol did not answer and continued to attack. He continuously dodged, and eventually pulled out his powers with much difficulty. Once he did, Eriol stopped his attacks.
"During a real attack, you will only have a few seconds to pull out your powers. Your enemies will NOT give you time, so you must learn how to find them as quickly as possible," Eriol said. Now Syaoran understood.
"I see. I will try to do better," Syaoran said. Suddenly, the three girls cried out a cheer.
"GO XIAO LANG-SAMA! YOU CAN DO IT!" they yelled. Syaoran sweat dropped before moving on with his training.
Eriol had pulled out targets for Syaoran to aim his powers at. This inheritance seemed to allow him to use his normal elemental powers without an ofuda. Not to mention they were MUCH more powerful! After a few tries with each element, he was able to hit the targets straight through the center. Also, he often fired too much or too little of the powers. He had asked the girls all to watch somewhere safer when he nearly hit them. After he was too tired to use any more, he practiced his flight, which didn't take as much. He flew a lot better today than yesterday, and he did not hit the tree. He had slight difficulty staying in the air, but managed to control it all right. Syaoran smiled. Perhaps these powers wouldn't be so hard to control.
After his training was done for the day, he and the girls left to the living room to relax. Eriol however, left them to do something important in his room. No one questioned him for his reasoning's were usually important. With that, they left the Li garden.
In Eriol's room
Eriol sat on the bed of his room. He was working on the restoration of the book again, and thought happily about Syaoran's progress in his training. 'He seems to be getting much better' Eriol thought. Finally, the second incomplete sentence was finished.
The more the owner seems to be in control, the less the person will realize that they are becoming more imbalanced.Eriol became very confused by this sentence. 'More imbalanced?' Eriol thought. Suddenly, a thought rang in his head, which hit him like lightning. They were making the problem worse.
Lilover131: How was that chapter? I hope you liked it! Please review if you can! Anyways, see you next time!