Lilover131: Hi everyone! Here's chapter forty! Enjoy!
Cry of a Wolf-Chapter Forty: Fear
Eriol was now forced to make a difficult choice. Should he tell Yelan about XiaoLian and the curse? Since Syaoran was the one in danger, didn't she as his mother deserve to know? This could be true, but telling her would be going against Kyo's wishes by getting her involved.
"Well? Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Yelan asked in rather demanding tone. Even the reincarnation of her ancestor could be disrespected if she thought Syaoran was in danger. Eriol lowered his head and his eyes were covered by a shadow.
"…I can't…" he said. Honestly, Eriol did not want Yelan to get involved either.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I promised Kyo I wouldn't get you involved…" he said. Yelan's eyes narrowed.
"Is Syaoran in danger?" she asked suddenly even more curious than before. Eriol's head rose and a determined look was etched on his features.
"Syaoran will be fine. I promise you that," he answered. Yelan still seemed curious. Suddenly, a voice rang through the room.
"Oh, sure. The little wolf will be just fine…after he dies."
Eriol, XiaoLian, and Yelan all gazed in the direction where the voice had originated.
"Who's there?!" yelled Eriol. He could sense an evil aura within the library. It felt almost like….Naraku. However, the three were greatly surprised when three others entered. The people who stood before them were none other than Ai, Lin, and Shui.
"What? What are you three doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Syaoran-kun?" Eriol asked. The three bodyguards laughed.
"The plans have changed. Master Naraku has ordered us to eliminate you and the balance maintainer," said Ai. Eriol's eyes widened.
"Master…Naraku? You work for Naraku?" he asked. Kohaku's wolf form growled. The girl's eyes all turned blood red and their nails grew longer and sharper. The group barely had time to react when the demonic girls began their attack. They moved very quickly and professionally. Unfortunately, Eriol did not have much fighting experience, and XiaoLian had none at all. All they could do was dodge. Yelan's eyes showed much confusion.
"What in the world? What's going on here?" she cried out. Ai, Lin, and Shui continued to swipe at Eriol and XiaoLian with their knife-like nails. Reality had really sunk in for Yelan when Lin managed to skim Eriol's arm. Blood slowly oozed out of the fresh wound and the red liquid dripped off of the demonic girl's nails. She licked the blood off with a grin.
"Delicious. Even more so than those elder's," she said. The English boy's eyes widened and then narrowed with anger. Within seconds, the demon began her attack again.
At Xueman's house
"So this is what you wanted to show us?" Syaoran asked his grandmother. The boy wore pure white colored robes trimmed in gold and green. They were much like his Clow Card fighting ceremonial robes, only with some minor differences. This robe came without a hat and the collar was more like the traditional Chinese ones. Xueman smiled.
"Yes. Your grandfather used to love this outfit. You look as adorable in it as he did!" she said. Syaoran blushed in embarrassment.
"Wow! Syaoran looks cute!" said an excited voice from the mini dressing room. Sakura stepped out from behind the curtain with a smile. The boy could not help but blush a bright red hue after her comment and outfit. Sakura wore an outfit that was much like the one she had worn the first time she visited Syaoran's house all those years ago. The color was also white like his with gold trimming and pink instead of green. She wore her hair up in her usual small pigtails with bells attached to the ribbons.
"…Beautiful…" was all Syaoran could manage to whisper out. Sakura blushed when she noticed her beloved's reaction to her outfit. Little Xue landed on the girl's head and began to peck at the bells in her hair. Syaoran felt himself drawn to the objects himself. He giggled a little when the light sound reacted to his playing.
"There's something about bells that the men in this family seem to like, huh?" said Xueman. Her grandson only smiled.
"There's just something about them that makes me feel somewhat…nostalgic," he said in a soft tone. He almost seemed to be in a trance while playing with the bells. Sakura couldn't help but laugh. He was drawn to the bells like a cat to yarn. It was truly an adorable sight. Also, the thought of him being so close to her made her heart beat faster. Her beating continued until Xueman began to speak again.
"I would like you two to have these," she said. The couple's eyes widened.
"…But...! We couldn't possibly…" they said together. The blue-eyed woman shook her head.
"Nonsense! I think your grandfather would want you and Sakura to have these," she said. The two try to protest further, but Xueman would not take 'no' for an answer. Eventually, they accepted after thanking her several times. Suddenly, the sound of a clock rang. They all looked towards the direction of the clock in the room and noticed that it was getting quite late. It would soon be night.
"…We should probably get going home soon," Syaoran said. Sakura nodded. Xueman smiled.
"I understand. Your mother worries when you arrive home past daylight, doesn't she?" she said with a laugh. The boy laughed in return.
"She worries too much, but she's only being a concerned mother," he said. His grandmother smirked.
"I used to be the same way. Anyways, tell your mother I said hello," she said. Syaoran nodded. A few minutes later, Sakura and Syaoran made their way out the front door.
"Come visit again sometime soon!" said Xueman as they walked away. The couple waved back.
"We will!" said Sakura. The blue-eyed woman then closed the door behind her. The two adolescents looked to the horizon of the Victoria Harbor. The lights of the city were not yet lit. The sky began to turn an orange color, and Syaoran looked to Sakura with a smile.
"The sun hasn't set yet. Would you like to go for a walk?" he said. The girl happily accepted. They hadn't gotten much time alone together since the bodyguards came along. Syaoran took hold of Sakura's hand and began to lead the way.
At the Li Library
Yelan's eyes widened at the sight before her. Ai, Lin, and Shui were attacking Eriol and Kohaku without stopping. Eriol was covered in minor scratches, and Kohaku seemed unharmed from avoiding all the attacks. The little wolf cub was running and hiding in every area of the library. XiaoLian knew that she couldn't afford to be injured, even if it was just a scratch. Any wound would affect Syaoran. Ai was tracking the cub down like a predator to prey. In a sense…XiaoLian was prey.
"Here wolfy, wolfy. Come on out to play…" said Ai in an eerie tone. Yelan was very confused. Why were the bodyguards attacking them? She had no more time to think when Shui suddenly walked up to her. Yelan pulled out her fan in defense.
"Do you intend to fight me?" Shui said with a laugh. The older woman glared.
"I don't know exactly what's going on here, but if you truly have murdered the elders and are working for Naraku…then I must," she said. Shui grinned evilly.
"Master Naraku also told us to eliminate anyone who tries to interfere. Are you prepared for death?" she said. Yelan did not respond. Instead, her fan began to glow and within seconds, a large gust of wind attempted to whisk the demon girl off her feet. She was about to be slammed harshly against a bookshelf, but she expertly bounced off and darted towards the woman. Yelan chanted an incantation, which caused her fan to glow red. Shui seemed surprised when flames suddenly erupted from the fan. She was quickly engulfed within the fiery heat wave.
Meanwhile, Eriol finally bought enough time to release his staff. It took even more time for him to actually chant a spell.
"Homura no Hikari! (Flame of Light)" he yelled. A bright light shone out of the top of his staff, and Lin screamed in agony. The light had affected her dark black aura. The girl growled in anger.
"Two can play at that game!" she said. Her hands rose in the air and a ball of darkness formed in between them.
"Nami no Yami! (Wave of Darkness)" she cried out. The dark mass was sent spiraling in Eriol's direction, and he was barely able to block it with his staff. As the dark magic meandered around him, he felt sick to his stomach. This darkness was truly pure and sickening. He was not spared a moment to recover from the nausea as Lin began her attack again.
"You cannot defeat me, reincarnation of Clow," said the girl with a grin. Eriol glared at her with loathing in his features.
"I will not let you win."
With Sakura and Syaoran
The couple walked around the Li clan grounds slowly and casually. It was nice that they could manage some time alone together after everything. Though Sakura still couldn't help but wonder why the bodyguards had gotten and left so quickly. Whatever the reason, it must have been important. And as selfish as it may have seemed, she really didn't care. Recently, she felt very possessive of Syaoran. She didn't want anyone else to have him; not even those protecting him. Sakura had even felt slightly jealous with Syaoran's grandmother holding him so tightly. She giggled at the thought.
The two had remained silent for quite a bit of time, so she decided to say the icebreaker.
"Your grandmother is so beautiful, Syaoran," she said. Syaoran smiled.
"She is, isn't she…" he muttered.
"I couldn't believe how good her cooking was too! It was amazing! Did you really learn how to cook from her?" she asked. He nodded.
"I've never been able to reach that kind of potential, but I think I cook well enough to make something edible," Syaoran said with a laugh. Sakura almost frowned.
"You don't give yourself enough credit. That breakfast this morning was incredible compared to anything I've made," she said.
"Now you're not giving yourself enough credit. I've eaten your cooking before, and I found nothing wrong with it. It was delicious," he stated. He had said that in tone that left no room for debate. Sakura blushed in defeat.
"…Thanks…"
Suddenly, the two came to a halt. They stared ahead with widened eyes. What lie before them was the same forest that Sakura had been taken to by Naraku before. Syaoran was surprised when he realized that this forest, or simply a mass of trees, was actually in the center of the Li clan grounds. He hadn't noticed before because it was so dark out. Not to mention he was too focused on rescuing Sakura to observe it properly.
'Why would Naraku go to the center of the Li clan grounds?' he thought to himself. It just didn't make sense! Maybe he wanted to be closer to the Li clan during his plans? Syaoran wondered if Naraku was actually staying there. To ease his curiosity, he began to enter the forest.
Sakura began to follow the boy without much of a thought. She didn't realize what forest it was, because she had only woken up in the middle of it. She couldn't recognize it from the entrance. The next few minutes were silent. Neither of them said anything until they reached the clearing they had once been to before. Syaoran looked around for Naraku, but he did not sense him around anywhere.
"This is…" Sakura whispered. She now realized where they were. Syaoran sighed and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"It's all right. He's not here."
Sakura was relieved as well. After a few moments, the two looked to the sky. Night was now rising, and the half moon revealed itself. Syaoran nearly paled at seeing the moon. All his nightmares had shown the half moon. 'And I was in this very clearing…' he thought. Sakura was smiling at the many stars in the sky. There were less city lights touching this area, so more stars could be seen. This made him smile. He didn't have a nightmare last night, so perhaps everything would be all right. He imagined Sakura saying her invincible spell
"I'm sure I'll be all right."
'It worked for her…so I'll believe in it too' he thought. For a while, the two rested on the grass and gazed at the stars. Syaoran figured being a little late getting home would not be so bad. It would be worth it if he could stay with Sakura like this a little longer.
"Syaoran?" Sakura asked. The boy seemed to be in deep thought. Her words had quickly snapped him out of it.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked. Syaoran found her curiosity quite adorable.
"It's nothing really…" he started. However, he remembered words that Sakura had spoken to him last time he held his pain inside.
"Syaoran…I don't want you to hide your pain from me…please…just please tell me about your hardships when you need to. I already can't do much for you…so…at least let me worry about you!"
After a deep sigh, he began to tell the rest of his story to her.
"…I'm scared," he suddenly stated. Sakura seemed shocked from hearing this. Not only was he actually telling her his feelings for once, but he was actually scared? She had never thought that it could be possible for him to feel fear. He had always been so brave. Though she was shocked, she was more concerned about what exactly he was afraid of.
"I'm scared of losing everyone I care about. All my nightmares showed me complete destruction, and everyone was screaming. Also, a half moon was always there. And tonight…" Syaoran said before gazing at the half moon illuminated in the sky. Sakura understood his feelings completely. If only she could make these awful dreams of his go away!
In an act of comfort, she leaned up against Syaoran gently and looked directly into his eyes.
"Everything will be all right. I promise you," she said with a determined expression. For a moment, he truly believed her words to be true. They stayed close together in peace…until a voice suddenly echoed throughout the forest.
"He must die," said the voice. It sounded abnormal. It lacked the vibrations of average human vocal cords.
"He must die," hissed the voice again. They both stood up, and Syaoran seemed to clutch at his scars. He groaned slightly from the pain.
"It's HIM," he said angrily. Sakura nodded, but she couldn't help but think something wasn't right.
"Naraku's presence and voice…they're different…" she said. Syaoran began to notice as well.
"I will get revenge!" said Naraku's voice. Before the two could even blink, a black beam shot out from the trees and barely missed them. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hand quickly and began to run to the exit.
"We need to run! I can't fight back without using my magic! We'll need help!" he said.
As they dashed forward, they could hear a loud rustling of something chasing closely beside them. Sakura gazed to her side and saw a very large and long black shadow within the trees. Syaoran refused to look. He just kept on running and pulling his beloved along. The shadow continued to follow until it finally leapt out at them. The couple ducked just in time to miss the first attack. When the shadow leapt a second time, the moonlight reflected a very large black snake. In fact, it was the size of an oak tree. Its red eyes glowed, and its fangs were bared dangerously. The snake blocked their way out and trapped them in the clearing. With a fierce flick of its back end, it hit the two harshly into the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of them, and they struggled to regain their lost breath. Their minds were jumbled in confusion and pain, and they were not able to react quickly enough for the next attack. The snake was headed in Syaoran's direction with a desire to do much damage.
"Syaoran!" Sakura cried out. It had happened all too fast. Naraku's fangs had sunk deep into Syaoran's left shoulder. He cried out in pain as Naraku held him within the fangs for a few more moments. Sakura got up, despite the pain in doing so, and began to hit the snake as hard as she could with her fists.
"Let go of him!" she yelled angrily. Her frustration and tears grew when her beloved's eyes began to darken. Syaoran's eyes were half lidded and blank, and his body fell limply in Naraku's hold. Sakura thought that perhaps he was okay now that he was free. Moments passed. Minutes passed. She had already lost count of time when every second felt like hours when she waited for some response from him. Tears rolled down her face incessantly, and she nearly stopped breathing when he didn't move.
Lilover131: Dun Dun duuuuuunn! A CLIFFY!! Sorry it took so long again. I am so frickin' lazy sometimes! Anyways, I hoped you liked the chapter. I will do my best to get the next chapter up soon! Until then!