Lilover131: . I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this took so long! Here it is. Enjoy!
Cry of a Wolf-Chapter Forty-two: The will to live and protect
Sakura was very confused as to what just happened. She had spoken to wind, which had never happened before, and when she got through the tormented twister, Syaoran and Naraku were looking at her very strangely. Moreover, Naraku's words that were comparing her to some other 'her' confused her even further. After a few moments, Sakura did not care to piece the thoughts together into a hypothesis when Syaoran's hand began to clutch his chest in pain. Sakura recognized this action almost immediately. It was the spirits' doing.
"Syaoran!" she cried out. Her feet carried her a few steps before she lifted into flight and flew down the rest of the clearing. Naraku was so absorbed by Sakura's sudden resemblance to 'her' that he didn't even notice Syaoran until he fell to his knees beside him. Once he did however, a wicked grin planted on his face. The emerald-eyed girl a few feet away nearly felt her heart stop. She had to hurry or Naraku would get exactly what he wanted! Swiftly, the man's black blade came tumbling down towards the distressed boy. The white feathery wings created by the 'FLY' flapped strongly to reach its goal in time. As Sakura became nearer, she pulled out another 'Sakura card'.
"SWORD!!!" she yelled. Her staff began to glow and her magic swirled around it as it morphed into its sword form. The black blade approached closer to Syaoran's head, but it never reached. The blow was obstructed by the protection of both Sakura and Syaoran's sword. The boy had reacted quickly enough to protect himself, but now his odds were better with his beloved by his side as well. Though he managed to react, he seemed to still struggle with the sting that was ailing him. This time it wasn't just pain. It felt as if… something was trying to get out of him. His weakening hold was obvious to Naraku, and he began to push down on the two harder. Surprising though, the man soon withdrew a few feet away. He seemed to enjoy the boys' suffering.
"It seems that the dark spirit remembers 'her'," Naraku said. The boy was in too much pain to respond. The demonic man seemed to laugh. Sakura tried to comfort Syaoran, but it seemed her new healing abilities could not help this. His mind was clouded with agony from whatever emotional pain was caused from the dark spirit's memories, and Naraku's voice seemed to only irritate him more.
"Does it hurt? Is it excruciating?" he asked mockingly. Syaoran felt a fire light up within him and he glared at the man with that intensity in his eyes.
"SHUT UP!" he yelled angrily. Lightning formed around him and began to shoot out at Naraku, though they did not seem to affect his new barrier. In fact, the man seemed even happier. The fire welling up inside him was becoming extremely painful and overwhelming. He wasn't sure how long he could hold it in for. His anger towards the evil man was like kindling. Suddenly, Sakura seemed to yelp in surprise when one of the small lightning bolts around him shocked her. Within moments, the flame inside him seemed to cool and fade out like Sakura's pain was a bucket of water. The sudden relief made him gasp for breath. Sakura was both shocked and relieved at the same time.
"Are you all right, Syaoran?" she asked him slowly. He took a deep intake of breath before nodding. Then, he looked to her in worry.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked. Sakura shook her head. She was completely unharmed. The shock she took maybe startled her more than hurt her. The boy sighed.
"You're pathetic. Both of you are absolutely pathetic," Naraku said with a tone of utter loathing. Both Sakura and Syaoran glared back in confusion. The demonic-like man was clenching his fists so tightly that they almost began to bleed.
"Who is 'her'?" the boy asked suddenly. Syaoran had gotten straight to the point. Naraku laughed in amusement.
"You two don't know anything, do you?" he concluded. The two didn't know how exactly to answer that. After all, they thought they knew a bit, but now they felt completely lost.
"It doesn't really surprise me that your idiotic father didn't tell you anything about the curse, or even the story behind it. That is why his own stupidity got him killed," Naraku taunted. Syaoran would've charged at him in response to the insult to his deceased father, but a light touch from Sakura urged him to wait.
"However, you're no better than your father. He died to protect you. After all, had he not used that spell to keep me away, he probably would've lived." Syaoran cringed. Would his father really have lived if he hadn't done that spell to protect him? Suddenly, Naraku formed a magical black chain with his hand and it lassoed around the boys' leg. With swift force by the man's hand and pull of the chain, he was thrown roughly into a tree nearby. Sakura started to run towards him, but Naraku grabbed her by the arm. She was then held by the evil man with the blade-bladed sword next to her neck. She fought desperately to get out of his hold, but she was tranquilized by a bite on her wrist. The venom kept her conscious, but immobile. Sakura felt sick with the feeling of Naraku's magic flowing in her veins, and an even colder feeling came through her when she heard his voice speak in her head.
"I want you to see the little wolf's downfall," the voice spoke. Slowly, the man's head turned back towards Syaoran, who was now recovering from the impact of the tree. He opened his eyes with blurry vision at first. When his vision cleared, he paled at the sight of his beloved in danger.
"Sakura!" he cried out. He stood up to run towards her, but the chain that was still wrapped around his leg pulled his legs out from underneath him. He fell to the ground again with a thud. He tried to use an ofuda, but no magic would come out. He was too weak. The boy could not even use his sword. After all, he was too far away from the man to get a swipe, and if he stood, he would fall again. The chain probably wouldn't allow him to fly either. Syaoran attempted to pull the chain off. Naraku would not allow this. He sent sparks of black lightning down the chain and shocked the boy. Syaoran cried out in pain.
"You are weak. Your father died for you, and yet you can't even protect yourself. You can't even protect the ones you love," Naraku said with a devious grin as he pressed the sword lightly against Sakura's neck.
"S-Stop!" Syaoran muttered. He could not move. He was frozen with fear; this blasted fear that plagued him constantly. Syaoran felt this every time he saw his loved ones in pain or in danger; the fear of losing them…
"You are a waste of your father's life. And you seem to even be well aware of that. You see how your family is sad without him around. You can't even stand to see your grandmother, because you know you remind her of the pain. You remind her of what she lost. And for what? A pathetic boy who doesn't even have the strength to protect the girl he loves the most?" Naraku stated. Every word he had said hurt the boy like a knife. Sakura tried to tell the boy that none of it was true, but the venom would not allow her to speak.
"But…I didn't even know…" Syaoran muttered. A grin planted itself on the evil mans' features.
"You can't possibly say you didn't notice that there was something different about you compared to everyone else? You didn't think it was strange that you were able to sense things that most others could not? You didn't think it was strange that you had an almost impossible amount of magic for your age? You always knew there was something wrong with you. You just didn't confirm it until that day when your father died. After that, you noticed strange things would happen occasionally. You would lose control once in a while. Sometimes, you would even hurt people unintentionally whenever your emotions got out of hand. That is why you used to be so distant from people." Syaoran was almost speechless.
"How did you know..?" he started. It made sense now. The reason Naraku stayed in this forest was because he was staying close. He had been watching him for all these years…waiting. Did he even follow him to Japan?
"Your curse not only affects you, but everyone around you as well. And now they will suffer because of you," Naraku said. He lifted the sword a bit until it was under chin and jawbone. The man prepared for a clean slice that would surely kill her. Syaoran stood up again to stop the man from hurting her, but as expected, he was brought down again by the tug of the chain. Quickly, the boy recovered and began to crawl since he could not stand up again without falling. Every time he inched forward with the little strength he had left, the chain would send round after round of painful shocks throughout his body and wings. Naraku seemed to be amused. By the time Syaoran had gotten a few feet away, he had collapsed from exhaustion. His body shivered from the electric assault, and he weakly grabbed onto the grass near Naraku's foot.
"…P-please…don't…hurt her…" he whispered. Naraku laughed.
"You brought this on yourself by continuing to exist. All I tried to do was end your suffering, my suffering, and the suffering of everyone involved with you.
"Please...just… don't hurt her…" the boy pleaded. He's was running out of options, and he was starting to believe that just giving himself up would save the ones he loved and stop the suffering.
"Don't…Don't surrender!" said a voice in his mind. Syaoran recognized this as the white wolf. His white feathered wings spread out and began to lift him off of the ground. Syaoran did not seem to have control over them. All he could do was watch as his hand unconsciously grabbed the chain around his leg and sent sparks of his own back at Naraku. The man cried out angrily in pain and threw Sakura down harshly.
"Impertinent little brat!" yelled Naraku. In response, the man formed many chains of the same around Syaoran's leg and shot them in his direction. The boy's entire body was ensnared by the chains and was suddenly bound to the tree behind him. Syaoran tried to move, but the chains allowed no movement. All of the black binders sent electric agony throughout his system, and the boy couldn't help but scream. Naraku walked slowly towards the boy before grabbing his neck with brutal force. Sakura lay on the ground like a ragdoll. She could see everything but do nothing to stop it. Tears began to flow from her eyes. With much mental effort, she managed to say one word.
"…Syaoran…" she whispered almost too quietly to be heard. Naraku brought his mouth next to the boy's ear and slowly spoke in an ominous tone.
"It is time for the suffering to end. You will die."
Naraku stood a few feet back and prepared to blade to pierce the boy in the heart. Syaoran stared blankly. It was over. He would die here. A part of him was scared to die, but the other was hopeful that his death would perhaps save others. As if in slow motion, the blades' tip began to charge at his heart. He closed his eyes in anticipation. As it happened many times before, he did not feel the blade reach. He heard someone else's scream. Syaoran's eyes opened in a flash, and he could not believe what he saw. His mother stood in front of him. The black blade had pierced through her stomach. The pale woman held the blade that impaled her with her hands. The blood dripped off of the wound and from her now bloody palms. She hunched over in pain, but kept a firm hold on the blade while glaring at Naraku. With much trouble, she spoke.
"I will not let you take away my son as well, demon," she said.
Magic flew from her hands and through the sword. Naraku was suddenly entrapped in an inferno of flames. In reaction, he pulled the sword out of Yelan's slim form and allowed more blood to be spilt. With pain and weakness, Yelan struggled to keep standing and eventually fell to the ground roughly. Syaoran stared in shock at his mother on the ground. Eriol and Kohaku ran into the clearing and cried out in worry.
"YELAN!!" they both yelled. Syaoran couldn't say anything. He could not believe this had happened. He would not believe this had happened. His mind began to drift to a distant memory. This memory replayed a moment shortly after his father died.
"Syaoran, it's dinner time," called Feimei from the door to the Li mansion. Syaoran was training all day and refused to come inside.
"I'm not hungry," he replied. His eldest sister sighed.
"You haven't eaten in days, Syaoran. You must be hungry by now," she said. The young boy shook his head.
"I'm not hungry," he stated again. Yelan watched through the window as her son continued to train even though he was obviously exhausted. He needed to eat soon. All this training was not healthy for him. With determination, she headed outside to give it a try herself and ushered Feimei back inside.
"Syaoran…you need to stop this. None of this is healthy…" she said. The boy stopped moving for a moment and gazed to his mother with blank eyes. His eyes were so blank that Yelan nearly cried. It seemed as if his soul was almost completely lost.
"I don't care about being healthy. I want to see Otousan," he said. Yelan gasped in realization. Was he trying to work himself to death to see Kyo again?
"W-what makes you think training like this will help?" she asked hesitantly. The boy didn't answer. However, she knew very well how this would kill him. If he didn't eat, he would eventually die, but by overworking himself he was speeding up the process. It would be a slow painful death. Her thoughts were suddenly halted and panicked when Syaoran suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"Syaoran!" she cried out in worry. The boy was breathing heavily, and when Yelan felt his body, it was hot and feverish. Immediately, she got him to his room and placed a cold cloth on his head. She did all she could for him while he slept. However, she would still have to convince him to eat once he woke up. Finally, he came to.
"W-what..? Where am I?" he said with a confused, but tired expression. Yelan took hold of her child's hand.
"You're in your room. You collapsed," she said. Syaoran gazed blankly into her eyes.
"Mother…I think I saw father…"he whispered. Yelan couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock.
"He told me….that I had to go back….that you were waiting for me…" he said. Syaoran's eyes then gazed to his mother who clutched his hand tightly in hers.
"…I guess he was right…" he asked. Yelan nodded and gave a small smile.
"I just wanted to see father again…so I could apologize…" the boy said slowly and quietly. The woman's smile soon faded.
"Apologize for what?" she asked. Syaoran clutched the blanket with his other hand.
"I want to say that I'm sorry I got him killed," he said. Yelan said nothing.
"…I saw him…but he didn't seem very happy to see me...I don't blame him for…"
Syaoran was suddenly hushed by his mother's slender finger.
"He died because he loved you so much. He was willing to give his life to protect you, and don't you ever believe that for one second he didn't whole-heartedly want to."
"…But why? Why?" he could only mutter. Yelan spoke delicately and beautifully.
"It was not yet your time to leave this world. Neither was it a few hours ago when you saw him," she said. Syaoran looked up to his mother in wonder.
"Is that why he looked so sad?" he said. Yelan nodded.
"He wanted you to live. He loves you and your sisters' more than anything in the entire world. He wants you to live until fate decides so, and leaving the world by your own hands is not the destiny of humans."
The woman caressed her boy's face gently.
"You feel sad about your father's death. However, if you were to die, you would create that same sadness. When you end your own life, you are purposely causing sadness to everyone who cares about you. We all love you so much, Syaoran. If you were to die, the pain would be unbearable." Syaoran thought deeply about her words.
"Syaoran, I would gladly die for you as well. I would not hesitate to protect you as your father did. However, I wouldn't want you to feel responsible. I would want you to be happy." Syaoran seemed to be having difficulties hiding his emotions. He looked as if he was fighting off tears.
"It's so hard…how can you be happy without that person?" he asked. Yelan smiled.
"Someday, you will be with him when the right time comes. However, when you do finally get to speak to him, don't apologize," she said. Syaoran tried hard to compose himself.
"What do I say then?" he asked. Yelan pulled Syaoran into a tight embrace.
"You thank him. Thank him for giving you life. Thank him for saving your life. And thank him for being such an important part of your life." She said.
"After all, you were an important part of his life…his baby boy…my baby boy…" she whispered. Syaoran could no longer hold in his tears. He suddenly burst into tears and embraced his mother tightly back. He sobbed there for what seemed to be a while. He had to release all the sadness bottled up inside of him. Later, she brought him dinner.
"Every time you eat, you have decided to live another day," she said to him. She pushed the food towards him and urged him to eat. Syaoran gazed at the food carefully and realized that he wanted to live. He wanted to try and live a happy life…in thanks to his father for saving him. In thanks, he finally ate.
His mother had said she would do the same for him as his father did. And now…here she was on the ground bleeding. Syaoran felt his breathing stop for a moment before his words came out in an agonized scream.
"MOTHER!!!!!!!!"
Lilover: dun dun dunnnnnnn! Cliffy…again….Sorry guys. Lol. Anyways, I'm so sorry for the wait. So many distracting things in the world now. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.