Lilover131: Hey! Soooo…it's been a while! Hi! :D
Cry of a Wolf-Chapter Forty-five: New Moon
The whole of the forest was enveloped in a soft pink light; Sakura's light. Shadow lifted his arms, or Syaoran's arms rather, in a vain attempt to block the light from reaching him, but he was powerless against it. He gasped softly before collapsing to the ground in unconsciousness. The wind, lightning, and earthquakes ceased, and the light then faded and retreated back into the pink card it originated from. Sakura was left panting from the energy it had taken to use the card, but a smile was engraved on her face when she saw Syaoran unharmed.
"Thank goodness…"
Eriol adjusted his glasses, gaping in disbelief.
"Amazing…what a powerful card…this is Sakura's power?"
The girl wavered a bit before falling to her knees, and Yue was immediately there to catch her. His icy blue eyes showed as much concern as possible, which still wasn't much in terms of his usual expressions. However, he did care for his Mistress very much.
"Sakura…are you all right?"
The auburn haired girl nodded slowly, her emerald eyes never leaving Syaoran's form. She pointed in his direction, knowing full well she could not get there herself.
"Yue-san…please bring me to Syaoran…"
The moon guardian nodded and lifted into flight where the boy was, in a heap within the center of a massive crater. The earth around him seemed to have cracked to the point where it almost seemed as if the gates of hell had opened. The pits went down so deep, and the wedge of earth that held Syaoran up seemed to be very close to collapsing. Only a moment more passed before the ground failed, and the boy fell almost lifelessly towards the darkness.
"Syaoran!"
Sakura yelled in horror, her hand outstretched. Kero leapt with the body of his true form, swooping in just in time to catch him and gently rested him onto solid ground.
"That was close…"
Kero sighed in relief before glancing to the spot where Naraku had been only moments before.
"Is that guy really dead…?"
Eriol approached Syaoran's body and nodded grimly. The dark spirit that had possessed Syaoran did not hesitate to kill Naraku, and even though the man had caused them much pain, he did not believe anyone had the right to take anyone else's life. Syaoran would have shown mercy…perhaps taken a bit of anger out on him, but as long as he could not hurt anyone ever again, he would have been happy with sealing him away somewhere. Sakura no doubt was troubled with the fact that at the end, there was something redeemable in Naraku's eyes. He had loved someone once….that much was certain. However, once the deed was done, there was no going back. What was it that Naraku wanted anyways? What was it that he would sell his soul for?
"Is Syaoran all right?"
Sakura stood shakily, but was stopped by Yue, who gently picked her up off her feet and carried her the rest of the way to her lover. Tomoyo, Meilin, Yelan, and the others all gathered around once it was safe to do so. The clearing was an utter mess after all that commotion. They would have to get out of there quickly before people showed up to see what was going on. Eriol perhaps could put up a boundary spell to keep random passerbys from entering, but he seemed a bit exhausted himself. Sakura reached out to touch Syaoran's cheek, and the moment her skin made contact with his, images began to flood into her mind.
There was a young girl with stunning emerald eyes and long dark hair with two pieces that draped over her shoulder, wrapped in ribbons and ending with bells. Her smile was radiating with light.
"Shadow!"
Her call was soothing and uplifting. However, the image quickly changed to the same girl, floating lifelessly in a pool of water, red swirling all around her. Her eyes were cold and empty, and rain fell upon her body mercilessly.
A scream was heard before Sakura gasped and pulled back, eyes wide in horror. Everyone glanced to her with surprise at her sudden expression.
"What is it Sakura?"
Eriol asked her, his face very serious. The girl's eyes began to water.
"I saw something…it was so horrible…I think…I think it might have been her…Himiko!"
Kohaku, or XiaoLian, suddenly stirred from within Futtie's arms, and was barely able to lift her head to speak.
"Himiko…Shadow and her were always together…but then she…"
Touya frowned, finally fed up with all the confusion.
"I think you should tell us everything…but after we tend to everyone's wounds"
XiaoLian's head hung in shame. Perhaps things would have turned out better had she told them everything from the beginning, but now she had nothing to lose telling them. She had failed, and she needed their help now more than ever. With everyone in agreement to returning back to the mansion, groups split accordingly and safely made it back to the home. Fortunately, the wounds were fairly easy to care for. Yelan had been in the most peril in terms of injuries, but thanks to Sakura's miraculous new healing powers, there was nothing to fear anymore. Everyone was in tip-top shape now, except for Syaoran, who was still sleeping quite deeply, and XiaoLian, who was slowly but surely gaining her energy back, though it probably wouldn't be enough to stop a round two with Shadow.
Sakura did not leave Syaoran's side, her hands holding his. Even though Naraku was gone, it seemed her love was still in danger, and that was so distressful to her, she could hardly bear it. Hadn't Syaoran been through enough? Her fingers trailed up to her own lips, her face burning red from the kiss she had been given earlier. Her first kiss…no…it wasn't Syaoran…it wasn't right! All she wanted was her wolf back, but behind those closed eyelids, she did not have a clue what was going on in his body.
The group then entered the room, and Sakura looked to them with concerned eyes. Tomoyo moved up to her best friend and gave her a comforting hug. It was difficult to see her so upset.
"We thought it would be best if we all heard the story in here. We knew you didn't want to leave Li-kun alone…"
Sakura smiled ever so slightly and nodded in thanks before XiaoLian hopped onto the bed, a bit less agile than usual, and looked across the crowd that gathered to hear her story.
"I imagine you have many questions…and I apologize for keeping the answers from you until now…however, I had to know I could believe in your strength…and now I do"
The words were directed towards everyone, but especially Sakura.
"Sakura…I had a feeling before you might have been, but now I have no doubt that you share the blood of the girl that my brother and Naraku treasured so dearly…"
"Himeko?" Sakura asked. XiaoLian nodded.
"Himeko…she was the daughter of a wealthy Japanese entrepreneur who made his money from pearl hunting. She was…well, she was a lot like you. Sweet, selfless…she had little to do with her father's business, but he occasionally took her on business trips in search of suitors. However, none he found were suitable enough for her. Himeko was special. She was an angelic sorceress…a type of sorceress that was believed to be related to the angels themselves"
Eriol adjusted his glasses, his arms crossing in contemplation.
"I've heard of these sorceresses. They have special healing abilities and are able to call on some very strong light magic"
His azure eyes glanced over to Sakura.
"It's very possible your mother might have been one as well. And Tomoyo, since you share the same bloodline, you may have dormant abilities of your own"
Sakura and Tomoyo's eyes widened, and Touya's face was very serious. He always knew there was something special about his mother's blood, but hearing it now was surreal. The others listened in silence, waiting for the rest of the story. XiaoLian's eyes closed as she brought herself back to the past.
"Many many years ago…I existed as a human girl, a priestess in the village I lived in. My job was to purify the homes and ward off the evil spirits. And my brothers, XianLiang and Shun, were the ones who protected me from evil spirits while my powers were at work. I had my spiritual abilities, and my brothers had their own special powers…"
Everyone's expressions held curiosity.
"…XianLiang and Shun could transform into wolves, one pure white and the other pitch black. Naturally, my brother Shun got the nickname 'Shadow' because of the dark fur of his wolf form and his normal cold demeanor. They were believed to be the embodiment of Yin and Yang, and their powers were meant to balance each other out. However, when the moon was either full or clouded in darkness, their strength would shift. At every new moon, Shadow would challenge XianLiang to a match of strength, and he would win. Every full moon, XianLiang would win. It was a never ending cycle, but we were happy. Or at least…I thought Shadow was, but I had never seen him truly happy until Himeko came to our village…"
XiaoLian could see those days clearly in her head, and her story continued.
"Why do we have to meet a stupid girl?" Shadow asked, a scowl on his face.
XianLiang frowned at his brother's words as he walked down the hallway with him. XiaoLian was also not pleased to hear this.
"Hey! I'm a girl too!"
"But you're not a normal girl…you're practically a guy anyways"
XiaoLian pouted before looking to the other brother as he spoke. His hair was shoulder length, a pure white color, and his eyes were like magnificent jade orbs.
"Because Father asked us to. Eventually, we're going to have to marry, Shadow"
A growl left his lips, his shaggy black hair covering his crimson eyes.
"I'll marry when I want to…"
XiaoLiang patted his brother's back comfortingly.
"You may find that you like this girl…who knows?"
The black haired boy snapped back.
"I highly doubt it...the girl would have to be pretty-"
His sentence was interrupted when they arrived in the meeting room, and his eyes caught sight of the girl they were meant to meet. Her skin was pale white, like a porcelain doll, and her hair was raven black and reached down to the bottom of her back. Two thick strands of hair were pulled to the front, held together by a fine golden ribbon, laced with pearls undoubtedly given to her by her father, and tied at the bottom were little golden bells. Her eyes were…well, they were stunning; like emeralds cut and held up to the sun. She wore a pale pink kimono with cherry blossom designs and a red obi belt, and she gave a smile that would melt anyone's heart.
"…Pretty…"
Those were the only words that could come out of Shadow's mouth. XiaoLian giggled at her brother's actions, but they weren't unreasonable. The girl was a beauty. Her father approached them
"Good afternoon Li XiaoLiang and Li Shun. I am Amamiya Takeru, and this is my daughter"
The girl bowed her head in respect.
"My name is Amamiya Himeko"
"Wait a minute!"
Touya interrupted the story.
"Amamiya?! That was our mother and Daidouji-san's maiden name! Are you telling me that this girl from the past is related to us?"
XiaoLian was a bit surprised to hear this, but nodded. Sakura's eyes were wide with shock, and Tomoyo simply looked the ground, trying to take it all in.
"And you said the brothers were Li's…so they are related to Syaoran?"
She nodded again.
"Perhaps it is destiny that you met again…"
Yelan frowned, her face very serious.
"I have heard nothing of this…"
XiaoLian looked to the medallion given to Syaoran on his birthday, which had been long forgotten lately and carried the symbol of yin yang.
"It is a story not commonly told in the Li clan…because of the tragedy that came from it. Kyo, your husband, knew very well, but he was killed before he could say anything…Naraku had mistakenly thought he carried the spirits of my brothers, but when he realized that it was Syaoran, he was unable to touch him due to Kyo's protection spell. However, eventually that wore off"
Eriol nodded, but he still had many questions.
"Why are they inside of Syaoran? Were they taken from the cycle of reincarnation? On what grounds?"
"You could say that…they were believed to have done a terrible deed and were cursed to never reincarnate, only to live through the body of another"
Sakura frowned, the vision she had seen coming back to her mind.
"That girl…Himeko…the vision I saw, she was floating in a pool of water, surrounded by blood…did Shadow do that?"
XiaoLian shook her head rapidly.
"No! He wouldn't!...He couldn't have…but her blood was all over him…"
The atmosphere in the room was grim until a soft groan came from the sleeping boy on the bed. Sakura's attention immediately went to him, a look of relief on her face.
"Syaoran! Are you okay?! How are you feeling?"
Syaoran's amber eyes opened, and he seemed to be himself, at least for the moment.
"I feel like Keroberos sat on my head…"
A few of the girls giggled, while Kero twitched in annoyance.
"I carried you here, brat! Show some respect!"
Syaoran tried to sit up, but he was too weak. He felt different…it was almost like he could hear the breathing of others within him, and his eyes closed again as he tried to focus on what was going on inside his body.
"Sakura…I can feel them…they're…fighting…"
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he cried out in pain, his hand clutching at his chest. The boy thrashed on the bed. Sakura held his other hand, but winced slightly at how tightly he was gripping onto her. He was in so much pain…and she couldn't bear to watch.
"SLEEP!"
A pink card floated from her pocket, releasing its power and lulling Syaoran back to sleep, and his body soon relaxed back into the bed. XiaoLian's expression was deeply serious once again.
"My brothers are fighting each other…and Syaoran's body is the battleground…"
Her eyes glanced to the window, looking outside at the dark sky.
"And to make matters worse…it's a new moon…"
Lilover131: Hope you liked this chapter! I plan on not waiting over a year to write another chapter! Lol. There is not much left of the story, and I promised I would finish it, so here it goes! Cheer me on!