Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny ❯ Secrets Revealed ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: The fic is the only thing that's mine; characters aren't, unfortunately. All rights to these amazing ANIMEs belong to Clamp, Kodansha, Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, yadda yadda yadda, so don't waste your time trying to sue me! Your 'corporate boogeyman' won't be getting anything valuable from me anyway, except for a bunch of lousy grades, some leftover cookie crumbs, a Pentel point 5 ball pen, and some crumpled research papers.

Author's Notes: You love me, you really love me! * cries *
I nearly fainted when I logged in this morning. 20 reviews! And this story isn't even a week old yet! You guys are GREAT readers!!!
Oh, and one more thing. I've noticed that Syaoran is a little OOC in this chapter when it comes to defending his mother. In the first movie, he does seem to be a little scared of her. I completely disregarded that idea here in my fic, ok? Syaoran and Ieran have a NORMAL mother-son relationship in this fic as far as I'm concerned. :)

DESTINY by rei-chan

Chapter Four: Secrets Revealed

Syaoran glumly kicked at a pile of leaves in front of him as he rested his chin on his hand, parts of his mother's story still resounding in his head as he moped. He still couldn't believe the sudden turn of events that had happened ever since those two gun-bearing psychos arrived. Was the guy in the tanktop really his brother? He couldn't believe it. Yeah, so maybe they do look alike. 'Ok, we look A LOT alike,' the boy grudgingly admitted to himself as he pulled both his legs towards his chest. 'But instances like that happen, right? I mean, two completely unrelated individuals having the same physical traits? There's got to be a genetical theorem on that somewhere.'

He spent a few moments in silence as he tried to recall the basic lessons that he had had on Genetics to see if there was a scientific proof to his conclusion. Finding none, he racked his brains for a good excuse to convince himself that the two boys were frauds. His eyes brightened as a reason dawned on him. 'Besides, if he really was my brother, mother would have told me about him YEARS ago.'

'Don't you think it's possible that your mother had purposely hidden that information from you?' A niggling voice at the back of his mind suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

The brown-haired boy scrunched up his eyebrows and shook his head frantically. 'No way!' he countered to himself firmly. 'She has no reason to hide anything from me.'

The little voice gleefully responded to his counter-reply. 'If that's the case, then why didn't she mention anything to you about HIM for the last, what, eleven years?'

The boy struggled to find an excuse for his mother's defense. 'This is all a stupid mistake, that's all! The Elders just messed up, probably for the first time in their old, feeble lives!'

'Oh, yeah? You honestly think that the Elders would waste that much power just to make a fool out of you? Really, Syaoran, listen to yourself.'

'Mother WOULD have told me if I had a brother!' He growled with complete conviction as he fought against the voice in his head. 'I'm the future heir to the leadership of our family! She would have told me about him if HE would be the heir to all of this!'

'But she DIDN'T...' The voice mocked him.

'Shut up!'

'If she had managed to hide all of this from you for such a long time, who knows what else she's got under her sleeve?' The voice went on. 'Maybe she's been hiding something about the Card Mistress all along...'

"Leave Sakura out of this!"

"Leave Kinomoto-san out of what, Syaoran?" A female voice suddenly asked curiously from behind him.

The Li heir spun around in his seat to find his cousin Meilin staring at him in amusement. "No-nothing." He sputtered, his face turning an amazing shade of red as he imagined the kind of thoughts going on around Li Meilin's head. 'This is all your stupid, stupid fault.' he snarled internally at the voice, who had retreated to the back of his mind as soon as his loud cousin had spoken.

He could have sworn he heard it laughing snidely at him.

His cousin stared at him strangely for some moments, before shrugging and plopping down on the grass beside him. "Auntie has been looking all over for you," she began breezily, stretching her arms over her head as she calmly surveyed the sprawling garden in front of them.

"Really." His voice was carefully neutral as he picked up a huge dry leaf from the ground and began shredding it into little pieces.

Meilin fixed him with a concerned look. "Something bothering you?" she asked softly, gently placing a hand on his arm.

Syaoran stiffly shook his head no.

"C'mon, you can tell me." His cousin told him encouragingly. When the boy didn't asnwer, she thought for a little while then asked, "Is this about those two guys who came in earlier?"

Syaoran stared back at her in disbelief. Shaking his head, he managed a soft laugh before mumbling. "I really can't get anything pass you, can I?" he said in amusement. While his cousin and ex-fiancee nodded her head enthusiastically, the two buns on her hair almost bouncing, the amber-eyed boy sighed. "Yeah." he finally admitted. One of his hands reached down and began uprooting grass stems absently off the ground.

"What about them?" His long-haired cousin wanted to know.

The corner of Syaoran's mouth pulled back into a sad smile as he realized that his poor cousin had absolutely no idea that their clan's destiny has suddenly been changed forever at the arrival of the two trigger-happy idiots. "Mother told me something about one of them." he began after a moment's pause.

Meilin made a small gesture with her hand for him to continue.

"According to mother, one of them--particularly the expressionless one in the green tanktop--is--" he paused as he found himself having a tough time trying to make his throat work. "my br--my bro--ther." he finished lamely, his slender shoulders sagging as he lowered his head.

'You can't deny the truth, Li Syaoran.' The voice was back. 'HE had the power of Thunder, and it was written in the Book of Fates itself that the power of Thunder will appear in time.'

'No.'

'You FELT his distinct aura yourself, silly boy! His green aura, so like yours...and your father's...'

'He's not...'

'He is.' The voice suddenly dropped to a soft whisper, sounding suspiciously like Li Pai Kwa, the oldest and wisest of the Li clan Elders.

Syaoran was too busy with his internal debate that it took him a few seconds to realize that Meilin had not reacted at all to his news.

"Don't you think the whole idea sounds too incredible to be true, Meilin?" He couldn't help but ask his cousin in disbelief as he took in Meilin's calm, open face. "I mean, there were times I had wished I had an older brother to handle all the pressure concerning the clan and all, but I never expected that wish to come true." He laughed nervously. His cousin's non-reaction brought a sudden coil of unease in his stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with his magic.

The dark-haired girl merely blinked at him in response.

Realization struck Li Syaoran. "Oh, God!" he moaned, grabbing his head in his hands as he stared in complete disbelief at his cousin. "You knew!"

Meilin shrugged as she brushed lint off her yellow blouse. "All along, Syaoran." She paled as she found herself on the receiving end of her cousin's voltage-charged glare. "The Elders warned the clan not to tell you! They didn't want you to know 'til Raiu-san arrives..."

"WHY?!"

Meilin bit her lip. "Because they were not sure if Raiu-san WILL arrive." She finally replied, absently fiddling with her left sleeve as she carefully avoided Syaoran's furious eyes. "The Elders were afraid that Raiu-san would be killed in the future, that's why they agreed not to let you know that you had a brother. Would you have worked hard in your training if you knew that you had an older brother who would lead the clan in the future? They wanted to be sure that you would be capable of leading the clan IN CASE Raiu-san dies." Tentatively, she placed a reassuring hand on her cousin's shoulder. "It was for your own, as well as the whole clan's good, Syaoran. Don't take it personally."

Her cousin just shrugged.

~ 0 ~

"This will be your prepared chamber during your stay. If any of you are in need of assistance, just ring the bell found on top of the bedside tables and a servant will attend to your needs." Mai Lei, the servant who had been given the task of attending to the two pilots, said. Bowing low in respect, particularly to Heero, she quietly left and closed the door.

Duo was eyeing the room with appreciation. High ceilings, their very own den complete with cable television and stereo system, a plush bathroom on the far left, and two doors leading to each boy's respective sleeping quarters to the right. "Man, Yuy!" he exclaimed, unable to keep the awe in his voice as he surveyed the tray filled with various fruits in season sitting on the coffee table. "What service!" The Deathscythe pilot was on the verge of plucking a grape out of the bunch when his probing fingers suddenly stilled. "Wait a minute--" he told himself softly as his amethyst eyes once again circled their room. Food carefully laid out, fresh sheets on the beds, and two towels hanging neatly on the bathroom rack. He jerked his head suddenly to turn to his partner, who had been standing motionlessly by the door the whole time. "Heero, everthing has been set and prepared. It's as if--"

"They've been expecting us." Heero flatly cut him off. With machine-like precision, the Perfect Soldier strode towards the sofa and stiffly sat down. "I've noticed."

Eyebrows furrowed together in concentration, Duo slowly made his way towards the couch and plopped down next to his comrade, a frown marring his usually cheerful facade. None of them spoke for a couple of minutes as each entertained their own thoughts. Finally, Duo cleared his throat. "What do you think we should do then?" he directly asked his partner as one of his slender hands toyed absently with his braid.

Heero shrugged at him in response.

Duo, expecting the dark-haired boy's non-answer, went on talking. "I mean, so far they've been very accommodating. And hospitable, I might add."

"Hai. I've been having the same thought."

The Deathscythe pilot cocked his head at his partner as a thoughtful look crossed his elfin face. "What do you suggest we do, then?" Laughing slightly, he gestured at the grandeur that surrounded them as Heero turned blank blue eyes at him. "I mean, this is kinda like a vacation in a grand hotel, Yuy. If it only weren't for that magical crap..." he trailed off.

The Wing pilot gave him a determined glare. "We should stay." he told his comrade firmly. "I would like to observe if what they have been saying is true."

His violet-eyed companion turned shocked eyes at his statement. "Don't tell me you actually believed in all that magical bull, Heero!" he breathed out in amazement, eyes wide.

Heero once again shrugged carelessly at him, before standing up and heading to his sleeping quarters, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Leaving the American to gobble up the food laid on the table, Heero immediately crumpled to a heap beside his bed, his own eyes blank. His knees had been shaking the entire walk to their room, and only his intense training enabled him to stand properly and walk. He had his reasons why he agreed to stay in the Li mansion for the meantime. Personal ones, at that. It might have anything or nothing at all to do with that magic the woman was talking about, but whatever it might be, Heero was convinced that they had to stay. After all, they haven't really got a choice, since Heero himself had confirmed the fact that he and Duo had indeed travelled through time.

Also, the Perfect Soldier wanted to find out whether Ieran had been telling the truth regarding his family.

~ 0 ~

For probably the first time in Li Ieran's life, dinner that night was silent. Syaoran was obviously in a foul mood, judging from the way her son systematically mashed his peas with a spoon as he glared across the table where Heero sat, eating quietly. Even Feimei and the rest of the girls were silent, only throwing unreadable glances at each other every time their younger brother manages to completely mash a pea. Duo was sneaking wary glances at Ieran.

Finally, the braided boy hesitantly spoke up. "Ano, Ieran-san?" he asked the elder woman softly, "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead, Maxwell-san." The woman replied graciously.

The boy licked his lips. "How did Heero and I end up here, in the past?"

Ieran frowned in contemplation. "You mean, how did you and Raiu--Heero--travelled back in time?"

"Hai." Duo smiled almost maliciously at the woman. "I mean, one minute I was cussing at Yuy'a incredible stupidity, and the next thing I remember, I was lying spread-eagled on the ground with a flower stem stuck up my snoot."

Ieran meditated on the answer for a couple of minutes as she absently toyed with her chopsticks. Syaoran's spoon clattered on his plate as one of the peas managed to escape his mashing. Finally, she sighed. "In all honesty, Maxwell-san--"

"Duo. Just call me Duo."

The woman smiled at him. "In all honesty, Duo-san," she repeated, gracefully clasping her hands in front of her as she leaned both elbows on the table. "I really am not sure. What I do know is that Clow-sama had created a special plane of time in the future that would trigger the time portal to open. As to what that special plane is, I have no idea."

Duo's brown wrinkled. "I see." he surmised, clearly not satisfied with the woman's answer.

She seemed to read his mind. "Raiu--Heero would meet the Elders in a while, anyway, Duo-san. I'm sure they will tell him." she assured the braided boy.

Duo just nodded at her before going back to his meal. Again, silence reigned over them, save only for the sounds of silverware against porcelain and soft munching.

After they have been served dessert, Ieran simply stated. "The Elders will see Li Raiu now."

TBC

==Gomen if you had to wait for this! I got hard-pressed!

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