Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Through A Looking Glass ƽ°²¾©¤Î™ÑÎïÕZ ❯ A touch of finger tips, the spark of nerves ( Chapter 6 )

Through A Looking Glass

平安京ã& #174;櫻物語 (ã¸ã„ã‚ã‚“ããR 18;‡ã†ã®ã•ãら& #227;‚‚ã®ãŒãŸã‚Š)

By: Aisaki Sumi

 

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Chapter Six

A touch of finger tips, the spark of nerves

 

Over endless plains, stumbling in cracked earth     Â&nbs p;      & #194; Â Â Â Â Â  4; Â Â Â Â Â Â& nbsp;
Ringed by the flat horizon only

 

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Heian Jidai (Heian Period), 1179, Autumn, Heian-Kyo

 

Syaoran's eyes were widened slightly in surprise as his vision aligned with those pairs of enthralling orbs of lucid emeralds. It was none other than the boy from the inn who left an everlasting impression on him with his sharp and provocative speech.

 

His smile, no longer as disdainful and cold as before, stirred something deep within Syaoran's heart. His eyes traced the perfect rondure of the boy's smile.

 

“Maa ne. (I guess)” He agreed, staring straight into Sakura's eyes. Suddenly, he broke off their eye contact and stepped aside to let the soldiers behind him enter the room. Five soldiers came in while twenty more surrounded the tavern, guarding it and making sure nothing could come in or out of the place.

 

“We're on a search for a dangerous escapee who plotted to assassinate the Emeperor.” Syaoran explained with his hands folded neatly together on his back. Sakura tilted her head to his way. There weren't any signs of lying on his face. It remained sincere, solemn and just.

 

“I hope you won't mind us looking around a bit.”

 

Sakura scoffed coldly deep down side. If she didn't know the truth before hand, she might have believed his fabricated “truth” as well. But then again, she was just as good of a liar and pretender as he was. Pretending to be noble wasn't her thing, instead of seeing lying as immoral she saw it as a way of survival.

 

“Oh really?” She cocked her head to the right and asked him in surprise. “What is he like? Do you have any portraits of him? Maybe I've seen him somewhere today since I've been doing a lot of wondering around in Heian-kyo.”

 

Offering her help as if she as just a kind childe from a wealthy family, she could ease up his suspicion of her—if he ever suspected her. Smiling flawlessly as she saw him raising an eyebrow and looking contemplatively at her.

 

Letting out a light-hearted and cheerful laugh that sounded like the dangling sound of wind bells, the ringing resonated in the room. A few of the soldiers who were flipping through the stuff in the closet and other places in the room stopped on track and whipped their heads around to look at her.

 

How can a man laugh at that…was the only thing occupying Syaoran's mind during that fleeting moment when he watched her laugh.

 

“I wonder around a lot to search for new sources of inspiration.” She clarified and added, “'cause I'm a poet”, with eyes set up the darkening sky outside of the half opened window. There was a pleasant tranquility around her which added onto the mysteriousness of her aura.

 

A small part of Syaoran told him that this boy wasn't whom he claimed to be, but Syaoran didn't find any evidence that would suggest otherwise. Shrugging off the strange feeling tugging in his heart, Syaoran pulled out a stroll from the pocket of his sleeve and flipped it open in front of Sakura.

 

“Here's a portrait of him,” he held out for Sakura to take a closer look at it and focused his eyes on her face to discern any subtle changes in her facial expression.

 

Sakura looked down. The portrait confirmed Eriol's identity as Minamoto Yoshitsune. She could feel Syaoran's penetrating eyes on her and she knew she couldn't show any signs of familiarity with the person in the portrait.

 

Nodding lightly in comprehension, she looked thoughtful for a moment and shook her head at Syaoran apologetically. “Sorry, can't help you on this one. I don't recall seeing anyone who looks like him today.”

 

The boy's expression was still as sincere and as calm as ever, Syaoran realized and gestured Sakura it was alright. “But we still have to search your place a bit to clear you off, I hope you don't mind.”

 

“Of course, Heian-kyo's safety comes first.” Sakura replied back understandingly and Syaoran nodded in return. There was an interlude of silence between them and the only sound detectable by their ears at the time was the rattling sound of the furniture in the room.

 

Sakura quickly surveyed the soldiers in the room and saw them scattered out throughout the entire place. But when she saw one of them searching the area only one meter away from the bed, her heart almost skipped a beat.

 

Eriol was still hiding under the bed.

 

There was no time to come with another strategy, she would just have to take a risk and gamble with their lives. Calming inner self down a bit, she enlarged her gentle, harmless smile and inquired casually, showing neither signs of panic despite the chaotic state of her mind at the moment. “How long have you guys been searching for this guy?”

 

Syaoran paused, recalled the approximate time they left the Taira household and did a quick calculation in his mind before responding. “For about a few hours already.”

 

“Ah, must be tiring eh? Running around the entire Heian-kyo from house to house and from store to store just to look for one guy…” She trailed off, eyes glistening like frozen pond of emerald under the lights.

 

“Hn.” Syaoran usually didn't like these kinds of small chats. But around the younger boy, everything just seemed so natural and the events flowed together so smoothly.

 

“Come and have a seat, you must be exhausted.” Like the perfect hostess, she took his roughened and callused hands into hers and led him to the seat beside the bed. It was a crucial part of her plan. If he agreed to sit there, the soldiers would not search the area hear the bed because their general was sitting there.

 

It was a huge risk, she knew it. But there was no time left to waste. And so she took a chance with no hesitation at this point. Any signs of unnatural or unusual behavior would rise his suspicion in her.

 

Besides, the most dangerous place was often the safest place. And she was willing to bet her money on his blind spot. If he spotted anything unusual there, she would be doomed. But if he didn't, both she and Eriol would be saved. Under time limit and pressure, this was the only choice she had.

 

When their finger tips touched, Syaoran felt something warm and soft and smooth. He lowered his gaze and saw a pair of beautiful hands. Soft and creamy white skin - those were a woman's hands he recognized. A bundle of unknown feelings surged from his heart and everything became manifest now.

 

No wonder the boy seemed so feminine and had a delicate frame. “He” was a teenage girl disguised as a man. While Syaoran was lost in thoughts, Sakura already led him to the chair right beside the bed, where she had sat before when she found out about Eriol's identity.

 

Sakura saw him pausing on the spot and staring at her peculiarly, her blood instantly ran cold. Could it be that he saw something suspicious? Struggling to maintain her smile, she waved a hand in front of his face and gestured him to sit down.

 

The action snapped Syaoran back into reality and he took a seat. He saw the hints apprehension glinting in her eyes when he stared at her and realized she probably worried about him seeing through her disguise.

 

So what if she was a woman? She probably had her reason for cross-dressing as a boy. He fully comprehended the pressure placed on women in this era. They weren't allowed to have any freedom. Dressing up as a man was their only way of gaining that freedom.

 

This reminded him of the time when Tomoyo and he sneaked out of the house to watch the festival outside. Tomoyo had never seen it before because a lady like herself wasn't permitted to leave the household. So he suggested she could cross dress as a boy.

 

They were still kids at that time, young, carefree and content, living the moment while it lasted. Pushing aside the memories, he returned his attention to her.

 

He didn't see the need to disclose her real identity in front of all these people. Besides, she didn't do anything wrong. Why not let her enjoy this freedom while she still could?

 

Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief when she saw him settling down on the chair. Taking a seat next to him on the bed herself, she sat in a position so that her long kimono sleeve draped over the bed and to the floor to cover up Eriol's hiding place.

 

“I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation with your younger brother today.” She suddenly brought up the little meeting they had in the inn.

 

“It's quite alright. You did have a good point there though.” Syaoran assured her as he recalled how sharp and glib the “boy” was. Besides, “he” did have a rather good point.

 

Casting a seemingly nonchalant look at her way, everything started to link together now as to why “he” reacted so strongly to his comment of “all beautiful women bring disasters”.

 

After all, the “boy” “himself” was a woman, a very beautiful and witty one.

 

His answer caught Sakura off guard. She was expecting more of a “humph” from him. After all, she did insult men in general and from the men she knew in her life, it should've been a big blow to their pride and ego.

 

Syaoran saw the stunned look in her eyes and the disbeliefs written all over her face, and felt the corner of his mouth lifting just slightly.

 

Just then, the soldiers lined up in the center of the room and one of them stepped forward and reported their findings. “General, we've searched the entire place and didn't find the assassin.”

 

“Alright, on to the next room.” Syaoran stood up straight and sent out his new order, his voice emotionless, stern and powerful.

 

But before leaving, he hesitated for a moment on whether or not he should bid the “boy” a goodbye. Before he could reach a decision, he heard a melodic “take care”, and when he looked over his shoulder, he saw “him” smiling, like the sun.

 

Like spring.

 

Even as he walked off into the night, the “boy's” smile still remained fresh at the back of his head.

 

Perhaps permanently.

 

After watching Syaoran and the soldiers disappearing out of the fringes of her sight, Sakura let out a small sigh of relief as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulder. Swerving around to where the bed was, she notified Eriol who was still hiding under the bed.

 

“You can come out now.”

 

Slowly, Eriol crawled out from his hiding place with one of his hands covering his wound. Blood was trickling out from where his hand was and seeped through the gaps between his fingers, dying his pale hand scarlet red.

 

“The waiter-boy will be back in a few moments and bring you the stuff to clean up your wound with.” Sakura narrated mildly. “I've kept my part of the bargain, now you need to keep yours.”

 

Eriol fell silent for a moment and forced out a bare whisper, but it wasn't the answer Sakura wanted. “I can't give it to you.”

 

The unwavering smile plastered on Sakura's face a moment ago cracked. Immediately, the air between them became thicker than before and the temperature of the room dropped by at least a few degrees.

 

“Not right now.”

 

Narrowing her eyes with her friendly smile frozen in place, Sakura demanded. Even though her tone of voice was still as smooth and as soft before, Eriol knew she wasn't happy with his answer. He could hear the underlying danger vibrating in the air.

 

“And why is that?”

 

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a.n.: I might do one more update, and that'll be it XD. Sorry guys, winter break is nearing its end and I gotta get ready for school again lolz XD. Sadly I know, but that's life ne? btw, Eriol will keep his end of the bargain, sho no needa worry my lovely readers! He aint a bad guy! XD

 

Review and let me know what you think of this story!

 

The new addition of the story's title in Japanese is explained in the first chappie. Just look down and you'll see my explanation in the a.n. part of the story.

 

PS: changed da summary XD hope it sounds a bit betta now XD lolz.

 

To Curious: yes they weren't allowed to leave the household to shop or anything. BUT they were allowed to leave the household to go to the temples to pray occasionally. I guess I should have explained it but I kind of assumed that people knew it. Cuz even in the western culture, women were still allowed to leave the house and go to the church to pray; same thing with the Japanese people back in those days.

 

Second Storey Stairwell: that's why I kept on telling everyone to read the dates and the year to keep on track what is happening but also at the same time they can make sense out of it. It is currently 1179, autumn, before the start of the all the problems and the Genpai war. Yoritomo meets up with Yoshitsune in 1180 (according to history and I'm intending on following that), which starts the entire Genpai war because the first battle is the battle of Uji, which happened in 1180, on June 23 (it's also called the First Uji).