Chapter 50: A
Winter¡¯s Conundrum
***
The Prophesy of the Riddle:
On the night the lone wolf calls,
And the angel¡¯s feather falls,
Through icy cliffs, the raging gale
Echoes the forlorn mother¡¯s wail.
Vengeance sought and powers lent,
Children found and contracts bent;
Wind blows and the cherry blossom branches shake,
Woods divide and the eye of the dragon will wake.
Desperate times summon forces combined;
Moon rises, circle rejoined, blood intertwined,
Moon wanes, eye cracks, world goes round;
Two conceived lost forever would once more be found.
Shadowing the golden stars way up high,
Thunderclouds loom ominous in the distant sky,
But the lone star will shine again
As the years brush by with the rain.
To capture me, the wisest one,
Is a daunting feat, if can be at all done.
Foolish one, to dare challenge me,
Prove your wit to find me,
And I shall humble you gladly.
***
Part
I: The night before¡¦
Lying
awake on her bed, Tanaka Miho once more recalled the challenge of the Riddle, set
out to her weeks ago. Rolling over on the slippery satin bed sheets, she
reached over for her notebook lying on her nightstand and switched on the lamp
carved out of green crystal, imported from
She tapped her pen tip on
the leather cover of her notebook. On the night the lone wolf calls, and the
angel¡¯s feathers fall¡¦ She had almost completed her challenge riddle; now
she just had to locate the dark force, which chose to appear and disappear at
its own will. But where? An icy cliff¡¦ It must be somewhere high, on
some mountains, she concluded.
¡°Miho, are you still
awake?¡± Eriol asked, walking into her room with an extra blanket. ¡°We have to
wake up early tomorrow for the school winter field trip. You should try to
sleep.¡±
Letting Eriol pull the two
layers of blanket over her, Miho murmured in revelation, ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re
going on a ski trip. Icy cliff¡¦ The Riddle must have meant the
mountains—it¡¯s going to appear when we go on the ski trip. That must be it!¡±
Patting her head, Eriol
said kindly, yet rather apathetically, ¡°Trying to capture the Riddle is fine,
but don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself.¡±
¡°No, I¡¯m going to beat if
for once and for all. So just wait and see, Riddle!¡± Miho declared, slamming
her notebook shut triumphantly. ¡°Besides, there¡¯s a question I want to ask it,
once I defeat it.¡±
Smiling to himself, Eriol
tucked her in and turned off the night lamp. ¡°Good night,
Miho,¡± he said, slowly walking out and gently shutting the door, remembering to
leave a crack open as usual.
¡°G¡¯night
¡®Riol,¡± muttered Miho.
As
Eriol walked down the hall to return to his room, Kero-chan commented snidely,
wiping off a crumb of chocolate cake from his cheek, ¡°Mama-Eriol¡¦ how becoming.
To see what¡¯s become of the Greatest Magician of the East and West— what would
your former rivals say?¡±
¡°You
can help yourself to any of the food in the refrigerator; it¡¯ll last for about
a week—just remember not to give Spinel Sun any sweets. Also, I would
appreciate it if you don¡¯t enter my study. On a final note, please don¡¯t mind
Ruby Moon; she¡¯s been extra hyper lately, but means no harm,¡± Eriol replied,
deliberately ignoring Cerberus¡¯ snide remarks.
From
downstairs, they could hear Nakuru singing, ¡°Tou-ya~ delicious boy~ Why do you
always shun me? Eriol never plays with me, and I am oh so alone~ I want to go
ski too~¡±
Arms
crossed, Kero-chan grumbled, ¡°I can¡¯t believe Sakura-chan is leaving me behind,
going on some fieldtrip. Well, I guess it¡¯s better to stay here—it¡¯s dangerous
to be alone in her house, with her brother around.¡± He shuddered, feeling the
pull of the moon more profoundly than ever, a nastily conflicting power against
his.
Outside,
the wind howled fiercely. If one listened intently, it almost sounded like a
weeping woman.
¡°Eron? What have you done?¡±
¡°What have I done? Nothing much.¡±
¡°You idiot! You think just rashly releasing
those forces would appease the Dark Ones?¡±
¡°It would do for the moment, Erika. It will
protect our lifestyle a little longer.¡±
¡°What¡¯s there to protect?¡±
¡°Everything.¡±
¡°What
is it, Eriol?¡± Kero-chan interrupted, watching the glassed dark-haired boy.
Like Clow Reed did when deep in meditation, Eriol had a glazed over expression,
eyes downcast.
Looking
up, realizing that Kero-chan was peering at him suspiciously Eriol explained,
¡°The Emotions have finally been released.¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
Kero-chan looked around.
¡°Never
mind.¡± Slowly, Eriol walked into his bedroom, glasses flashing in the dark. It
might not necessarily be a bad thing.
***
Unable
to fall asleep, Li Syaoran lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Those
steely ice blue eyes that haunted his dreams. Who did they belong to? Why did
he have a bad premonition about the upcoming winter fieldtrip? Sighing, he sat
up. Wolfie-chan whimpered, rolling off his stomach.
¡°Well,
who told you to sleep on my stomach?¡± Syaoran ruffled the puppy¡¯s fluffy
golden-tan fur. Though the dog resembled a Siberian husky, it acted more like a
mutt. ¡°Sorry¡¦ I¡¯ll be away for five days. You¡¯ll be okay by yourself, right? You
can keep Perro-chan company.¡±
¡°Grr¡¦¡±
The puppy turned his head away and hopped off the bed, trotting off to a corner
to sulk. Wolfie-chan didn¡¯t want to be left behind.
¡°I¡¯m
sorry. It can¡¯t be helped,¡± Syaoran said remorsefully. When had he grown so attached
to that dog, a mere dark force? He stared at the wall; he wondered if Kai would
be going to the ski trip also. Probably not. Sometimes, it was hard to digest
that Mizuki Kai was only about an older than himself. When he saw Kai, Syaoran
got the sense that despite his carefree, joking façade, the former Kaitou
Magician was a true adult, someone who made and acted upon decisions that were
not routed in his personal desires or whims, but on what had to be done. Here
was a person who could outwit the Li Clan and steal the Five Force Sword right
under the noses of the Li Elders and all their highly-trained security guards.
At
that moment, he heard a shattering crash from next doors. Syaoran bolted. What
was Kai up to now? On first instinct, he tried to ignore the sound and go back
to bed. Who cared what that thief was up to? It was not the first time he heard
disturbing noises through the walls. Syaoran sat up. Then again, what if
something was wrong? What an annoying
habit he had picked up from Sakura.
¡°Probably
is nothing,¡± he grumbled to himself, as he made his way out in his slippers and
knocked on his neighbor¡¯s door. There was no answer. He tried the doorknob; the
door was unlocked as usual. Wondering why he had to bother, Syaoran entered the
house. ¡°Kai? Mizuki Kai?¡± The rooms were unlit. He made his way into the
kitchen. Glass shards gleamed in the dark, on the floor. A puddle of water was
near his feet.
¡°What
are you¡¦ doing here?¡± a voice asked in gasps.
Finally,
Syaoran noticed Kai, hunched over on the floor, leaning against the sink. ¡°What
are you doing there, on the floor?¡±
¡°Go
away,¡± Kai said, clutching his chest. Who said they weren¡¯t cousins? A nosy bunch the Li¡¯s were.
Noticing
that Kai was in pain, Syaoran demanded impatiently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Are
you hurt or something?¡±
¡°I
said, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Kai snapped, wobbling to stand up. A shot of pain
shuddered through his body, and he buckled over.
¡°I
thought so,¡± Syaoran murmured, eyes hardening. ¡°I suspected, but thought you
wouldn¡¯t be that stupid. I knew it was strange when you showed up in
¡°Eh?¡±
Forehead glistening with sweat, Kai looked up trying to laugh, but laugh coming
out in broken gasps.
¡°Tell
me, am I not right? Sakura and I went through the lengths of trouble to recover
your locket, so that you could get that bullet removed from your chest
meanwhile—but you didn¡¯t actually have the surgery, did you?¡± Syaoran said
lowly.
¡°Did
Meilin tell you?¡± Kai asked, taken back. The Little Wolf was sharper than
expected.
¡°I
see. She knows already.¡± Syaoran stared at Kai grimly. ¡°Do you have a death
wish or something? Or are you just a plain idiot? Did you expect sympathy? How do
you think you¡¯re going to protect Miho in that state?¡± He wasn¡¯t worried at
all, merely annoyed at how dumb Kai could be at times. After all that hassle
Sakura and he went through that summer!
¡°Idiot,¡±
Kai muttered, reaching for a fresh glass of water. ¡°She has many others that
can protect her, besides me.¡± He had clumsily dropped the other one in another
pang of pain in his chest, bringing over his pesky neighbor. ¡°Hand me the pills
over there on the counter, will you, if you¡¯re done berating me.¡±
Sighing,
Syaoran found a white container full of pills. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± he asked
suspiciously.
¡°What
do you think?¡± Kai asked, filling the glass with tap water. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing hazardous. They¡¯re just
antibiotics.¡±
¡°Heh,
that solves the mystery of the disappearing medicine in the hospital,¡± Syaoran
commented, sliding over the pills, down the counter. ¡°Sakura¡¯s brother would
throw a fit if he knew.¡± He couldn¡¯t help chuckling inwards—Yamazaki would be
devastated to find that it wasn¡¯t the vengeful spirit of a dead patient playing
tricks on the doctors. ¡°
Swallowing
the pills and gulping down the entire glass of water, Kai took a deep breath.
The pain had lessened. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone else about this, okay? Especially not
Sakura.¡±
¡°Why?
Sakura won¡¯t get mad or anything—she¡¯d probably get really sad.¡±
¡°Exactly,¡±
Kai said, smiling lopsided. ¡°She is someone who would actually feel sorry for
me. I don¡¯t want sympathy, so you don¡¯t have to fret over me, Syao-kun.¡±
¡°Who
said I care whether you kill yourself or not?¡± Syaoran muttered, crossing his
arms. ¡°But you¡¯re not planning on leaving that bullet in there, are you?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll
get it removed, sooner or later,¡± Kai replied staidly. ¡°But I still have more
to do before I can take a vacation.¡±
¡°You
are constantly in vacation.¡± Living
next to an ex-thief was definitely a pain in the neck. Patting Kai¡¯s back,
Syaoran said more amiably than before, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m kind of relieved. Now I see
how you blackmailed Meilin into being nice to you.¡±
Kai
turned around indignantly, scowling at Syaoran. ¡°Ouch.¡± He crumpled down on the
floor and sighed, burying his head into his knees. How pathetic was this?
¡°Blackmail,
blackmail!¡± squawked Perro-chan.
¡°Shut
up, stupid parrot,¡± Kai muttered. ¡°Mei-chan wouldn¡¯t care if I die, rotting from
inside out because of this infection.¡±
¡°Not
that I care, but you should value yourself more, Mizuki Kai,¡± Syaoran said,
walking out of the kitchen. ¡°The worst kind of man is one who can¡¯t even take
care of himself.¡±
Kai
leaned back on the kitchen counter, breath easing. His neighbor¡¯s footsteps
faded away. He murmured, ¡°As if I don¡¯t that know myself.¡±
***
¡°Do
you seriously have any idea what the consequences of releasing the Emotions
just like that, without any plan or strategy, would be?¡± Erika demanded, arms
crossed. Her wet violet curls hung down from the towel wrapped around her head.
A
A
nonchalant Eron stuffed the duffel bag with thick woolen socks, cashmere
sweaters and long underwear.
¡°By
the way, I am not wearing that,¡± Erika stated, pointing to the long underwear
in distaste.
¡°You¡¯ll
freeze to death without it in the ski slopes,¡± replied Eron, carefully folding
articles of clothing into two duffel bags, one labeled ¡°Erika¡± and the other
¡°Eron.¡± It was a gamble, him releasing all of the Emotions. On one hand, it had
been too long since he had summoned a dark force, and on the other hand, he was
frightened by what remaining forces remained to be released. He couldn¡¯t stall
them for much longer, but his safest bet was releasing the Emotions—top tier
classification in the potential level of destruction that they might cause, but
in themselves, they were pretty harmless. The most dangerous part of the
Emotions was that they were unpredictable, for they couldn¡¯t be controlled once
he released them, but that was their vice also, for maybe they would avoid
causing harm. Each Emotion had its own whims and extremities, and Sakura was a
stouthearted girl—she should be able to fend them off. Eron smiled dourly;
there weren¡¯t much options left anymore. Sooner or later, he would have to use
It. But not yet. Somewhere out there, Sakura would be sound asleep, eagerly
awaiting the school field trip. Was there ever a trip that he hadn¡¯t ruined for
her? Yet, she would still look forward to the next excursion. She was that kind
of girl, who looked forward to each new day.
¡°We can¡¯t slack off, going
on some kind of school ski trip!¡± Erika exclaimed, shaking her wet towel at
Eron, when there was no further response.
¡°Have you ever gone skiing
before?¡± Eron asked, zipping up his personal ski equipment.
¡°No,¡± was the sullen reply.
¡°Neither do I care to—it¡¯s dangerous, I heard.¡±
¡°Since we have to destroy
them sooner or later, we might as well have some fun before we get serious.¡±
Eron said matter-of-fact. Having finished packing for himself and his twin, he
set the luggage in front of the doorway.
Shaking her head in
disbelief, Erika muttered, ¡°What has she done to you?¡± But sometimes, she too
felt the distance between her objective and reality. Somehow, she and Eron had
settled into this neighborhood, this school, this group of friends. Someday,
despite all her nagging and complaining now, she would be very reluctant to
give this lifestyle up.
Across
the town, safe from the harsh winter wind under the tiled blue gable roof,
Kinomoto Sakura snuggled into the thick covers of her down blanket in
anticipation of the winter field trip the following day. Though she had long
since learned that trips don¡¯t always turn out as anticipated, she was excited
to have an excuse to spend time with Syaoran, far from the hawk-like eyes of
her brother.
******
Part II: The next morning¡¦
Twelve
chartered school buses left from the Seijou Junior Field, jammed with jittery
students from the first years to the third years. Not only was it a hassle to
load all the luggage and the ski equipments, but the overworked students simply
refused to sit still despite the exasperated teachers¡¯ scolding, for five days
of liberation from school awaited them.
¡°You
guys, stop jumping up and down on the bus!¡± Akagi Aki said crossly, looking
slightly green as he leaned against the cool glass of the window. The Seijou
Junior High student body president looked more like a juvenile delinquent than
a model student with his long and straight bleached hair, and his cool, pale
eyes, yet he was considered a born leader if simply for his tenacity and
bossiness. The excited students of Seijou Junior High were on their way to
their annual winter field trip. This year, it was being hosted at the Akagi
family-owned ski resort high up in the mountains, a couple of hours away from
Tomoeda.
¡°Stop
being a poor-sport, Aki-sempai! I know, you¡¯re car sick!¡± Miho exclaimed
gleefully,
swerving
around and sticking her tongue out at Aki over the top of her seat.
Yamazaki
Takashi, who was seated beside Akagi Aki, inched away towards far edge of his
seat. ¡°Speaking of vomit, it is said that an ogre lies in the bottom of each
person¡¯s stomach, controlling their hunger, and when they are displeased, they
wage a war in the stomach, expelling everything out¡¦¡±
¡°That¡¯s
disgusting! Do leave us in peace for once, Takashi-kun!¡± Chiharu snapped,
popping her head up from her seat next to Miho¡¯s. ¡°We can never go on a trip
without hearing your nonsense.¡±
¡°Ahem.
Sit straight and put on your seat belts,¡± Aki reminded. He glared at Takashi,
who was too smiley for his own good.
¡°Oh,
stop bossing us around.¡± Miho wrinkled her nose in contempt.
¡°I¡¯m
the bus monitor,¡± Aki stated haughtily. ¡°And you should have been on the bus
with your grade, not with the third years.¡±
¡°Well
too bad,¡± Miho replied pertly.
¡°Have
respect for your upperclassmen, Tanaka Miho,¡± Aki said warningly. At that
moment, the bus jolted and Aki gulped.
Most
of the other students were in a better mood. ¡°It¡¯s the first field trip we had
in ages!¡± Sakura exclaimed, eyes sparkling and lost in her own world. ¡°I
haven¡¯t been skiing since elementary school!¡± Sakura and Tomoyo were seated
across the aisle from Miho and Chiharu, near the back of the bus. Behind them
sat Syaoran and Kai, both silent and disinterested from the ruckus of the
excited students, on their way to the ski resort on the annual school winter
field trip.
¡°Sakura-chan
is so cute!¡± Tomoyo exclaimed, holding up her camcorder. ¡°You can wear the new
ski outfit I made you!¡± For a second, her eyes flitted to Eriol, seated by
himself several seats away, quietly reading a book, ignoring the noise. Back in
fifth grade, they had all gone on a ski trip also. As was in his tradition,
Eriol had created trouble for Sakura, consequently rescuing her himself. Back
then, when Tomoyo saw him carrying Sakura back from the slopes on his back, she
realized that despite his mysterious exterior, his heart held an
incomprehensible kindness.
¡°Do
you think we¡¯ll be able to meet the Abominable Snowman or the Ghost Wolf this
time?¡± Naoko asked, leaning over on the armrest in the seat in front of Sakura
and Tomoyo¡¯s. ¡°Or at least the Yuki Onna.¡±
¡°She¡¯s
joking, she¡¯s joking,¡± Rika, who was Naoko¡¯s bus-mate, reassured Sakura.
¡°I¡¯m
pretty sure the ski slopes are haunted,¡± Naoko insisted, eying Sakura turn pallid.
It was so much fun to scare her gullible friend.
¡°Students,
put on your seatbelts and sit straight,¡± Terada-sensei, one of the fieldtrip
supervisors called out from the front of the bus. ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡±
Blushing,
Rika settled back down on her seat, tugging at Naoko¡¯s jacket sleeve to do the
same.
¡°Told
you guys,¡± Aki muttered, watching the snow-covered slopes come into view with
relief.
¡°Know
it all,¡± Miho retorted. She wondered why Aki was so grouchy lately; he was
usually so polite to girls. Then her smoke-grey eyes rounded as she caught the
first glimpse of the icy mountains. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful!¡±
All
the girls clambered over to Miho¡¯s side of the bus to see the glorious view of
the sun shining on the glittering slopes. Even Terada-sensei had given up in
disciplining his extra-enthusiastic students. His third graders were a
hard-working bunch—they deserved this trip.
¡°You
don¡¯t look too excited,¡± Kai commented dryly under his breath, leaning back in
his seat, eyes still shut and headphones blasting away as usual.
¡°Neither
do you,¡± Syaoran replied, zipping his jacket up all the way up to the neck and
watching Sakura lean across the aisle in front of him, trying to catch a
glimpse of the scenery over the other girls¡¯ heads. She was always so energized
by these troublesome fieldtrips.
¡°It
was a perfect opportunity to ditch. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m wasting my precious
time on such a stupid trip with these kids,¡± Kai muttered, knocking his head on
the windowpane. ¡°Stupid Meilin.¡±
¡°This
is one trip I would gladly have skipped with you,¡± Syaoran replied, stuffing
his hands in his jacket pockets.
¡°Oh
yeah, Mei-chan told me that you are especially susceptible to cold. She also
told me that it would be worth watching to see you shudder and sniffle on the
ski slopes.¡± Kai smirked slightly. ¡°So, I thought maybe I might join this merry
little break from classes.¡±
¡°My
dear roommate-to-be, did Meilin tell you how I¡¯m extra grouchy when I¡¯m cold?¡±
Syaoran said wryly, raising any eyebrow, betraying that he was rather peeved
that Meilin contacted Kai and not him.
¡°Any
more so than usual?¡± Kai snickered.
Seated
near the front of the bus, Erika shuffled in her seat and demanded, ¡°Are we
there yet?¡±
Frowning,
Eron replied, ¡°Stop asking every five minutes. We¡¯re almost there.¡±
¡°You
should stop fretting over the fact that Sakura went to the Winter Wonderland
with Syaoran by now,¡± Erika said crassly. ¡°What did you expect?¡±
¡°Shut
up Erika—I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re not over that yet. Okay, I asked her and got
rejected. There, are you satisfied?¡± Eron crossed his arms and stared out the
window without particularly taking notice of the beautiful scenery.
¡°Yeah,
well, are we there yet?¡± Erika replied, ignoring her cranky twin—she knew she
had hit a sore spot.
To
everybody¡¯s relief, at that moment Terada-sensei stood up and announced, ¡°Okay
students, I know it¡¯s been a long ride. We¡¯ll be arriving at the resort in five
minutes. Don¡¯t get up until the bus
has completely stopped. We will gather at the front lobby once we arrive. Find
your assigned roommates and line up together. After taking attendance, I will
be handing out your room keys and the other supervising teachers will go over
the rules once more. Well then, we¡¯re here!¡±
The
bus driver winced as everyone roared out in a cheer. Students fumbled to
unclasp their seatbelts and gathered their belongings, leftover trash and
random articles of clothing, all eager to be the first out of the bus.
¡°Wait,
I can¡¯t find my mitten!¡± Chiharu squealed, holding up her bare hand and holding
up the traffic.
¡°Just
get out!¡± Everyone behind her screamed, some desperate to use the bathroom,
some unable to wait a second later to leave the bus.
¡°Amazing!¡±
Sakura gasped, as she stared up at the ski resort, ominous against the snowy
hills. Breath-taken, Sakura hugged her duffel bag to her chest and breathed in
the crisp mountain air as she stepped into the snow. Her eyes flitted towards
the twins, who seemed quite miserable to be there. Of course, Erika always had
a dissatisfied pout on her face, though she had been more subdued lately, but
Eron was as decipherable as ever. Students had been looking forward to this
trip so much—she hoped nothing would ruin it.
¡°Sakura-chan!
What are you doing out there? I received our keys!¡± Tomoyo called out from the
entrance. ¡°Isn¡¯t this place wonderful? We¡¯re so lucky that the Akagi family
owns this ski resort—or else we would never have dreamed of coming here for our
school winter trip.¡±
Being
the last one to remain standing outside in awe, Sakura ran in, almost tripping
on the slippery road and slamming into Syaoran¡¯s back. ¡°Hoe—sorry!¡±
¡°Clumsy
girl,¡± Syaoran chuckled, turning around and picking up Sakura¡¯s bags. ¡°If you
can barely balance yourself on flat land, how are you going to manage it on the
slopes?¡±
Sticking
out her tongue, Sakura stomped into the resort, followed by Syaoran, wrestling
with her bags, along with his own, up the pathway.
Stealthily
walking beside Eron, Kai quietly said, ¡°Don¡¯t glare with those kind of eyes.
Jealousy is quite unbecoming.¡± Laughing, he tossed his duffel bag over his
shoulder and walked inside.
The
look that Eron gave Kai was even more terrifying, for Kai had never been on his
favorite people¡¯s list.
***
For the next two hours, the
students busily settled into the resort, finding their rooms, unpacking, and
exploring their home for the next five days.
¡°We¡¯re in room 303,¡± Tomoyo
said, inserting the card key into the slot. The door swung open.
¡°Wow, this room is
amazing!¡± Miho exclaimed, jumping onto one of the three beds. Tomoyo and Sakura
claimed the other two.
Setting down her bags,
Sakura walked into the room and swung open the curtains.
¡°The view is gorgeous too!¡±
Chiharu stated, popping out from the room next doors; she was roommates with
Rika and Naoko. ¡°We have clear view of the ski slopes.¡±
¡°There¡¯s cable TV too!¡±
Naoko said, having thoroughly examined the room in hopes of finding secret
passages or maybe body parts. ¡°Rika-chan! Stop unpacking—we can do that later.
We need to go explore the resort!¡±
¡°Hurry, let¡¯s unpack and
look around too!¡± Miho exclaimed, quickly flinging open her suitcase and
stuffing her belongings into the drawers.
¡°By the way, Miho-chan, how
did you end up rooming with us?¡± Sakura asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be
paired with the other second years?¡±
¡°Oh, there was an uneven
number of girls in my grade—I volunteered to room with the third graders,¡± Miho
replied. ¡°Besides, our grade supervisor teacher likes me, so she consented.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Sakura said. Like
brother, like sister—somehow, Miho always got her way at school.
¡°Let¡¯s go now! I heard
there are shops and even an arcade in the basement!¡± Miho stated, already out
of the door.
¡°Wait, don¡¯t go alone!¡±
Sakura called out—she had yet to unpack.
Down on the second floor,
the guys were a little less enthusiastic.
Kai had sprawled across the
bed, on top of the covers, without unpacking at all (not that he had brought
much).
¡°Your bag is getting in the
way,¡± Syaoran said crossly, kicking Kai¡¯s black duffel bag to the side. ¡°And
can¡¯t we turn on the stupid lights?¡±
¡°Watch it—my laptop¡¯s in
there,¡± Kai said, fumbling for the TV remote control. ¡°Cool, they have adult
channels— Ouch!¡± Syaoran had thrown a boot at him. ¡°Hey, the girls¡¯ rooms are
up on the third floor, right? Want to sneak in and see what they¡¯re up to?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t get us into trouble
with your foolish antics; you heard Terada-sensei,¡± Syaoran said, collapsing
onto his bed in surrender. ¡°Anyway, what kind of idiot brings a laptop to a ski
resort?¡±
¡°What kind of idiotic rule
is it that guys can¡¯t visit the girls¡¯ rooms?¡± Kai replied, rolling over onto
his stomach. ¡°Boring. How did I get stuck with such uninteresting roommates?¡±
From his skewed sunglasses, he glared at Eriol, who was nonchalantly sitting on
the sofa next to the blinded window and reading in the dark.
There
came a knock on the door. Without waiting for an invitation, Aki burst in. ¡°The
teachers announced that dinner is at six sharp. Don¡¯t be late. We have free
time till then.¡±
¡°Did
you guys hear the story of the ski resort ghosts?¡± Takashi asked, popping up
behind Aki. He was rooming with Aki and Eron—he would rather have roomed with
Syaoran. ¡°Long ago, the ski resort was completely snowed in and cut off from
external connection for weeks because of a ferocious storm caused by the wrath
of the Snow Demon. Soon, the kitchen ran out of food and all the people were
starving. Some died because of malnutrition. The cook became worried, knowing
he had to feed the people, yet there was no food left. Then, he saw the fresh
corpses and¡¦¡±
¡°EWW!!!
That¡¯s disgusting!¡± Chiharu yanked Takashi¡¯s ear and pulled him towards her.
The girls were in the process of exploring each floor and had ended up on the
second floor. ¡°Poor Sakura-chan heard it—now she won¡¯t eat anything here!¡±
¡°No,
it¡¯s true—I¡¯ve heard about the story too,¡± Naoko interrupted with sparkling
eyes. ¡°About the ghosts of the souls of people who became the victims of
cannibalism and got turned into fresh sashimi.¡±
¡°That¡¯s
horrible!¡± Rika shuddered. ¡°It¡¯s not true, is it?¡±
¡°It
is true,¡± Eriol said solemnly. ¡°And the legend goes further to say that the
storm was caused by the soul of a grieving woman who had lost her soul in a
snowstorm, many years ago. As long as she was searching for her child, the
storm would not cease.¡±
Both
Syaoran and
Sakura glanced at each other uneasily.
¡°I-I¡¯m not scared of ghosts
anymore,¡± Sakura squeaked.
¡°Boo!¡± Kai had somehow
slipped outside the room, behind Sakura, and tapped her on the shoulder.
¡°KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡±
Sakura screeched, her voice echoing down the long hall. All the guys clambered
out of their rooms, thinking there was an emergency.
¡°You¡¯re horrible, Kai-kun!¡± Recovering from her shock,
Sakura glared at Kai, who was clutching his stomach and laughing hard. She
blushed furiously red as all the boys in her grade chuckled and returned to
their rooms.
Patting Sakura¡¯s head, Kai said, ¡°Your so cute, Saku-chan, I
want to eat you!¡±
¡°Not funny!¡± Sakura stuck out her tongue—sometimes, Kai
reminded her a lot of her older brother, especially when he teased her. Turning
to Syaoran, she demanded, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±
¡°Nothing,¡± he replied, straight-faced. Sakura was so red and
flustered.
Even Tomoyo merely videotaped without interfering.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be reassuring Sakura that ghosts don¡¯t
exist?¡± Eriol asked, leaning a foot against the wall.
¡°But she¡¯s so cute when she¡¯s scared,¡± Tomoyo replied,
blinking innocently.
¡°She is, isn¡¯t she?¡± Eriol smiled, pushing up the bridge of
his glasses.