Dancing with the Dead

Chapter Twelve

A/N: I own nothing except for my poorly handled anxiety. This chapter is short and finally moves the plot forward to our eventual climatic period.

"You are shameless, Fei Wong," Yuuko spat with disgust. Watanuki still hadn't reached his full height. Briefly, he caught his reflection from the water before it was tainted with blood; perhaps he looked to be about eight.

"I am not the one who let this fairy tale get twisted, Yuuko," Fei Wong drawled. "You and Clow helped create me, and you made me a monster."

Watanuki cringed at the two, young bodies—the Lovers-lifeless and red with their blood floating in the lake. He could not remember which pair this was; the fourth or fortieth, or perhaps more. Before he met Yuuko, there were others. The Lovers have been around before he was, but he feared they would continue to live and die long after his current body passed.

Yuuko was a vision. Yuuko was his love. She was the one being in this universe that he cherished above his own life. That much he knew, though he really did not understand. Yuuko sometimes let it slip and called him Clow during moments of weakness, but he kept his lips tight during those moments. It was his courtesy to her; a brief gesture to honor that in another time, they were lovers.

He never asked how Clow died or not-died, or how he was born in the first place. He knew that their bodies had a limit and he just assumed his previous body had reached its limit before hers. There would come a time when hers would expire, and another body would be home to her…no. He had to pause at that line of thinking. The two Lovers, dead in the water, only reminded him that nothing lasts forever, not even Yuuko.

Fei Wong made a comment about him that he did not pay much attention to; Fei Wong Reed was classless and a bit of a show off. He liked to rub salt in Yuuko's wounds every time the Lovers failed. And they always failed. He designed it that way. Yuuko had unknowingly designed it that way. She was well aware, but it did not mitigate the anguish over such a failure. When Fei Wong felt satisfied, he would leave until the next time, the next cycle.

Watanuki did not know much about the Lovers. He never really cared to ask Yuuko because they consumed her. She spent sleepless nights obsessing over them, trying and failing to get it right. He hated watching her come undone, but it was a bit hypocritical since he knew that in another body, he helped create them and Fei Wong.

Yuuko grieved silently as usual, and Watanuki let her do so in silence as usual. He could never know if she appreciated his silent declarations of love that carried over from Clow's heart. He could never know if she harbored any sort of affection (this was a stretch. He may have Clow's soul, but his body was woefully too childish) for him, but he liked to believe that she knew.

"Watanuki," her voice cut through the silence. "How long has it been since you asked me about the Lovers?"

Watanuki let out the breath he did not realize he held in. "I've never asked you."

Yuuko smiled at him, but it never reached her eyes. "I am so tired, Watanuki."

He bit his lip to prevent himself from saying the wrong thing to break her. She's never admitted this to him. He pondered if she ever admitted it to herself before.

"You look like you want to say something."

"I always want to say something," he conceded. It worked at letting her give a small giggle. Yuuko is not a woman who giggles, but Watanuki beams at the sound.

"You should say then, whatever is on your mind."

"I do not want to offend you."

"I think I can handle it."

It was a brief flash of her strength that let him know she was already scheming, plotting a way to fix this. The smirk on his face was quick.

"Then teach me about the Lovers. And I will dirty these hands you've been trying to protect. Let's end this cycle."

He was not sure if she would agree. Yuuko loved the Lovers almost as much as they loved each other; they were her children, a reminder of the love she once had for him.

But he knew that all things had to meet their end.

When we had finally decided to talk about the incident, Syaoran's anger had returned, though thankfully, not at full force. I told him about Miyazawa-san and his quest for revenge, to which Syaoran rolled his eyes when I explained it fully.

"He sounds ridiculous," he said simply. When he caught my sympathetic stare, he sighed but remained firm. "There is no point in feeling pity for that man. He has done you and me wrong, and the tragedies of his past do not undo his present crimes."

I did not respond right away. "Look, Sakura," he continued, uncomfortable at my silence. "We have all done things we are not proud of. I enacted revenge on his ancestors for what they did to me. While I do not regret my actions, I do not always relish in it. But they are done and there is nothing I can do to change that. He must also learn that the past cannot be undone, and whatever happens now will not change his misfortune. Do not feel sorry for anything."

"I cannot help but feel sorry for him. It's just how I am…but I know. He is hurting innocent people, and for that he must be stopped."

Syaoran looked pleased for a brief moment at my words, but he sobered up quickly. His lips were a thin line. "The one part of all this that I am upset with is that there is no other option but to fight him head on. So long as he has control of the Furies, there is no secret tactic we can employ."

I did not like that plan. Miyazawa-san did not have to fight me himself to get me to fear him. He was strategic and powerful. I could not imagine my Syaoran heading into battle without any plan except to stop this man from succeeding.

"Can we talk about something else?" I pleaded once the vision overwhelmed me. "Or maybe sleep?"

"You slept for hours," Syaoran noted with a bemused expression. I made a face at him, but he only smirked at me. "Or did I wear you out, Sakura?"

It was surprising that I did not blush, but I still hid under the covers of his bed before he pulled them off me to climb into bed beside me. He did not say or do anything more as I felt as though the events of the day finally caught up to me. Gingerly, I felt my way around until I clasped his hand in mine before my psyche succumbed to my dreams.

"Girl, can you hear me? Hello?"

It was rare that I dreamed so vividly anymore. In this space, I was surrounded by nothingness, trapped in a glass cage. Looking down, I saw that I was dressed in my pajamas and somehow, I was not worried.

"Girl, can you hear me?" Now that I had some bearing to where I was, I tried to focus on the voice. It didn't belong to anyone I knew, but I still did not feel anxious.

Somehow, as though she were there the whole while, the girl was sitting in front of me, separated by the glass. She was pretty; dark hair with pale skin and red lips, she reminded me of Snow White. Though, she was anything but delicate. Her eyes were fierce as she kept trying to grab at my attention, and the way she held her head up struck me as proud and poised.

Cautiously, I knocked on the glass and held back a giggle as she jumped at the noise. She recovered quickly and hesitated before knocking it back. I heard it as though it was my own heartbeat.

"Can you finally hear me?" she asked. Her voice seemed loud but far away.

"Are you dead?" I couldn't help but asked. "Or are you a spirit?"

The girl snorted—a noise I didn't expect. "Neither. I am just as alive as you are."

Somehow, I was unsuccessful in keeping the amusement out of my reply."I hope not. I died once, and I don't wish that on another person."

The girl grinned at my response, relaxing her posture slightly. "They didn't tell me you would be funny, girl."

"I normally am not." I was honest. "And Sakura."

"Sakura?"

"My name. It would strange if you kept referring to me as 'girl.'"

The other girl was not as quick to reveal herself to me, but she must have deemed me trustworthy. After a minute, she finally conceded, "I'm Mei Ling."

There was something peculiar about her name. The moment she said it, I saw a flurry of visions battling each other for my attention: a sick girl with bright green eyes, a boy with chestnut hair holding his father's hand, a white skinned boy with glasses and an old expression, Syaoran in clothing I did not recognize walking on the beach during a cool night.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Mei Ling asked, her face scrunched up in worry. I shook my head to rid of the vision and smiled.

"Yes, sorry, it's just…it's nothing. It is nice to meet you."

Mei Ling came off as such an assertive girl when she was calling for my attention, but now that she had it, she hesitated with her words meekly that made me curious.

"You know," she started. "They didn't tell me you'd look around my age. How old are you, anyway?"

"I'll be sixteen soon."

"Then I am a bit older! Ha!" The laugh sounded bitter. "You are very young."

"Does that bother you?"

"It would have been easier if you were older. Maybe. I don't know…"

I was losing her. Her voice was getting further away from me, and I did not want to let her go without finding out more. Why was she so familiar? How did manage to call out to me in my dreams?

"Why did you want to find me?" I asked, hoping to distract her and bring her back to my focus. "No one has ever visited my dreams like this."

"It's my sort of magic. My clan, I mean, family…they-we, we are all descendants of this really powerful sorcerer and well…it's kind of a long story, but I am the current heir to my family, and so I have some magic to do our family's task."

This information was interesting, but lacked anything concrete for me to really know or research on later when I had the chance. "What is your family task?"

Mei Ling shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of her head and avoiding my gaze. "To bring the true heir back."

"Am I your heir?" I asked bewildered. To my knowledge, I was not a descendant from any powerful magician, nor was I connected to a family so grand that they would refer to themselves as a 'clan.'

Mei Ling laughed sincerely this time, clutching her abdomen after the giggles could not stop. "Oh, no, no, no. Not you, oh, ha ha, no."

She continued for a few moments longer, and I just patiently waited for her to get her bearings together. When Mei Ling finally stopped laughing, she looked at me seriously, but the shyness from earlier had gone.

"No, but our true heir is connected to you. I hoped you would be older, but I still have my duty. I just wanted to meet you and ask for a favor."

"Maybe I won't be able to complete it."

Mei Ling smirked, a gesture that made me nearly fall over with its familiarity. "I think you will."

Her voice and image was dissipating, and I pounded on the glass desperately to reach her. Before she completely disappeared, I heard her far away laugh.

"The real battle will begin soon. Please protect your king at all costs."

I woke up with a jolt, and from the little light peeking in from Syaoran's curtains, I figured there was time before sunrise. Time worked funny in the Underworld, differently, sometimes slower and faster at the same time, but Syaoran tried to keep it consistent with me.

My stirring must have woken him, since he rose up groggily and looked at me with sleep touched eyes. "Sakura, is everything alright?"

"Hoe? I mean, yes, I just um, I couldn't sleep." I shrugged, hoping to be nonchalant, but he still frowned at me.

"That's strange if you're here. This world should be most relaxing to you." He paused for a moment before attempting to get out of bed. "Something must be amiss. I will check to make sure everything is okay."

"No!" I yelped before reaching for one of his hands. "No, it's fine, I'm fine, this place is fine. I just…sometimes over think things. I'm still human and we do silly things like that every now and again."

Syaoran's deep amber gaze never left my face. "Are you sure?"

I smiled for his benefit. "Yes, now come back to bed."

Though he did his best to hide it, Syaoran was too tired and relieved to be welcomed back in his warm bed. I snuggled up beside him, still unable to close my eyes to fall back asleep.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you and I were born in the right time?"

"Yes. I would have preferred to be born in this time."

I bit back a giggle. "Oh? You got enough excitement of being a pirate?"

"I don't regret my life. But I wouldn't want to have put you through that. No, life here is safe and comfortable. I would have been able to court you properly. See you every day in that school of yours, grow up and old with you."

"You go to my school now," I pointed out, but I felt him shake his head.

"My illusion goes more often than I do. And I attend for your protection. It would have been nice if all we had to worry about were those exams you all take, or clubs. I watched this game the boys were playing…soccer? I think that's what it was. I think I would have played that."

I pictured it perfectly. Syaoran would have looked cool and dashing in a soccer uniform, running to score a goal for our team. He would have been so smug and happy.

"I don't think you would have liked me right away," I said almost teasing. "It isn't common to fall in love at first sight. I mean, all the shows on television and the manga would tell you differently, but maybe we would not have liked each other right away."

Syaoran did not really understand television and manga, but he humored me. "Maybe not, but I would have still loved you. Perhaps it would have taken me some time."

"You wouldn't have to worry about the dead."

He hummed in agreement. "We could live our lives without worrying about Furies and vague messages from the Fates, and surrounded by the dead."

The Fates! How could I have forgotten about them? I never met them, so perhaps the girl was my first encounter with them. "Syaoran, what do the Fates look like?"

"Hm?" Syaoran reacted with mild shock. "They look…relatively normal? There is a woman and a boy who looks close in age with me—I mean, this age when I died. But I know he is older."

"It is just two? There isn't a girl who is about my age then?"

At this, Syaoran shifted. "No. Why? Is there anyone else claiming to be the Fates?"

"No, no!" I hurried to calm him. "I was just wondering. Honestly, Syaoran, you worry too much."

"In the last couple of months or so, you've died, come back to life, been attacked by dark, demon creatures, and have collapsed from exhaustion due to fighting said dark, demon creatures. I think I have justified reason to worry too much."

"Fair enough."

He teased me some more until neither of us could keep being awake. Gleefully, I rested well knowing that Syaoran would be attending class rather than his illusion, and I did not want to waste that precious time together oversleeping. Despite my concern over Mei Ling and everything else that seemed to be aligning due to forces out of our control, briefly I imagined that we could be a normal couple living normal lives.

I should have known there was a price to feeling so momentarily happy.

I should have known it would be the last night I spent with Syaoran.

Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah: I am the worst! I am truly sorry. Life is busy and hectic and you know, people be getting married and asking me to be a part of the event which is amazing and then school tells me to write a paper to get my Masters, and then I graduated, but am still in school and then it turns out, I do have a social life that requires me to make a presence every now and again, so naturally my writing has taken a backseat. However, I am still thankful to everyone still reading, and who are patient with my gaps in updates. Much love, everyone!