Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yu Watase. Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws, so don’t steal and don’t sue! *Phantomness bows*

Warnings: Touya-bashing, one-sided (or so it seems) Yue x Syaoran and Yue x Touya. Shonen-ai and shota

Note: Clow cards talk in italics, and Syaoran and Yue communicate in telepathy <>

Chapter 44 – Syaoran

The flying helps, and the cool air against my face helps my temper go down, but not much, before it slides into icy cold rage, and I catch a glimpse of what the Freeze card meant.

Did he mean that I’d become cold like Yue? I don’t mind.

I just need my darling cards…

The compass beam is very faint though, and I have no idea which of the seven seishi we will encounter next. I only hope that it won’t be Ruby Moon. I’m afraid I cannot deal with her while in this state.

She’s just too overtly cheerful for me… in that case, please not Sakura or Tomoyo or Meiling either… perhaps Mizuki-senshi could be all right…

If his kisses dry your tears in the dark of the night, if his presence is the light you so crave, if his touches are so pleasant and sweet, then go with him and trouble me no more! Enough! I should quit thinking about them… I will.

Syaoran-sama?

“Yes, Firey? What is it?” She smiles.

Perhaps you should rest… Cerberus-sama has been flying for almost three hours.

“Thank you, Firey.” I turn to Cerberus, a bit ashamed about how I’ve forgotten about my only loyal dear seishi. “Cerberus? Should we rest? You could probably use a snack.”

He smiles as we descend – we’ve left the desert behind already, of course, guardians can fly ever so fast….

He may be a walking stomach, but at least he’s loyal, and he certainly enjoyed the tub of chocolate pudding Create and Sweet made for him.

Enough. I have to get out of this self-pity rut! It certainly is not helping me any! I have to save this country!

That’s all…

Perhaps that was why the next incident was so… close to home. Because what I found was not what I expected.

“Yu-Yukito-san?”

He looked surprised, but it was he, or at least his dimensional double. “How do you know my name?”

“You are Yukito-san, right?”

“Do I know you?”

Oh, I forgot. It’s not really him. But… I can’t help it. I miss him, even though he’s really Yue. Or are they separate people in this world? It really doesn’t make any sense…

But after I finally stopped crying, he noticed that I had the Sacred Scroll of Clow, and then he told me that he was one of the seven seishi – his character is ‘bunny’, on his left shoulder…

Apparently, his special power is to make the moon go dark. I’m not sure if that will be of any use, but I thanked him, and he bade his elderly grandmother farewell and came with us on our journey…

Cerberus was pleased to meet him, and they began chatting immediately. Perhaps this is not so difficult. I have only three seishi left to collect.

I must believe… and then… ‘Everything will be all right’.

That was Sakura’s special invincible spell, and it has never failed her, so perhaps it will work for me as well? I must believe that.

Four down, three to go…

Yue hasn’t bothered to contact me – I wonder if the connection still works? No matter, we can find them later…

Perhaps I’m finally learning not to care again.

When I activated the compass this time, it showed nothing… why? Is it because they are out of range?

The blue beam isn’t going anywhere, so I pull out the scroll. Seven warriors… could it be, that the cards… some of the cards could be…?

Firey. Watery. Earthy. Windy…

That makes four, not three…

Wait… I’m only supposed to have seven seishi. If I count the four elemental cards, Cerberus, Yue, Yukito, and Touya, that makes eight…

Something fishy is going on here…

< Yue. >

I can imagine his response, the reply I receive sounds grumpy. I must have interrupted something important. For some reason, that thought makes me smile… < Yes, Syaoran? >

No added -sama, no Master Syaoran, of course he doesn’t respect me anymore. I did lose the Final Judgment after all, but no matter. < I’ve gathered the rest of the seishi. The ceremony can begin now. >

< All right. We’ll be there shortly. >

Syaoran-sama?

“Yes, dears?” Firey, Watery, Windy, and Earthy all look slightly worried. Why? I mean, keeping them corporeal is a bit difficult, but with all the magic around here it doesn’t matter much…

The ceremony must take place in a temple to Clow!

“That’s easy enough. We’ll find one.” Out comes the compass again. Yukito’s riding Cerberus, and Fly makes me fly, so we streak towards the blue light.

The villagers are more than willing to let us borrow their temple for the summoning ceremony. The bad part was that all the village girls stated making eyes at me. Luckily, Firey, Earthy, Watery, and Windy kept them away with just a few well-placed glares.

Firey is good at glaring… but she smiles when I look at her.

The Cards seem cheerful enough, and Yukito and Cerberus are sharing some fried red bean cakes, and laughing together, and then Yue and Touya fly in…

Yue’s carrying Touya and I feel a stab of jealousy before apathy smothers it.

It doesn’t matter. The ceremony is upon us. After that, everything shall be over. I won’t even have to see Yue again if I don’t want to…

I’m wearing a simple white robe with a black sash, no use in wearing anything fancy after all, it’s just a ceremony, and as long as we have the proper alignments the spell will take place and everything will be fine…

So we take out positions around the temple, and Shield seals it so other people can’t get in and disrupt the ceremony, and then I step up in front of the fire and begin to chant…

From the four elements that forge the world,

From the four corners of the earth,

I call upon the greatest magician, Clow Reed,

In the name of the moon, in the name of the sun,

In the hearts of the Chosen gathered here as one,

Please come down to us!

The last line and the fire blazes brightly, so brightly, and then the scroll vanishes into the flames, and then…

The fire dies down.

Silence.

What?

End Chapter

Completed 6/5/05

I know that I’m rushing things. Many apologies!

Syaoran: Well, now what?

Phantomness: I’ll explain next chapter

Yue: >.<