Bring forth more angry mo-*coughs* Jury duty
Title: Shards
Author/Penname: KainaSilverbane
Rating:PG-13
Chapters:Chapter 6 WIP (EDITED!)
Pairings: FujitakaxKaho
Summary: More foreshadowing and Fujitaka makes light bubbles, or...flaring blobs XD Pancakes
Warning, Notes: lil long
Link to previous chapterhttp://community.livejournal.com/reviewers_inc/6817.html#cutid1
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! But I'd sell it to CLAMP if I could.
No art this time around, again, unless you want to see the updated version of one I've previously posted.(It's a WIP) If you do, I'll post links in the comments
Okay, I lied, I had one more chapter finished XD More foreshadowing, none of it truly happy AT ALL. There's a plot here, I swear, it zooms into action in the next two chapters. I SWEAR!
I had more intelligent things to say here...hmmm...Sheila_chan I feel lonely with only my stuff posted! Make other people post so I don't look like I'm hogging space! XD *Gets random objects thrown at her* GAH! *runs*
Chapter 6
Fujitaka stumbled downstairs the next morning with a yawn and walked into the living room out of habit to check on the woman who was staying with them. He stopped and stared in surprised when he found all of the furniture had been moved to the outskirts of the room so the center was clear. He found Kaho sitting on the floor with her back to him added a second layer to the bandages that were wrapped around her arms.
“Morning,” she said without looking behind her as she tightened the bandage to an extent that made Fujitaka flinch.
“Good morning,” Fujitaka offered the same greeting, “Um…may I ask why you rearranged my living room?”
“You wanted to learn didn’t you?” Kaho asked without facing him.
“Learn what?” Fujitaka asked.
Kaho made a face and laid back so she could look at him somewhat upside down without having to turn around, “You aren’t awake yet are you? Think back to last night and what we agreed upon.”
He pondered a moment, then remembered what they had talked about, “Oh, that’s right, you’re going to teach me how to use my magic.”
“Correct,” she said as she sat back up and finished reinforcing the bandages she had around her arms. “Today we’ll start off simple, merely creating light, shields, and, if we get that far, possibly low level energy balls that you can flick at people.” She stood and faced him, “I’d suggest you change into something else…training in ones pajamas makes it very hard to take a student seriously.”
Fujitaka blinked, then looked down at himself and blushed. While it had been habit for himself to come down each morning to check on Kaho, he was usually up way before her, which meant he could come down, check on her, start breakfast cooking, run back upstairs and change, and be back down to finish by the time she’d woken up. Today she’d been up earlier and had caught him by surprise. “Um…good idea.” And with that said, he scrambled back upstairs.
Not too long after did Sakura come scrambling downstairs in a rush, “I’m going to Tomoyo’s!”
“What for?” Kaho asked as she peeked out from the living room.
“To practice for Tomoyo’s concert,” Sakura answered as she snapped on her skates. “It’s in five days and we really need to practice.”
Kaho nabbed the back of the girl’s collar before she zipped out the door.
“Ow! Oh come on I’ll be late!” Sakura tried to wriggle out of the woman’s grip, but only succeeded in falling down.
“I don’t think Tomoyo would be upset if you at least ate something before you left,” Kaho said as she dragged the teenager back to the kitchen. “And if I’m right, you guys get so caught up in what you’re doing you forget to do those basic things…like eatting.”
Fujitaka watched this from where he crouched in the middle of the stairs, hiding in the early morning shadows. He smiled as he watched both females struggle towards the kitchen before shaking it off and returning back to getting dressed.
Sakura giggled guiltily, “Yeah, you’re right. How do you know that anyways?” She was curious as she opened the cup board and pulled out pancake mix.
Kaho smiled, “After living with Eriol for as long as I did, I know what happens when you get caught up in something you’re passionate in.”
“Dad’s the same way when he gets into his research. To the point where we have to bring him food and stay there until we’re sure he’s eating,” Sakura said as she measure water and pancake mix into a bowl, then stopped and scowled at her. “You’re eating too so don’t try and get out of it.” Then she proceeded to finish mixing said batter.
Kaho returned the scowl, “Fine…”
“Who beat me to the stove?” Fujitaka asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“Sakura did,” Kaho answered as she looked over at him.
“Forcefully,” Sakura chimed in before both women looked at Fujitaka, then tried desperately to smother giggles and sniggers.
“What’s so funny?” Fujitaka asked as he looked down at himself. “Oh…” While he’d been buttoning his shirt he’d obviously let his attention wander, for now all of the buttons were off and he looked positively silly and un-kept. As he tried to fix it he got flustered and ended making a bigger mess of it than he intended.
Kaho laughed and walked over to him and waved his hands away from the buttons and undid them all and redid them for him, “What’s got you all flustered this morning?”
“Well, the prospect of me actually doing something productive with my magic could be one reason,” Fujitaka said. He swallowed hard and bit his tongue as he watched her unbutton his shirt to fix it, inappropriate thoughts flying through his head. This caused a blush to appear on his face and Kaho picked up on it when she was about halfway back up with fixing the buttons.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
“Um…n…nothing,” Fujitaka said he smiled, then looked over at his daughter, who was giving him a look and a raised eyebrow. He waved her off, but Sakura snorted and went back to making the pancakes. She’d heard what he’d said the night before about his feelings towards Kaho and was having a hard time on deciding which case was true. He was relieved when Kaho finished and both took seats at the table to watch Sakura work.
“I’m off!” Called Toya.
“You’re not even going to stay and eat?” Fujitaka called back.
“Who’s cooking?” Toya asked as he peeked into the kitchen.
“Sakura,” his father answered.
“The monster? Nah, I think it’d be safer if I didn’t,” and with that he ducked out of the room quickly as an unused dishrag smacked into the wall where his head had been a second before.
“Darn, missed,” Sakura grumbled. “I’m not a monster…” she growled.
Fujitaka chuckled at the ritualistic theatrics his children were pulling while Kaho stared at the wall in front of her, not making eye contact with anyone.
Sakura came over a few minutes later with three plates and three glasses of orange juice on a tray. She set one down by her father, one by her own place, then one by Kaho while muttering, “You play with it and I’ll have my dad pin you to the floor again.” Kaho merely grumbled and poked at the pancakes with her fork.
“So what are you going to be teaching Dad today Kaho?” Sakura asked as she started a light conversation.
“I’ve already gone over the basics of it with your father,” Kaho answered, “But I guess some elaboration couldn’t hurt.” She actually cut a piece pancake up as she continued, “First we’ll be starting off simple, forming small balls of light in his hands until he gets used to calling up his power in that fashion. Depending on how far he gets in that will decide if we go onto learning how to shoot low level balls of energy, or working on more defensive areas like shielding.”
“How are you going to teach him how to shield?” Sakura asked, a little afraid of the answer.
Kaho picked up the young woman’s discomfort, “Don’t worry, I’ll be attacking your father with harmless light balls. The worst they’ll do is make him feel a little tingly if he gets hit by too many of them.” She began poking at her pieces of pancake again, getting them mushy and soggy in the syrup on the plate.
“You’re playing with it,” Sakura muttered and Kaho stabbed a not so soggy piece of pancake with her fork and put it in her mouth and chewed it with a scowl.
Fujitaka watched the verbal skirmish and smiled, “Well, if all it takes is me threatening to pin her to the floor again then I think I’ll be getting you to eat more often.” Kaho just kept chewing. “Swallow it.” She did so after making a few more disgruntled faces.
“Oh give me a break, they aren’t that bad,” Sakura said.
“No, they’re not, I just don’t feel like eating…” Kaho said plainly.
“Ever,” Fujitaka added with a smirk.
“I’m going to kick you,” Kaho said as she angled her foot under the table to aim for his shin.
Sakura shoved the rest of her food into her mouth quickly, picked up her plate and said, “Oo oo av un.” She rinsed her plate quickly and dashed out the door without another word, leaving Kaho and Fujitaka sitting at the table alone.
“Um…” Kaho began, “What did she say?”
“I think it translates out to, ‘You two have fun,’” Fujitaka answered.
“Ah,” Kaho said as she poked at her food again.
“Eat it!” Fujitaka shouted, startling her and she started eating like Sakura when she was late for school. It lasted for about five seconds before she stopped and started poking at it again and Fujitaka sighed, “Why won’t you eat?”
“I’m not hungry,” she answered without looking at him.
“You never eat, you have to be hungry,” Fujitaka said.
Kaho picked up her glass of juice and sipped at it, “I’m not.”
Fujitaka glowered at her as he chewed his food, trying to get out of her what was bothering her and making her not eat. “Kaho, not eating isn’t going to make whatever it is that’s bothering you go away. Talking about it helps, but only if you decide to tell someone what it is that’s bothering you.”
“It’s nothing,” Kaho told him without meeting his gaze, “Really.”
“If you can’t look me in the eye and say that then I know you’re lying,” Fujitaka said.
Kaho bowed her head and stood up, taking her plate and glass to the sink and cleaned them off without a word, then walked into the living room, “Once you’re finished come in here and we’ll start.”
He wouldn’t push it, if she wouldn’t tell him, then it obviously wasn’t something he needed to know, he hoped. With a sigh he turned back to his food, finishing it quickly and leaving his plate in the sink to clean off later, boyish anticipation having crept up on him while he had finished.
“Okay I’m ready,” Fujitaka said as he trotted into the living room.
Kaho got up from the couch and walked over to stand in front of him, “All right, do you know how to touch your power?”
“Um…” Fujitaka’s brow knitted, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Can you look inside yourself and find your power and ‘touch’ it?” Kaho asked.
“Um…no…” he frowned.
“All right, come here, I’ll show you how,” Kaho said as she offered her hands to him. He took them and she felt that same shock of electricity she felt every time he touched her, but she recovered quickly. “All right, what I’m about to do is something you should never let anyone else do. No matter how much you trust them and no matter the cost.”
“So why am I letting you do it?” Fujitaka asked smartly.
“A, because I’m teaching you how to use your magic and there’s no other way to do it, and B, because I know what I’m doing,” Kaho replied. “Now close your eyes.”
“All right,” Fujitaka shrugged and closed his eyes. For a moment he felt nothing, then slowly something white, shining, and warm filled the dark void behind his eyelids. He went to open his eyes but someone else clamped them shut. This startled him and he began to mentally rebel.
Shh shh, it’s all right, it’s just me, Kaho’s voice murmured gently in his mind and it was just then that he felt himself trembling. It’s all right, I know it’s strange, but now that we’re linked this way I can take you to where in your body your magic resides.
Unaccustomed to such ways of communication, it took him a moment to be able to respond, You have complete control over my body now don’t you?
I do, which is why I said to never EVER let anyone else do this to you, Kaho stressed. It’s a scary feeling isn’t it, knowing someone else has control over you and you at this point have no way of getting yourself out of it?
Yes it is, Fujitaka answered honestly, none of this helping as he began to tremble more, knowing something strange was about to happen.
Imagine how Eriol feels, Kaho pointed out. All right, are you ready?
I think so, Fujitaka answered.
Let’s go then, Kaho said and she pulled them both down deep into his mind. For a moment all he could feel was her warm glowing beside him and the deep darkness that was the depth of his mind. It was oddly cold and discomforting, knowing this was somewhere inside his own mind.
When he thought the darkness would last forever something in front of him began to glow, faintly at first, but then it got brighter. Slowly they came upon a shining, bright sapphire glow in the middle of the darkness. It was comforting and a welcomed sight.
Is that mine? Fujitaka asked.
Yes it is, Kaho answered, The darkness we just passed through is the potential you have in having your power grow that much.
It feels like there’s so much yet so little at the same time, Fujitaka said as he mentally reached out to stroke the light in front of him.
It will feel that way for a while. You’re just beginning, in time you’ll grow, Kaho assured him.
The minute he felt himself touch his own power, something drew him in and his vision went dark. Kaho’s glowing presence was gone, as was the feeling of his own magic. He felt himself falling, falling into a blackness and he couldn’t stop himself.
He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his lungs and it took him a moment to recover. He sat up and cough, looking around as he did so. Around him was a battle field, completely black except for a small glowing in the center. He was at the perimeter of the glow and he looked around to see if anyone else was there. Something caught his eye and he looked to see Sakura a few feet away, laying face down on the ground, a few large rocks and boulders scattered around her. He got up and went to her, intent on helping her up. When he reached her though, something about the way she was laying wasn’t right.
He reached down and touched her arm, then pulled away quick, her skin ice cold to the touch. He crouched down next to his daughter and looked at her eyes and found them unfocused, blank, dead.
“Sakura,” Fujitaka shook his daughter, trying to make her look at him. “Sakura!” Something made him look up and around and he noticed another body laying only a foot away. On closer inspection, he found himself in the same position, covered in fallen rocks and ice cold to the touch.
“No, what is this?” Fujitaka asked as he stood up and took a few stumbling steps back, “This can’t be right!”
Fujitaka, came a voice.
“It’s not right,” he was so wrapped up in what he was seeing he didn’t hear the voice right away.
Fujitaka! It’s all right! Open your eyes! The voice called out again.
He looked up at the sound, finally recognizing it.
It’s all right, open your eyes, she said.
“They are open!” Fujitaka shouted as he looked at the two dead bodies before him.
No, they’re not, you must listen to me, close your eyes and remember where you are, Kaho consoled him as gently as she could.
Calming himself as best he could, Fujitaka did as he was told and closed his eyes again. In the darkness he felt something pop and he felt himself come awake and he slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, they had both ended up sitting on the floor, Kaho held tightly in his arms.
“You are all right?” Her voice sounded softly in his ear.
“I think so,” his voice cracked as he answered and he realized his cheeks were wet with tears and his eyes were still blurry with them. “Did you see any of what I saw?”
“No, not really,” she answered and he realized he hadn’t let her go yet, and he really didn’t want to for fear of plunging back into the horrible vision he’d just experienced. She pushed herself away from him just enough so she could look at him, but didn’t insist he let go completely. “What did you see?” She asked as she reached out and wiped a few new tears away. He opened his mouth to explain, but no sound came out, and just the thought of looking at Sakura in that position, dead, made him start trembling all over again. Kaho frowned and brought her hand up, index and middle finger extended and gently placed them on his forehead.
Much to his disappointment, images of what he’d seen began to flash through his vision. It was like watching a quick slideshow as Kaho quickly picked through his memory, taking in all of the important details in complex images instead of replaying them like a movie.
“Well,” she said as she removed her hand and his normal vision returned, “It seems you have some potential with Foresight.” She placed both of her hands on his shoulder and looked directly into his eyes, “I understand what you’re going through right now, but there’s something you must know about foresight. It’s not always true when you see it. If it keeps reoccurring then you need to say something, but until then, don’t take them too seriously, it’s just a possibility. Likely something that will happen if we’re unprepared, understand?” He nodded but didn’t look at all relieved with her explanation.
She sighed and wriggled out of his grip and he looked up at her like a scared little boy, overwhelmed with all that he’d seen in such a short amount of time. She really couldn’t blame him for reacting the way he was. Sakura and Toya were the most important things in his life and the thought of losing either one of them was an overpowering blow to him, mentally and physically. She smiled at him once she was standing, “I’ll be right back.” He nodded and she hurried down the hallway to the phone and dialed Sakura cell phone number.
“Hello?” Sakura answered the phone.
“Hey Sakura, it’s Kaho, can you do me a favor when the two of you decide to take a break?” Her voice was even, almost emotionless.
“Sure, what’s going on?” Sakura asked.
“It seems your father has a bit of potential with Foresight and he saw something the minute I got him linked up with his power,” Kaho explained.
“What did he see?” The young woman was curious as to what her father was learning and what he had seen.
“Well, it wasn’t something I’d have chosen for a first timer like your father to see,” Kaho said. “To put it simply, he saw you dead, and he himself lying dead next to you under a pile of rocks and debris. “
“But not all premonitions are true when you see them for the first time,” Sakura said. “They only become more likely the more often they repeat themselves.”
“I know that, and your father understands that…somewhat…” Kaho told her. “My point is, could you come home for just a few minutes the next time you catch a break? Just to reassure your father you’re all right.”
“Not taking it well is he?” Sakura asked, her tone proving she was worried about him.
“No…” Kaho answered truthfully as she angled herself so she could see into the living room and look at the man, who had moved himself to huddle up on the couch.
“I’ll be home soon,” Sakura said, “Tomoyo will understand once I explain it.”
“That’s good,” the woman sighed in relief.
“Be there in a bit,” Sakura said and hung up.
Placing the phone back on the receiver, Kaho returned to the living room and perched atop the back of the couch and looked down at the man sitting there next to her. “What are you thinking about?”
“My family,” Fujitaka answered, “and how much it’s changed since magic was mixed into it.”
Kaho bit her bottom lip at the statement, feeling that she was partly to blame for the change.
“How is it that I’ve been able to use magic even though I haven’t known how to physically get in contact with it?” Fujitaka asked.
“There are certain ways people use their magic through different stages of its development and with their level of education with it,” Kaho started explaining. “You’ve got little to no training with your magic, and not very much of a magical supply at the moment, so you were working off the very basics of your magic. Literally just forcing it out of you like trying to wring out that very last bit of water out of a wet rag. It’s draining on the user and has reactions on people it’s used on.” She looked down at him, “You know how when you heal people, no matter the seriousness of the wound, they always fall into an exhausted sleep? That’s because the magic you’re using is so diluted that it uses a lot of the resources from your patient’s body to do the work. For a major healing, that’s normal because the wounds are serious and magic users don’t want to use all of their energy on it at once, so they use some of their patient’s resources to help aid in while they heal. Minor things, like a paper cut or a scrapped knee can be healed completely without any aid, and because of that, it shouldn’t make a person tired.”
“So you’re saying I’ve been doing it the hard way for a while,” Fujitaka stated.
“Yes you have, but it will become easier now that you have a firm grasp on where your power is,” Kaho assured him.
“I see,” Fujitaka said as he stared at couch cushions.
“I’m home!” The sound of Sakura’s voice was like music to both their ears. The young woman scampered into the living room and smiled, “Hi Dad.”
“How’d you get here so fast?” Kaho asked.
Sakura smiled as she held up The Fly, “It was convenient.”
Fujitaka stood from the couch and walked toward his daughter and when he got there he dropped to his knees and hugged her tightly, trying to prove to himself that she was indeed alive and well.
“I’m okay Dad,” Sakura assured him, “What you saw wasn’t real, I promise.”
“Doesn’t make it feel any less real,” her father stated.
“I know,” Sakura smiled, “You’ll get used to it.”
“Seems I have a lot to get used to,” Fujitaka said as he pulled away and looked his daughter over, just to assure himself a bit more that she was unharmed.
“I’m okay Dad! Really!” Sakura wriggled away from her father’s grip and edge towards the door. “I need to get back to practice now, I just dropped by real quick to make sure you were all right.”
Fujitaka sighed as he heard the front door close and turned back to Kaho, “What next?”
“You sure you want to continue?” Kaho asked. “If this is going to bother you to the point where you can’t stay focused or concentrate, it’d be a little dangerous for you to be using your powers.”
He was silent for a moment, mentally dueling with himself on whether to keep going, or stop for a while. He shook his head, trying to make himself believe what his daughter and Kaho had told him about such visions. “Have you ever had them?”
“Had what?” Kaho cocked her head to one side in curiosity.
“Those visions, like the one I just had,” Fujitaka explained.
Kaho’s expression went slightly grave, “I do…” he looked up in surprise. “My most reoccurring ones consisting of the battles yet to come.” She avoided mentioning a name, “In the end, one of us dies…”
“Who?” Fujitaka asked.
“It’s not you or Sakura, or even Tomoyo, so don’t worry,” Kaho assured him.
“So that leaves you or Eriol,” Fujitaka concluded. “Do you know which one?”
She was silent for a moment, as if replaying the images in her mind, then answered, “No.”
He frowned, “How many times have you seen it?”
“I’ve dreamt it every night since I came to stay with you,” Kaho answered.
She’d been with them for just about two weeks by then and Fujitaka did a quick day count, “That’s over a dozen times.”
“Give or take a few considering the few days I was sick,” Kaho added and Fujitaka nodded. “So, do you feel like continuing or should we leave it alone for a little while?”
Fujitaka sighed and thought for a moment, “Let’s continue.”
Kaho gave him a reassuring smile, “All right.” She got up off the couch and walked up to him, “First we’ll start with simple light creation. Do you remember how to touch your magic?” She received a nod, “Good, what you’ll need to do is draw it up into your hands, mentally willing it into a sphere or an oval shape if you wish. When you get it right, it’ll look like this.” She held up her hand and a white glowing ball of light bloomed into being and glowed warmly between the two of them. She extinguished it by closing her hand around it and cutting off her magic supply, then looked up at him. “Go ahead and try.”
He nodded and closed his eyes and searched for the place inside him where his magic resided. When he found it, he mentally latched onto it and pulled it up and out. When he felt something warm spread across his hands he opened his eyes and was startled to see a flaring glob of bright sapphire flickering and sparking before his eyes. He was surprised at the amount of euphoria he felt as he used his magic, he felt warm, joyous, and comfortable looking at the light he was creating. He looked around and found himself swirling with the same color wind and saw little flares of his magic sparkle around and then looked over at Kaho for an explanation. He flushed when he found her giggling at him.
“What’s so funny?” He asked.
“I should have expected this,” she snickered, “You used too much, that’s why you’re giving me this rather impressive lightshow. I guess I should have warned you not to grab too much, but I’m glad to see you can call upon it with some ease.”
“How do I make it stop?” Fujitaka asked, feeling considerably silly with the wind blowing him around and his magic tickling him on his hands and face.
“Cut it off,” Kaho answered simply, “Let go of your magic connection.” He stared at her, clearly saying he had absolutely no idea what to do. She giggled again and stepped up in from of him, momentarily getting caught up in the swirling wind and light and took hold of his hands. He felt something stabilized in him, then cut off, and the light and wind disappeared abruptly, filling the room with a silence so loud that for a moment he was disoriented and somewhat claustrophobic. The thrill he had felt was gone too and he felt empty and wanting to go back and do it again, even if it meant the awkward moment of figuring out how to cut it off, if he ever decided he wanted to.
Kaho recognized that look in his eyes, the wanting to do it again and knew she had to stop him before he became magically addicted, “Why don’t we hold off a bit on you trying a again for and have you calm down.”
Fujitaka looked down at her and began to protest when he actually stopped and thought clearly. “Can you get addicted to magic?”
Kaho nodded, “Very easily.”
Fujitaka swallowed, “Lets take a break.”
“Good choice,” she smiled.
OOOO
“I’m home!” Sakura called as she came through the door.
“We’re in the living room!” Came Kaho’s voice, followed by a whistling noise and smoky sound that sound like water being dripped onto a hot pan.
Sakura walked into the living room and watched as Kaho flicked another energy ball the size of a golf ball at her father, who was standing in the middle of the room with a barely visible circular shield around him. The energy ball, which Sakura reminded herself was just made up of light for now, smacked into her father’s shield and fizzled out, proving that it was strong enough to take a minor, harmless attack.
“How’s he doing?” Sakura asked as she went and sat down next to Kaho, who was sitting on the couch, flicking the energy balls at Fujitaka in a random pattern.
“Very well,” Kaho answered. “He can keep out low level offensive attacks now.”
“Wait, so those aren’t light balls?” Sakura asked, her eyes widening. Kaho flicked one at her and she felt like she been hit with a large static shock, like on hot dry days when one runs around on carpet, the touches a metal object and gets zapped. “Hoe!!!! That felt funny!”
Kaho chuckled as she continued flicking them and Fujitaka, “Yes they do.” She concentrated a bit more and flicked a denser looking ball at him, shattering his shield with ease, but the ball of energy dissipated immediately afterwards, not touching the tired man standing in front of them, “I think you’re done for the day.”
Fujitaka sank to his knees and sighed in exhaustion, “That was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Kaho chuckled as she peered down at him, “But you did well and you’ve improved already.” She knelt down next to him, “How do you feel?”
“Like I want food!” He told her and she giggled.
“I’ll start dinner then,” Sakura laughed and scampered into the kitchen.
OOOO
Sorry it's so long, and it has been edited, but further crits are gratefully accepted!
Author/Penname: KainaSilverbane
Rating:PG-13
Chapters:Chapter 6 WIP (EDITED!)
Pairings: FujitakaxKaho
Summary: More foreshadowing and Fujitaka makes light bubbles, or...flaring blobs XD Pancakes
Warning, Notes: lil long
Link to previous chapterhttp://community.livejournal.com/reviewers_inc/6817.html#cutid1
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! But I'd sell it to CLAMP if I could.
No art this time around, again, unless you want to see the updated version of one I've previously posted.(It's a WIP) If you do, I'll post links in the comments
Okay, I lied, I had one more chapter finished XD More foreshadowing, none of it truly happy AT ALL. There's a plot here, I swear, it zooms into action in the next two chapters. I SWEAR!
I had more intelligent things to say here...hmmm...Sheila_chan I feel lonely with only my stuff posted! Make other people post so I don't look like I'm hogging space! XD *Gets random objects thrown at her* GAH! *runs*
Chapter 6
Fujitaka stumbled downstairs the next morning with a yawn and walked into the living room out of habit to check on the woman who was staying with them. He stopped and stared in surprised when he found all of the furniture had been moved to the outskirts of the room so the center was clear. He found Kaho sitting on the floor with her back to him added a second layer to the bandages that were wrapped around her arms.
“Morning,” she said without looking behind her as she tightened the bandage to an extent that made Fujitaka flinch.
“Good morning,” Fujitaka offered the same greeting, “Um…may I ask why you rearranged my living room?”
“You wanted to learn didn’t you?” Kaho asked without facing him.
“Learn what?” Fujitaka asked.
Kaho made a face and laid back so she could look at him somewhat upside down without having to turn around, “You aren’t awake yet are you? Think back to last night and what we agreed upon.”
He pondered a moment, then remembered what they had talked about, “Oh, that’s right, you’re going to teach me how to use my magic.”
“Correct,” she said as she sat back up and finished reinforcing the bandages she had around her arms. “Today we’ll start off simple, merely creating light, shields, and, if we get that far, possibly low level energy balls that you can flick at people.” She stood and faced him, “I’d suggest you change into something else…training in ones pajamas makes it very hard to take a student seriously.”
Fujitaka blinked, then looked down at himself and blushed. While it had been habit for himself to come down each morning to check on Kaho, he was usually up way before her, which meant he could come down, check on her, start breakfast cooking, run back upstairs and change, and be back down to finish by the time she’d woken up. Today she’d been up earlier and had caught him by surprise. “Um…good idea.” And with that said, he scrambled back upstairs.
Not too long after did Sakura come scrambling downstairs in a rush, “I’m going to Tomoyo’s!”
“What for?” Kaho asked as she peeked out from the living room.
“To practice for Tomoyo’s concert,” Sakura answered as she snapped on her skates. “It’s in five days and we really need to practice.”
Kaho nabbed the back of the girl’s collar before she zipped out the door.
“Ow! Oh come on I’ll be late!” Sakura tried to wriggle out of the woman’s grip, but only succeeded in falling down.
“I don’t think Tomoyo would be upset if you at least ate something before you left,” Kaho said as she dragged the teenager back to the kitchen. “And if I’m right, you guys get so caught up in what you’re doing you forget to do those basic things…like eatting.”
Fujitaka watched this from where he crouched in the middle of the stairs, hiding in the early morning shadows. He smiled as he watched both females struggle towards the kitchen before shaking it off and returning back to getting dressed.
Sakura giggled guiltily, “Yeah, you’re right. How do you know that anyways?” She was curious as she opened the cup board and pulled out pancake mix.
Kaho smiled, “After living with Eriol for as long as I did, I know what happens when you get caught up in something you’re passionate in.”
“Dad’s the same way when he gets into his research. To the point where we have to bring him food and stay there until we’re sure he’s eating,” Sakura said as she measure water and pancake mix into a bowl, then stopped and scowled at her. “You’re eating too so don’t try and get out of it.” Then she proceeded to finish mixing said batter.
Kaho returned the scowl, “Fine…”
“Who beat me to the stove?” Fujitaka asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“Sakura did,” Kaho answered as she looked over at him.
“Forcefully,” Sakura chimed in before both women looked at Fujitaka, then tried desperately to smother giggles and sniggers.
“What’s so funny?” Fujitaka asked as he looked down at himself. “Oh…” While he’d been buttoning his shirt he’d obviously let his attention wander, for now all of the buttons were off and he looked positively silly and un-kept. As he tried to fix it he got flustered and ended making a bigger mess of it than he intended.
Kaho laughed and walked over to him and waved his hands away from the buttons and undid them all and redid them for him, “What’s got you all flustered this morning?”
“Well, the prospect of me actually doing something productive with my magic could be one reason,” Fujitaka said. He swallowed hard and bit his tongue as he watched her unbutton his shirt to fix it, inappropriate thoughts flying through his head. This caused a blush to appear on his face and Kaho picked up on it when she was about halfway back up with fixing the buttons.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
“Um…n…nothing,” Fujitaka said he smiled, then looked over at his daughter, who was giving him a look and a raised eyebrow. He waved her off, but Sakura snorted and went back to making the pancakes. She’d heard what he’d said the night before about his feelings towards Kaho and was having a hard time on deciding which case was true. He was relieved when Kaho finished and both took seats at the table to watch Sakura work.
“I’m off!” Called Toya.
“You’re not even going to stay and eat?” Fujitaka called back.
“Who’s cooking?” Toya asked as he peeked into the kitchen.
“Sakura,” his father answered.
“The monster? Nah, I think it’d be safer if I didn’t,” and with that he ducked out of the room quickly as an unused dishrag smacked into the wall where his head had been a second before.
“Darn, missed,” Sakura grumbled. “I’m not a monster…” she growled.
Fujitaka chuckled at the ritualistic theatrics his children were pulling while Kaho stared at the wall in front of her, not making eye contact with anyone.
Sakura came over a few minutes later with three plates and three glasses of orange juice on a tray. She set one down by her father, one by her own place, then one by Kaho while muttering, “You play with it and I’ll have my dad pin you to the floor again.” Kaho merely grumbled and poked at the pancakes with her fork.
“So what are you going to be teaching Dad today Kaho?” Sakura asked as she started a light conversation.
“I’ve already gone over the basics of it with your father,” Kaho answered, “But I guess some elaboration couldn’t hurt.” She actually cut a piece pancake up as she continued, “First we’ll be starting off simple, forming small balls of light in his hands until he gets used to calling up his power in that fashion. Depending on how far he gets in that will decide if we go onto learning how to shoot low level balls of energy, or working on more defensive areas like shielding.”
“How are you going to teach him how to shield?” Sakura asked, a little afraid of the answer.
Kaho picked up the young woman’s discomfort, “Don’t worry, I’ll be attacking your father with harmless light balls. The worst they’ll do is make him feel a little tingly if he gets hit by too many of them.” She began poking at her pieces of pancake again, getting them mushy and soggy in the syrup on the plate.
“You’re playing with it,” Sakura muttered and Kaho stabbed a not so soggy piece of pancake with her fork and put it in her mouth and chewed it with a scowl.
Fujitaka watched the verbal skirmish and smiled, “Well, if all it takes is me threatening to pin her to the floor again then I think I’ll be getting you to eat more often.” Kaho just kept chewing. “Swallow it.” She did so after making a few more disgruntled faces.
“Oh give me a break, they aren’t that bad,” Sakura said.
“No, they’re not, I just don’t feel like eating…” Kaho said plainly.
“Ever,” Fujitaka added with a smirk.
“I’m going to kick you,” Kaho said as she angled her foot under the table to aim for his shin.
Sakura shoved the rest of her food into her mouth quickly, picked up her plate and said, “Oo oo av un.” She rinsed her plate quickly and dashed out the door without another word, leaving Kaho and Fujitaka sitting at the table alone.
“Um…” Kaho began, “What did she say?”
“I think it translates out to, ‘You two have fun,’” Fujitaka answered.
“Ah,” Kaho said as she poked at her food again.
“Eat it!” Fujitaka shouted, startling her and she started eating like Sakura when she was late for school. It lasted for about five seconds before she stopped and started poking at it again and Fujitaka sighed, “Why won’t you eat?”
“I’m not hungry,” she answered without looking at him.
“You never eat, you have to be hungry,” Fujitaka said.
Kaho picked up her glass of juice and sipped at it, “I’m not.”
Fujitaka glowered at her as he chewed his food, trying to get out of her what was bothering her and making her not eat. “Kaho, not eating isn’t going to make whatever it is that’s bothering you go away. Talking about it helps, but only if you decide to tell someone what it is that’s bothering you.”
“It’s nothing,” Kaho told him without meeting his gaze, “Really.”
“If you can’t look me in the eye and say that then I know you’re lying,” Fujitaka said.
Kaho bowed her head and stood up, taking her plate and glass to the sink and cleaned them off without a word, then walked into the living room, “Once you’re finished come in here and we’ll start.”
He wouldn’t push it, if she wouldn’t tell him, then it obviously wasn’t something he needed to know, he hoped. With a sigh he turned back to his food, finishing it quickly and leaving his plate in the sink to clean off later, boyish anticipation having crept up on him while he had finished.
“Okay I’m ready,” Fujitaka said as he trotted into the living room.
Kaho got up from the couch and walked over to stand in front of him, “All right, do you know how to touch your power?”
“Um…” Fujitaka’s brow knitted, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Can you look inside yourself and find your power and ‘touch’ it?” Kaho asked.
“Um…no…” he frowned.
“All right, come here, I’ll show you how,” Kaho said as she offered her hands to him. He took them and she felt that same shock of electricity she felt every time he touched her, but she recovered quickly. “All right, what I’m about to do is something you should never let anyone else do. No matter how much you trust them and no matter the cost.”
“So why am I letting you do it?” Fujitaka asked smartly.
“A, because I’m teaching you how to use your magic and there’s no other way to do it, and B, because I know what I’m doing,” Kaho replied. “Now close your eyes.”
“All right,” Fujitaka shrugged and closed his eyes. For a moment he felt nothing, then slowly something white, shining, and warm filled the dark void behind his eyelids. He went to open his eyes but someone else clamped them shut. This startled him and he began to mentally rebel.
Shh shh, it’s all right, it’s just me, Kaho’s voice murmured gently in his mind and it was just then that he felt himself trembling. It’s all right, I know it’s strange, but now that we’re linked this way I can take you to where in your body your magic resides.
Unaccustomed to such ways of communication, it took him a moment to be able to respond, You have complete control over my body now don’t you?
I do, which is why I said to never EVER let anyone else do this to you, Kaho stressed. It’s a scary feeling isn’t it, knowing someone else has control over you and you at this point have no way of getting yourself out of it?
Yes it is, Fujitaka answered honestly, none of this helping as he began to tremble more, knowing something strange was about to happen.
Imagine how Eriol feels, Kaho pointed out. All right, are you ready?
I think so, Fujitaka answered.
Let’s go then, Kaho said and she pulled them both down deep into his mind. For a moment all he could feel was her warm glowing beside him and the deep darkness that was the depth of his mind. It was oddly cold and discomforting, knowing this was somewhere inside his own mind.
When he thought the darkness would last forever something in front of him began to glow, faintly at first, but then it got brighter. Slowly they came upon a shining, bright sapphire glow in the middle of the darkness. It was comforting and a welcomed sight.
Is that mine? Fujitaka asked.
Yes it is, Kaho answered, The darkness we just passed through is the potential you have in having your power grow that much.
It feels like there’s so much yet so little at the same time, Fujitaka said as he mentally reached out to stroke the light in front of him.
It will feel that way for a while. You’re just beginning, in time you’ll grow, Kaho assured him.
The minute he felt himself touch his own power, something drew him in and his vision went dark. Kaho’s glowing presence was gone, as was the feeling of his own magic. He felt himself falling, falling into a blackness and he couldn’t stop himself.
He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his lungs and it took him a moment to recover. He sat up and cough, looking around as he did so. Around him was a battle field, completely black except for a small glowing in the center. He was at the perimeter of the glow and he looked around to see if anyone else was there. Something caught his eye and he looked to see Sakura a few feet away, laying face down on the ground, a few large rocks and boulders scattered around her. He got up and went to her, intent on helping her up. When he reached her though, something about the way she was laying wasn’t right.
He reached down and touched her arm, then pulled away quick, her skin ice cold to the touch. He crouched down next to his daughter and looked at her eyes and found them unfocused, blank, dead.
“Sakura,” Fujitaka shook his daughter, trying to make her look at him. “Sakura!” Something made him look up and around and he noticed another body laying only a foot away. On closer inspection, he found himself in the same position, covered in fallen rocks and ice cold to the touch.
“No, what is this?” Fujitaka asked as he stood up and took a few stumbling steps back, “This can’t be right!”
Fujitaka, came a voice.
“It’s not right,” he was so wrapped up in what he was seeing he didn’t hear the voice right away.
Fujitaka! It’s all right! Open your eyes! The voice called out again.
He looked up at the sound, finally recognizing it.
It’s all right, open your eyes, she said.
“They are open!” Fujitaka shouted as he looked at the two dead bodies before him.
No, they’re not, you must listen to me, close your eyes and remember where you are, Kaho consoled him as gently as she could.
Calming himself as best he could, Fujitaka did as he was told and closed his eyes again. In the darkness he felt something pop and he felt himself come awake and he slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, they had both ended up sitting on the floor, Kaho held tightly in his arms.
“You are all right?” Her voice sounded softly in his ear.
“I think so,” his voice cracked as he answered and he realized his cheeks were wet with tears and his eyes were still blurry with them. “Did you see any of what I saw?”
“No, not really,” she answered and he realized he hadn’t let her go yet, and he really didn’t want to for fear of plunging back into the horrible vision he’d just experienced. She pushed herself away from him just enough so she could look at him, but didn’t insist he let go completely. “What did you see?” She asked as she reached out and wiped a few new tears away. He opened his mouth to explain, but no sound came out, and just the thought of looking at Sakura in that position, dead, made him start trembling all over again. Kaho frowned and brought her hand up, index and middle finger extended and gently placed them on his forehead.
Much to his disappointment, images of what he’d seen began to flash through his vision. It was like watching a quick slideshow as Kaho quickly picked through his memory, taking in all of the important details in complex images instead of replaying them like a movie.
“Well,” she said as she removed her hand and his normal vision returned, “It seems you have some potential with Foresight.” She placed both of her hands on his shoulder and looked directly into his eyes, “I understand what you’re going through right now, but there’s something you must know about foresight. It’s not always true when you see it. If it keeps reoccurring then you need to say something, but until then, don’t take them too seriously, it’s just a possibility. Likely something that will happen if we’re unprepared, understand?” He nodded but didn’t look at all relieved with her explanation.
She sighed and wriggled out of his grip and he looked up at her like a scared little boy, overwhelmed with all that he’d seen in such a short amount of time. She really couldn’t blame him for reacting the way he was. Sakura and Toya were the most important things in his life and the thought of losing either one of them was an overpowering blow to him, mentally and physically. She smiled at him once she was standing, “I’ll be right back.” He nodded and she hurried down the hallway to the phone and dialed Sakura cell phone number.
“Hello?” Sakura answered the phone.
“Hey Sakura, it’s Kaho, can you do me a favor when the two of you decide to take a break?” Her voice was even, almost emotionless.
“Sure, what’s going on?” Sakura asked.
“It seems your father has a bit of potential with Foresight and he saw something the minute I got him linked up with his power,” Kaho explained.
“What did he see?” The young woman was curious as to what her father was learning and what he had seen.
“Well, it wasn’t something I’d have chosen for a first timer like your father to see,” Kaho said. “To put it simply, he saw you dead, and he himself lying dead next to you under a pile of rocks and debris. “
“But not all premonitions are true when you see them for the first time,” Sakura said. “They only become more likely the more often they repeat themselves.”
“I know that, and your father understands that…somewhat…” Kaho told her. “My point is, could you come home for just a few minutes the next time you catch a break? Just to reassure your father you’re all right.”
“Not taking it well is he?” Sakura asked, her tone proving she was worried about him.
“No…” Kaho answered truthfully as she angled herself so she could see into the living room and look at the man, who had moved himself to huddle up on the couch.
“I’ll be home soon,” Sakura said, “Tomoyo will understand once I explain it.”
“That’s good,” the woman sighed in relief.
“Be there in a bit,” Sakura said and hung up.
Placing the phone back on the receiver, Kaho returned to the living room and perched atop the back of the couch and looked down at the man sitting there next to her. “What are you thinking about?”
“My family,” Fujitaka answered, “and how much it’s changed since magic was mixed into it.”
Kaho bit her bottom lip at the statement, feeling that she was partly to blame for the change.
“How is it that I’ve been able to use magic even though I haven’t known how to physically get in contact with it?” Fujitaka asked.
“There are certain ways people use their magic through different stages of its development and with their level of education with it,” Kaho started explaining. “You’ve got little to no training with your magic, and not very much of a magical supply at the moment, so you were working off the very basics of your magic. Literally just forcing it out of you like trying to wring out that very last bit of water out of a wet rag. It’s draining on the user and has reactions on people it’s used on.” She looked down at him, “You know how when you heal people, no matter the seriousness of the wound, they always fall into an exhausted sleep? That’s because the magic you’re using is so diluted that it uses a lot of the resources from your patient’s body to do the work. For a major healing, that’s normal because the wounds are serious and magic users don’t want to use all of their energy on it at once, so they use some of their patient’s resources to help aid in while they heal. Minor things, like a paper cut or a scrapped knee can be healed completely without any aid, and because of that, it shouldn’t make a person tired.”
“So you’re saying I’ve been doing it the hard way for a while,” Fujitaka stated.
“Yes you have, but it will become easier now that you have a firm grasp on where your power is,” Kaho assured him.
“I see,” Fujitaka said as he stared at couch cushions.
“I’m home!” The sound of Sakura’s voice was like music to both their ears. The young woman scampered into the living room and smiled, “Hi Dad.”
“How’d you get here so fast?” Kaho asked.
Sakura smiled as she held up The Fly, “It was convenient.”
Fujitaka stood from the couch and walked toward his daughter and when he got there he dropped to his knees and hugged her tightly, trying to prove to himself that she was indeed alive and well.
“I’m okay Dad,” Sakura assured him, “What you saw wasn’t real, I promise.”
“Doesn’t make it feel any less real,” her father stated.
“I know,” Sakura smiled, “You’ll get used to it.”
“Seems I have a lot to get used to,” Fujitaka said as he pulled away and looked his daughter over, just to assure himself a bit more that she was unharmed.
“I’m okay Dad! Really!” Sakura wriggled away from her father’s grip and edge towards the door. “I need to get back to practice now, I just dropped by real quick to make sure you were all right.”
Fujitaka sighed as he heard the front door close and turned back to Kaho, “What next?”
“You sure you want to continue?” Kaho asked. “If this is going to bother you to the point where you can’t stay focused or concentrate, it’d be a little dangerous for you to be using your powers.”
He was silent for a moment, mentally dueling with himself on whether to keep going, or stop for a while. He shook his head, trying to make himself believe what his daughter and Kaho had told him about such visions. “Have you ever had them?”
“Had what?” Kaho cocked her head to one side in curiosity.
“Those visions, like the one I just had,” Fujitaka explained.
Kaho’s expression went slightly grave, “I do…” he looked up in surprise. “My most reoccurring ones consisting of the battles yet to come.” She avoided mentioning a name, “In the end, one of us dies…”
“Who?” Fujitaka asked.
“It’s not you or Sakura, or even Tomoyo, so don’t worry,” Kaho assured him.
“So that leaves you or Eriol,” Fujitaka concluded. “Do you know which one?”
She was silent for a moment, as if replaying the images in her mind, then answered, “No.”
He frowned, “How many times have you seen it?”
“I’ve dreamt it every night since I came to stay with you,” Kaho answered.
She’d been with them for just about two weeks by then and Fujitaka did a quick day count, “That’s over a dozen times.”
“Give or take a few considering the few days I was sick,” Kaho added and Fujitaka nodded. “So, do you feel like continuing or should we leave it alone for a little while?”
Fujitaka sighed and thought for a moment, “Let’s continue.”
Kaho gave him a reassuring smile, “All right.” She got up off the couch and walked up to him, “First we’ll start with simple light creation. Do you remember how to touch your magic?” She received a nod, “Good, what you’ll need to do is draw it up into your hands, mentally willing it into a sphere or an oval shape if you wish. When you get it right, it’ll look like this.” She held up her hand and a white glowing ball of light bloomed into being and glowed warmly between the two of them. She extinguished it by closing her hand around it and cutting off her magic supply, then looked up at him. “Go ahead and try.”
He nodded and closed his eyes and searched for the place inside him where his magic resided. When he found it, he mentally latched onto it and pulled it up and out. When he felt something warm spread across his hands he opened his eyes and was startled to see a flaring glob of bright sapphire flickering and sparking before his eyes. He was surprised at the amount of euphoria he felt as he used his magic, he felt warm, joyous, and comfortable looking at the light he was creating. He looked around and found himself swirling with the same color wind and saw little flares of his magic sparkle around and then looked over at Kaho for an explanation. He flushed when he found her giggling at him.
“What’s so funny?” He asked.
“I should have expected this,” she snickered, “You used too much, that’s why you’re giving me this rather impressive lightshow. I guess I should have warned you not to grab too much, but I’m glad to see you can call upon it with some ease.”
“How do I make it stop?” Fujitaka asked, feeling considerably silly with the wind blowing him around and his magic tickling him on his hands and face.
“Cut it off,” Kaho answered simply, “Let go of your magic connection.” He stared at her, clearly saying he had absolutely no idea what to do. She giggled again and stepped up in from of him, momentarily getting caught up in the swirling wind and light and took hold of his hands. He felt something stabilized in him, then cut off, and the light and wind disappeared abruptly, filling the room with a silence so loud that for a moment he was disoriented and somewhat claustrophobic. The thrill he had felt was gone too and he felt empty and wanting to go back and do it again, even if it meant the awkward moment of figuring out how to cut it off, if he ever decided he wanted to.
Kaho recognized that look in his eyes, the wanting to do it again and knew she had to stop him before he became magically addicted, “Why don’t we hold off a bit on you trying a again for and have you calm down.”
Fujitaka looked down at her and began to protest when he actually stopped and thought clearly. “Can you get addicted to magic?”
Kaho nodded, “Very easily.”
Fujitaka swallowed, “Lets take a break.”
“Good choice,” she smiled.
OOOO
“I’m home!” Sakura called as she came through the door.
“We’re in the living room!” Came Kaho’s voice, followed by a whistling noise and smoky sound that sound like water being dripped onto a hot pan.
Sakura walked into the living room and watched as Kaho flicked another energy ball the size of a golf ball at her father, who was standing in the middle of the room with a barely visible circular shield around him. The energy ball, which Sakura reminded herself was just made up of light for now, smacked into her father’s shield and fizzled out, proving that it was strong enough to take a minor, harmless attack.
“How’s he doing?” Sakura asked as she went and sat down next to Kaho, who was sitting on the couch, flicking the energy balls at Fujitaka in a random pattern.
“Very well,” Kaho answered. “He can keep out low level offensive attacks now.”
“Wait, so those aren’t light balls?” Sakura asked, her eyes widening. Kaho flicked one at her and she felt like she been hit with a large static shock, like on hot dry days when one runs around on carpet, the touches a metal object and gets zapped. “Hoe!!!! That felt funny!”
Kaho chuckled as she continued flicking them and Fujitaka, “Yes they do.” She concentrated a bit more and flicked a denser looking ball at him, shattering his shield with ease, but the ball of energy dissipated immediately afterwards, not touching the tired man standing in front of them, “I think you’re done for the day.”
Fujitaka sank to his knees and sighed in exhaustion, “That was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Kaho chuckled as she peered down at him, “But you did well and you’ve improved already.” She knelt down next to him, “How do you feel?”
“Like I want food!” He told her and she giggled.
“I’ll start dinner then,” Sakura laughed and scampered into the kitchen.
OOOO
Sorry it's so long, and it has been edited, but further crits are gratefully accepted!