When Dreams Failed
By: Sakura aka Michelle
Prologue

----------------------------

Li Syaoran gazed into the empty street as he had been doing since he came to Tomoeda about two months ago. Noting that there was not even a single soul at this hour, he leaned back into his seat in the café with a frustrated sigh. He has been in this café since ten in the morning and now, it was already near midnight and he still had not found the object he was commanded to find.

Damn the Elders! Syaoran thought with mounting anger. Damn them for ordering me to look for that idiotic person and waste my time in doing so!

“Sir?” A waitress came over to his table with a disapproving look on her face. “We’ve closed for the night. You can’t stay in here any longer...”

“All right, all right!” Syaoran grumbled loudly, almost to the point of shouting as he foot his bill. The waitress hurriedly went away after handing him the change and stood behind the safety of the counter.

Syaoran stood up and exited, not bothering to close the door on his way out. In fact, he had kicked the door open! He muttered to himself like a lunatic on his way home and began to think of a thousand reasons why he should be here waiting for the object of his search to pop out and make his finding easier. Then, he recalled that fateful day when he was appointed to be the taker of this dangerous mission...

*Flashback*

Hong Kong

The sun had not risen and the sky was relatively dark, waiting for the brilliant ray of the sun to fight the darkness away. Despite the fact that it was barely morning, a young man had already woken hours ago and he was in the training room of his mansion, practicing his sword. This was his morning routine and he had not broken it since the Elders of his clan established this rule. It had become his habit and no matter what happened to him, he would always follow his routine without fail. His mother was pleased with this fact.

Beads of perspiration rolled down from his forehead and he made no move to wipe them away as he continued the strokes of his sword. He had been practicing vigorously for four hours and he did not even pant in exertion. He, the future leader of Li clan, was drenched in sweat when his cousin came in two hours later to bring him an announcement.

“Syaoran, the Elders wishes to see you in the meeting room right after breakfast,” Meiling conveyed the message as requested by his mother. “I think it is about some dangerous mission the whole mansion is talking about this morning. You better get ready.”

Syaoran did not even pause in his morning practice to look at his cousin and Meiling really did thought that he did not hear her. She repeated the message again and demanded that he respond. “I heard you,” Syaoran muttered. “There’s no need for you to shout; my hearing is sound.”

“Sometimes, I don’t really get you,” Meiling commented. “You are always so cold and silent... No one knows what you are thinking and that makes you a scary person to get along with. You should learn to open up more, Syaoran. After all, you are my future husband and you should learn to talk to me more.”

Syaoran rolled his eyes heavenwards and stopped his practice. He stalked over to Meiling with a dark scowl on his face and Meiling cowered. “It’s my decision as to whether I want to speak or not. You better not act clever,” he warned and exited the training room without a backward glance, leaving a trembling Meiling behind.

Breakfast was Syaoran was a boring chore; not only he had to withstand the knowing look from his mother as well as the non-stop chattering of his four elder sisters. He ate his food in silence, trying not to eat so fast to give his mother the impression of being irritated or she would give him a lecture on spending quality time with the family again. The last thing on earth he wanted was to be lectured by his mother again. He shuddered upon remembering the last time he had a lecture from his mother for having to fight with his other cousins.

“Syaoran,” his mother said. (By the way, his mom’s name is Li Yelan…)

Syaoran sat upright in his chair, alarmed by the way his mother spoke to him; it was in a very serious tone and he suddenly dread what she was about to say to him. “Yes, mother?”

Yelan put her hands neatly on her lap and leaned back comfortably against her seat, unlike Syaoran, who was beginning to fidget in his seat. “I have just talked to the Elders and they have the names of the candidates who will be receiving the dangerous mission of the lifetime. The other candidates will be there to attend the meeting as well to discuss who will be most suitable to take up this mission.”

“The conclusion, mother?” Syaoran asked. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

Yelan sighed, “I have the feeling that you will be the chosen one for this mission since you are the future leader of the Li clan and that you are supposed to set a good examples for the rest of the Li clan members.”

“What’s the mission about?” he asked curiously as he drank his chocolate milk slowly.

“To find a lady,” Yelan replied seriously.

Syaoran choked on his chocolate milk and went into fits of coughing. Yelan arched an eyebrow at her son disapprovingly, “That is highly unacceptable during mealtimes, Syaoran. Is there anything wrong regarding the mission?”

“Sorry,” he apologized when his coughing fits subsided. “To find a lady? What for?”

Meiling’s curiosity peaked up and she leaned forward to listen more attentively. “What’s so special about this lady?”

Yelan smiled apologetically at the two of them, “I am sorry but I am not allowed to tell you now. The Elders will tell Syaoran about it later.”

“I should have known...” Syaoran grumbled. “I am not taking the mission.”

Yelan glared at Syaoran and he went silent almost immediately, “The Elders won’t accept rejection of mission. If the mission is bestowed upon you, you are supposed to take it and bring glory to our name by not failing it. Do you understand it, Syaoran? No rejection of whatever mission and no failing too!”

Syaoran gulped, “Yes, mother.”

“It’s time for you to have the meeting with the Elders and the rest of the candidates,” Yelan told him. “You are dismissed for breakfast.”

“Thank you, mother,” he stood up and took his leave, muttering to himself on his way there.

He was rather surprised that everyone was already present when he entered the meeting room and he dawned onto him that he was the last one to reach there. He greeted the Elders before settling himself in one of the chairs along with the other five candidates, facing the Elders. The other five candidates gave him a sly look and Syaoran began to think that something was very wrong in here.

“While you are on your way here, Syaoran, we have already decided on the taker of this dangerous mission,” The first of the three Elders said. “Since you have a reputation to build, as you are the future leader of the prestigious Li clan, you must set a good examples for all our followers. Therefore, we have chosen you to take on the mission.

” “What?” Syaoran shouted, angry that this decision had been made without his consent. “Excuse me Elders, I have just reached this meeting room and you, honored Elders, started the meeting without me?”

The second Elder coughed and replied, “We clearly stated that this meeting was to be started exactly after breakfast and now its fifteen minutes past breakfast. You are the one who was late, Li Syaoran, the future leader of the Li clan.”

“Now that the chosen one is here,” the third Elder said. “The rest of the candidates may take your leave while we continue our private meeting with our honorable future leader of the Li clan.”

When the rest of the candidates had left, Syaoran tried to control his anger while trying to keep his expression calm. So the Elders think that they are the top decision makers eh? Wait till I get my position and they will be the first of the few to leave the clan forever... Syaoran thought angrily while the Elders thought of suitable ways to relate the information to him.

“This is the picture of the lady that we have been trying to find for ages since the destruction of her home,” The first Elder said, sliding a photograph towards Syaoran across the table. “It seemed to us that she has vanished into the thin air without any traces.”

Syaoran snatched the photograph and glared at the picture of the lady and was rather surprised by the bright emerald eyes that greeted him. It stirred some strange emotions within him, for no reasons at all and he found himself asking, “What’s her name?”

“Kinomoto Sakura,” The third Elder replied him gravely. “Poor child... she has suffered a lot.”

“She’s two years your junior and new information gathered gives us the suspicion that she might still be in Japan, studying in one of the high schools there. However, we are not too sure about that,” The second Elder said.

“So... What’s so special about this lady here?” Syaoran asked curiously. “She seems to me like any other ordinary girls.”

All the three Elders looked up at him and to Syaoran, they looked almost surprised at what he had just said. “We can’t tell you now,” All the three Elders answered in unison.

“Why not? I am taking on the mission and you are not letting me know additional information about her?” Syaoran demanded.

“It’s not we do not want to tell you but it’s because we are not sure about the reliability of the sources of these information. As to why we don’t want you to know more about her is due to some reasons,” The second Elder replied.

“And?” Syaoran prompted.

“The less you know, the safer you are,” The third Elder said. “No more questions.”

Syaoran let out an irritated sigh, “So, where on earth am I going to find her?”

“She used to live in Tomoeda when she was younger,” the first Elder said. “But we are not so sure about her whereabouts now and that is why we need you to go and find her and bring her to us as soon as possible.”

“How can you expect me to bring her back as soon as possible without giving me the reasons I want?” Syaoran shouted, his anger almost taking over his mind and he forced himself to remain cool.

The Elders sighed and shrugged. “I think the only thing that we can tell you,” The Second Elder started, “is that she is now in grave danger, with the evil rising up. It’s up to you to bring her back to here, to safety. Do you take the mission or not?”

“Naturally,” Syaoran retorted. “The future leader of the Li clan is not a good-for-nothing guy to be messed around with. If you have finished with what you want to say, I’ll take my leave.”

With that, he exited the room without waiting for their reply and slammed the door hard against the doorframe. He then returned to his room, where he contemplated what he would be doing when he arrived in Japan.

*End of Flashback*

Cursing the Elders one last time, Syaoran made his way to the King Penguin Park, where almost all the residents of Tomoeda often hang out. Although he did not know his way there, being the first time there, the dim glow of the street lamps did the wonderful job of guiding him to his destination. Many people would think that it is weird for someone to go to the park at midnight but this was not so for Syaoran, since he did not have time for such things when he was back in Hong Kong; he was always busy with work and practices. He found it blissful to be alone in the park, relaxing and enjoying himself thoroughly while he sat on one of the benches and stared at the full moon in the sky.

The sudden squeak of metal rubbing against metal in the silent night caught his immediate attention. His attention was now focused on the swing, where he was sure the sound came from. That was when he noticed a solitary figure on the swing, pushing himself off the ground again and again. He seemed lonely... Syaoran thought with an ache. The person reminded Syaoran so much of himself.

“I believe you are looking for me these two months; I’ve noticed you,” the person said and Syaoran’s eyes widened in recognition that the person was a lady.

“How... how did you know?” Syaoran asked, surprised that she knew that she was being hunted.

Her sighed echoed loudly throughout the silent park. “I’ve just said that I have noticed you wandering about Tomoeda... The sad thing is that I won’t be following you back to Hong Kong, so you can quit searching for me and continue your usual life.”

“How did you know so much about the Li clan?” Syaoran asked suspiciously as he moved towards her. “I don’t think the information has leaked out of the house, since less than 10 of the people there knew...”

She stopped swinging and stood up, walking towards Syaoran purposefully. The dim light from the lamppost did nothing to help Syaoran identify whether she was Kinomoto Sakura but once she walked out of the shade and under the moonlight, he gasped. It’s really her...

“I have my own sources, Li Syaoran,” Sakura growled menacing. “I am capable of taking care of myself and I am warning you, if you try to search for me, I will make your life nasty.”

“What the...” Syaoran started but was interrupted by an extremely loud crash at the other side of the park.

Both abruptly turned to face the intruder and Syaoran’s eyes almost popped out of a socket, for right in front of his eyes, was the most hideous creature that he had ever known in his whole life...

To be continued...



Phew… what an accomplishment. How did you find this new story? I finished it within one and a half days’ time! I hope you can ponder on what will be going on in the next chapter and send me some ideas if you can. Oh, comments are most welcome. While waiting for the next chapter update, would you mind visiting my site? The link is in my ff.net profile. We have a big fanfic project going on. So, see you at the next fic chapter update then!

Post a review

Go Back