Cardcaptor Sakura: The New Trials (Wish-luv)

Chapter 61: Fantasia in Memoriam

A boy lay flat on his back and opened his eyes to face a brilliant blue sky. White cumulus clouds floated ahead. He breathed in the scent of mildew and grass. His hands curled into the damp soil as he heaved himself up. With mild curiosity, he gazed around him. A butterfly landed on the tip of his nose before flying away again. He was surrounded by a field of verdant green grass swaying gently in the wind. How peaceful, he thought. White flakes showered down over him. Snow? Picking a petal from the grass, he turned his head to see a small tree, branches clustered with small white blossoms. How fragrant. And there, shielded by a veil of flowers, stood a person.

"Hey boy, what are you doing there?"

The boy's brown hair blew away from his forehead as he stared up at a tall man standing in front of him, arms akimbo. The man wore a navy blue tunic over a white long-sleeved shirt and brown trousers tucked into tan leather boots. 

"You deaf? What's your name?" repeated the man, a little louder. He had piercing sapphire eyes, the color of the studs twinkling from his ears, and dark brown hair. His hand slipped to the sword hilt at his side.

"I don't know," replied the boy, shaking his head.

"Where are you from?" the man asked with a dark scowl.

"I don't know."

"Well, get up—you have no right to be here. Useless kid like you—probably a runaway. Shame on your parents not keeping an eye on you." The man's hand dropped from his sword and he took the boy's sleeve and dragged him up. "Do you have anywhere to go?"

Again, the boy shook his head.

"So, no name, no home. You're just like a lost pup, eh? You sort of look like one too." The older man's eyes were kinder now. "Well, what do you want me to call you then, nameless one?"

The boy's amber eyes filled with confusion.

"Fine then. I found you under a plum tree," the man said, staring up at the white petals. "I'll call you 'Li' for 'plum' in my native tongue. Are you okay with that?"

The boy nodded.

With a half smile, the man said, "You can call me Ryuuren."

Finally, Li Syaoran, as he had once been called in another world, smiled. "Ryuuren-san."

"Come, Li-kun, I'll introduce you to the others."

The man called Ryuuren led the boy down the hill to a fenced area in a clearing in the valley. Ryuuren glanced back several times to find the boy trotting behind him quite complacently. What a trusting boy, thought Ryuuren, observing that the boy did not seem frightened in the slightest bit whilst he had no idea where he was heading.

A tall man with shoulder-length golden hair greeted them by a wood cabin. He peered at Syaoran then at Ryuuren. "Who's that kid?"

Ryuuren watched the younger boy trail behind him like a lost puppy. The boy didn't talk much but followed him quite obediently. "He has nowhere to go to so I brought him along."

"Humph. I don't think it's a good idea bringing in an outsider at times like this," muttered the man, running a hand over his scruffy chin.

"Give him a break, Leon," said Ryuuren. "He seems to be harmless."

Slowly, Leon grinned, staring between Ryuuren and the boy again. "I know why you brought him. That kid looks like an exact younger replica of you, Ryuuren."

"I don't see it," said Ryuuren, dark brows furrowing down. "He sort of looked like a stray little wolf when I found him—I couldn't just leave him."