Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos Card Captor Sakura ❯ The Life of Gin Clow ( Prologue )

Prologue: The Life of Gin Clow

 

Great Britan, 1785 (roughly)

 

A young, blue-haired boy with large round glasses eagerly carries his belt-wrapped books with him as he strolls through the marketplace. With one hand, he holds one of his books open to read, occasionally flipping through the pages. He appears very deep into complex reading, far beyond that of his mere twelve years. As several horse-drawn carriages trod through the street, he keeps wary of them, despite not having to look up at all, with almost an unearthly clairvoyance for the outside world. Still without looking up, he enters a random door of a house along the streets.

 

“I'm home, father,” the boy calls out.

 

Out from behind a corner, a distinguished, long and dark-blue-haired adult peeks his head out. “Ah yes, jolly good, son. Welcome home,” he says before retiring behind the corner, where the boy follows his father around the corner.

 

“Is mum back yet?” the boy asks as he rounds the corner.

 

The boy's father holds a small watering can over a bonsai tree, watering the tiny tree-looking plant. “Now, now, Reed. Be patient. Global travel may seem hard now, but…” Reed's father continues on in a whimsical tone before turning back to his son. “Well, you'll see,” he finishes.

 

Reed slouches, disappointed. “Aww, but I finished my project I made during free time at school, and I was looking so forward to showing her…” he mopes.

 

Reed's father nods his head back and forth. “Reed, you just can't be doing magic in school. It's not fair to the other kids to use your magic to further your studies. And to top it off, you could be seen. Remember, the outside world isn't quite ready for our kind,” Reed's father warns.

 

Reed looks down towards the floor, slightly moping. “Well, I did all the stuff mum showed me about keeping the Yin and Yang in proper balance and all… I'm doing it safe, by-the-book, just like mum does.”

 

Reed's father turns back towards him, with a teacup in hand. “And you've made?” he inquires.

 

Reed unbuckles the belt around his book to reveal a sheet of drawing paper folded in half. He hands it proudly to his father with a smile on his face. “I did it, dad. I made my first magic cards,” he boasts as his father takes the paper from his hands and unfolds it.

 

Looking at the two cards lovingly wrapped up safely by the paper, he sees two picture portraits on the cards. The cards bear the look of two identical women, one with white hair and a white gown, and the other with black hair and a black gown, as if they were photo-negatives of each other. At the bottom of the cards, their titles are written: “The Light” and “The Dark”. Reed's father nods his head in acknowledgement of Reed's handiwork before folding the wrapping back over the cards and handing them back to his son. “Jolly good, son. Your mum would be proud of you. The magical world had better watch out for you. You're going to make the name of Clow famous one day, just you wait,” he encourages.

 

Reed blushes lightly as he takes his two cards back. “Thanks, dad,” he responds.

 

Reed's father takes a sip of his tea before setting the teacup down and returning to watering and tending for the bonsai tree behind him. “So, I take it that you're putting in a lot more thought to this than your brother, I'd hope,” he comments.

 

“Gin?” Reed asks, as he scratches his chin. “Well, I'm really not sure what he's doing, but-”

 

A large explosion down the hallway interrupts Reed, as smoke bellows out of one of the rooms. A young boy can be heard coughing from inside the room. Reed rushes ahead of his father as he storms into the room with the smoke rolling out the door, who follows close behind, but pauses as a chill runs down his spine.

 

“Gin!” Reed screams as he rushes into the room.

 

In the middle of the room, a ten-year old boy with silver hair and a short ponytail kneels in front of a pile of black dust, coughing heavily and waving away the smoke. “Guess I should watch out for that incantation…” Gin mutters to himself as he stands to his feet.

 

After confirming his brother's safety, Reed glances around the very dimly lit room, lined with papers all over the wall. One particular picture, labeled “The Creature” features an unusual composite beast with a set of wings, one of a bat and one of a bird, a snakelike head, and the tail of a scorpion. Another picture, labeled “The Harvest” features a clean, gleaming scythe overlaying a background of baskets overflowing with bread and fruits.

 

“Wow…” Reed whispers in awe.

 

“You like?” Gin asks Reed. “I heard you and dad. About you making your very first magical cards,” Gin adds with an envious tone. He stands up and dusts himself off. “Pfft. “The Light”? “The Dark”? And dad says you'll make the Clow name famous? If I want light, I'll light a candle. If I want Dark, I'll cover the windows. You can make your wimpy little pathetic cards with as much emotion as you want, but in the end I'll be the one changing the world with what mum and dad teach me about magic. You'll just be that stupid git brother of mine.”

 

Reed cracks a goofy grin and, in an attempt to break the tension of the moment he pats Gin on the back. “You mean history will remember “Gobbo” Gin Clow?” Reed teases. “With his little sticky goblin fingers, in his dank little goblin cave, and his pointy little goblin ears and-”

 

“Quit calling me that!” Gin responds furiously. “You just don't get it, do you? Well I guess I'd best show you what real use of Clow power looks like…” he goes on as he reaches towards his wall of pictures and takes down a particular parchment and he shows it to Reed.

The picture is labeled “The Life”. It depicts a beautiful young girl with angel-like wings, silky white robes, short and slightly curled hair, big pretty eyes, and an adorable smile. Despite the fact that it was only a black-and-white picture, Reed couldn't help but blush at it, or her, to be more accurate.

 

“Like her already, I see?” Gin asks. “She's called The Life. You can play around with your piddly little illumination cards, but this is magic at its best. With the use of this card, it eliminates disease, sickness, poisons, and ill feelings of all kinds. When used, people will cease to die. People will become… immortal…” Gin goes on in a mystic tone, basking in the sheer euphoria of the good that his creation could do.

 

Reed takes a step back and raises his eyebrows in disbelief. “Immortality? But mum told us that life was a precious thing. It's far too precious to just tamper with using magic. Terrible things can happen to those who muck around with life. Don't you listen to anything mum told you?” Reed asks with skepticism, the greater good of Gin's plan apparently missing him by miles.

 

Gin hangs his head. “Don't you ever think? You're a Clow. I'm a Clow. Dad's a Clow. Mum is a Clow and a Li too! We're the most powerful magical beings ever! I think we can handle bending a few rules here and there, if it makes people's lives better,” Gin boasts confidently.

 

Reed's eyes are drawn back to the enchantingly beautiful girl from Gin's picture. He shakes his head, trying to steady himself in his convictions. “This isn't going to work, you know,” he warns.

 

Gin frowns as he goes to put the picture of The Life back on his wall, among the many other pictures he has around. “Should've known you were too much of a straight arrow to listen to reason…” Gin mutters. “I hope history remembers what a stupid git you are, Reed. We could've made history together. But if you're so tied down by what mum and dad say, I'll just have to do this myself!” he snaps at Reed.

 

Reed backs out of Gin's room, to be confronted by his father. “Dad!” he stammers in shock, his father getting the surprise on him.

 

Reed's father turns his eyes towards Gin as he steps away from the wall. Reed's father's eyes are also drawn to the picture of The Life that Gin hung up in his room. He scrutinizes the picture from outside Gin's room as he pulls Reed aside. “Son, it's time I tell you about the nature of time,” he begins, dragging Reed behind him. Reed's father then takes a seat in front of his bonsai tree, which he then studies thoroughly. He pulls up a stool beside him. “Come,” he calls to Reed.

 

Reed obliges, sitting on the stool his father pulled up. “What is it?” Reed asks.

 

Reed's father stares blankly at the bonsai tree for a few moments before responding. “One of the most important lessons that you will ever learn is that nothing ever happens by coincidence. Coincidental events are merely illusions, for all things are predetermined beforehand. Which is how individuals, like yourself, your mother, and your brother Gin, have such a great sense of the world beyond merely what we see,” he goes on.

 

Reed tilts his head, puzzled by what his father is telling him. “So… what is it that causes everything?” Reed asks inquisitively.

 

“Hitzusen,” his father repeats back to him. “In this world, there are no coincidences. There is only Hitzusen.”

 

Reed remains perplexed, having had a new word thrust squarely into his vocabulary without as much as even a formal definition. “Why are you telling me this, dad?” Reed asks.

 

“The girl that Gin drew,” Reed's father responds. “Remember the lesson of Hitzusen, son. Lives beyond our own will depend on it.”

 

Reed ponders the thought for a moment, until he lets his jaw drop, almost landing on the table. “You don't mean…?” he whispers, fright-filled.

 

Reed's father smiles a corny smile back at Reed. “Do not be afraid, son. Don't be afraid. There is another lesson that you must know.”

 

“Which is?” Reed asks.

 

Reed's father stares intensely at the bonsai tree again. “There's a Japanese expression that your mother will tell to me whenever I'm feeling down, and it's a very good saying because it's very true. Zettai daijobu. It means that everything will be alright. If you know of these two things, you will never need to worry.”

 

“Ze-zu… Zitta… Zet…” Reed says, struggling to pronounce the expression his father told him. “Zet…tai… dai…jo...bu…” Reed quotes at last. “No matter what, everything will be alright?” Reed asks his father.

 

“If you believe, then yes,” Reed's father responds, placing a comforting hand on his shaken son's shoulder.