By Chustang Sundust
Chapter 1
"The Calm Before the Storm"
Through wind-tossed, ominous black hair, a pair of vehement gray
eyes seemed to analyze the land before him. A quiet and languid town whose
sidewalks bristled with the feathery pink embrace of sakura trees lay invitingly
at his feet. The mysterious figure, along with the magical weapon shining
dull light along its blade, pulled up the collar of the dark cloak he wore.
Another few hours… he thought restlessly.
The unearthly warm wind of change and chaos was blowing steadily at
his back; the choice to attack was made now, he was sure of it. Flickering
his misty gray eyes aged years ahead of his body with cold intensity, he
shook the cowl loose of its stiffness before drawing it over his wild black
hair. The figure turned away from his rival's domain and left Reedington
in peace to prepare for tomorrow's showdown.
"Sakura!" Li yelled suddenly from behind her, but his voice was
conquered by the raspy and dark voice of the storm that roared through
their very existence. In the flinty gray depths of the Storm card's funnel
cloud, it was hard enough to drive onward through the onslaught of ever
shifting winds. With such fury pitted against them, the female Card Captor
was constantly swinging the wand she and Li rode to avoid being trapped
in its swirling vortex of wind. The wings that sprouted from the end of
Sakura Avalon's Sealing Wand violently shook in their frame and the weightless,
snow white feathers that were ripped away spiraled with no end into the
dark storm clouds. In all the confusion and pure, chaotic nature, it would
have been impossible for her to see Li rocking dangerously on the wand
in the incessant darting and wheeling. If she had, at any moment, taking
her concentration off staying airborne and in control it would have been
as futile for them as a leaf in a whirlpool.
Suddenly, a blast of wind attacked them from beneath and it rattled
them from their ride. The two kids gave a yell of terror, as the lightweight
Sealing Wand was ripped from their grasp. For a split second, their fingers
lingered over nothing, left helpless to the storm, and one more blast would
have been enough to finish them off. But it seemed the Card wasn't finished
toying; Sakura was thrown back onto the wand and her momentum caused the
thing to buckle and swing out.
As a reaction, once recovered, she turned her head slightly to
check on Li. It came as a shock when those fiery brown eyes she knew…
simply weren't there. "Li?" she shouted at the top of her lungs, over the
storm. Her green eyes went wide with shock, instantly wheeling the wand
around, as she saw him plunging through the winds. "Oh my gosh! Li!" With
tears of fear streaming down her face, she wrenched the neck of her ride
downward into a dive afterward. This couldn't happen! No!
Her mind blurred with images and each one showed the golden brown
eyes of her precious with their magic. He'd haunt her mind constantly,
and now, the storm of emotions and pictures was getting harder to shake
off. Li, standing in her mind, rich green robes blowing around his frame,
with his sword lifted up to his cheek; Li, leaping up to meet the Sword
card with his own; Li, staring dreamily out the window at the sakura blossoms
in Language class; Li, running down the field in Soccer, weaving easily
with the ball through the crowd; Li, enchanting brown eyes watching the
river, dipping his toes in; Li, groaning as Meilin tightly flung herself
around his waist, then looking up to her.
Sakura blinked away this onslaught of memories just to find she'd
dropped back, and she urged the wand down. About fifty feet below her,
she saw him grappling to free his sword from its hold in the intolerable
wind force. His face twisted up in determination, and his brown hair whipped
at his face. As if he was no more than a feather, the Storm cloud seemed
to laugh in its windy voice while it tossed him around.
Suddenly, his sword came lose and the experienced Card Captor
wasted no time. Straining to lift the blade in the power and untamed attack
of the wind, Li concentrated his magical powers that stirred in preparation
deep within him. "Rai tei sho rai!" he screamed against the wind, snapping
his intense brown eyes open to see Sakura rushing down the funnel to his
aid. It dawned on him, just what he'd done, as the sword began to crackle
with its lightning energy. "No, Sakura, get out of the way!" he warned
desperately, knowing it was too late to avert his action.
Light spilled mystically out in all directions, as sparks whipped
across the blade then jolted around jaggedly, forming into a blast of lightning.
Silence seemed to overcome the whirl of the Storm card, as the sword warmed
up ominously, lit up, and then with a crack of light, spit lightning out
in all directions. Li was flung back with the recoil that shot up his hand
through the hilt he tightly clutched, and he barely could focus on the
darting form of Sakura as the lightning chased after the flying object.
Fear snatched at his eyes, darkening his world, and after hitting the ground
violently, it was black.
End Chapter 1
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Please go easy on flaming if your going to; this is my first
CCS fic, alright! I'm a big fan of the series, but I can only see the English
version, Cardcaptors, and they show it in very little order, so I've had
little exposure to it. Sorry if I get something wrong; please tell me what
and I'll fix it. My Syaoran-chan is so cute! – I just had to do a fic!
And it had to be a fic where he was hurt, struggling, then is a big hero!
Oops! Did I just give it away? R&R!!!!
Chustang