A/N: Hi, this is Sweetie-Saphira here to say that I do not own any of these characters, (obviously). I'd also like to apologize for the lack of updates, but I was busy with school. Now that I'm out, you can expect more updates from me

Sakura's PoV

"Move over there" Keroberos says.

Sakura moves to the centre of the alley.

"Key of the Seal." he chants softly.

There is someone wishing to make a contract with you.
A girl. Her name is Sakura.
Oh Key, grant her the Power!
RELEASE!"

"Sakura! Grab the staff!" Keroberos orders as a bright light fills the dark alley. Sakura did as she was told, hesitating slightly before grabbing the staff. As she grabbed the staff, a circle with symbols appeared beneath her while the light that was previously being emitted from the staff was absorbed back into it.

She heard a gasp from behind him. Her eyes refocusing, she saw her brother Touya, face pale. As their eyes met, her surroundings changed.

Sakura looked up, tears streaking down her face. Looking past the burning flames that surrounded her vision, the smoke that burned her throat and stung her eyes; seeking the form of her best friend, Tomoyo and her mother, Sonomi. She felt someone yanking hard on her arm, but she stood where she was. Resisting them, not allowing herself to be dragged out. She had failed them. She... she should have stayed with them! She deserved to be devoured by these hungry flames, the ones that devoured her mother, father, her brother, and even now ate her only living relatives that she had left, knew and trusted.

The person who was trying to get her out of this building that she refused to leave, sighed and gently picked her up. Too numb to resist any longer, she stared forlornly at the ceiling as she was hauled out of the burning building.

Tears streaming down her face, Sakura woke with a start. She hated these dreams, the nightmares of her past haunting her in every dream. Across from her she saw Syaoran's silhouette, looking down at the ground sadly. She immediately flung herself into his arms, almost knocking him over. He looked surprised at first, before he began stroking her hair.

"Anata wa akumu o motte imashita ka?" Syaoran whispered into her ear. Sakura nodded slightly in response, curling up closer to him, hoping that being near him would banish the nightmarish images from her past. They stayed like that for a while, until Sakura started to drift off. Suddenly, an image of vampire flashed behind her eyelids. She instinctively bolted away, only to land on the ground, face first. She spat out the flowers that ended up in her mouth, using Woody to regrow the flowers. Her and Syaoran had been sleeping in gardens as of late, at her request. The gardens seemed so strangely... familiar. Comforting, really.

Putting that thought aside, she focused and brought her mind back to the present. She could hear Syaoran talking to her, shaking her lightly. It took a bit of effort as she was trying to get her fear under control, but she was finally able to make out what he was saying.

"Sakura! Sakura, are you okay? What did you see?" Syaoran asked repeatedly, his voice rising higher with panic.

"A vampire," she whispered, barely audible. Syaoran moved closer to her so he could hear her.

"Kyūketsuki." Sakura repeated, louder this time. Syaoran stiffened, turning to scan the horizon, searching for any movement. Any sign of life, so to speak.

"Not here, in my vision." Sakura said, her voice trembling. Syaoran looked at her incredulously.

"We're supposed to hunt vampires? Really? And after what happened to us as kids..." Syaoran rubbed his forehead in exasperation and stress as he began to pace.

"Trust me, I'm not any more eager to do this hunt than you are, Syaoran." Sakura replied as she tried to calm him down.

"Look..." Syaoran began.

"We should just..." she started to say.

"Why don't we split up for a while?" the two said in unison. They were stunned for a minute, before Syaoran's eyes narrowed and he glared at her.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Sakura said, putting her hands up in the air in surrender. His gaze softened as he realized that she was telling the truth.

"Sorry, it's just... Y'know?" Syaoran said as he slumped onto the grass.

"I know, I know," she replied, moving closer to him so she could hug him. He relaxed slightly in her embrace. They stayed like that until the sun rose.

When the sun rose, she called Yue and Kero from the perimeter. She released Syaoran and stood up.

"Alright, if we are going to split up for a while, then let's spar to see if we can split up for hunting without us having to worry so much about one another." Sakura stated while getting up and grabbing her daggers.

"After all, if we can't at least match each other or have you beat me Syaoran, we should stick together instead of going our separate ways." she added.

Syaoran's expression hardened as he went and grabbed his sword.

"What are the rules this time?" he asked.

"Kero, Yue, you two will be the referees. If I can no longer keep using Time, take over for me, Yue. Syaoran, anything goes except for fatal wounds." Sakura said, turning to address them each in turn. Syaoran took a ready stance and waited for the land around them to be awash with gold.

"TIME!" Sakura yelled, unsheathing her daggers at the same time Syaoran unsheathed his sword.

The young couple charged at one another, Syaoran's sword raised high above his head whereas Sakura's light pink daggers with silver and gold lining the handles were held firmly in front of her.

Sakura's daggers were incredibly interesting. They were not forged long ago when her ancestors lived, nor were they a pair of modern day "Blacksmith's" work. These daggers were made of her own magic. No, the daggers were made of her very essence, tied to her life-force.

In her left, she held Runa, a gleaming silverish-pink dagger with a crescent moon and an angel's wings to guard them. When the wings were open, they made a hilt guard; but when they were up they made a sheath. In her other hand she held Sora. Sora was basically the same only it had the sun rather than a moon. In addition, the silver wings of Runa were laced with a fine thread of gold, while her counterpart had golden wings with silver lacing throughout the hilt and sheath.

Sakura side-stepped Syaoran's initial strike, aiming for his arms with her daggers. Syaoran noticed this and quickly blocked with the hilt of his sword. She jumped away, swiping at him with Sora before throwing Runa up in the air. Syaoran moved to block her from grabbing her weapon, but she jumped over him, using his shoulders to launch herself higher in the air to grab Runa. Sheathing Sora at the same time as grabbing Runa with the opposite hand, she used Sora's sheath to block Syaoran's attack as he swung his sword at her legs. She swung downwards with Runa, catching Syaoran's shoulder with the blade at the same time that he sliced her arm. Sakura's arm was bleeding as much as his shoulder. They both gritted their teeth at the pain, but adrenaline quickly dulled it.

Syaoran ran at her after she landed, his sword angled to strike her legs. She quickly unsheathed Sora, and using both blades, attempted to push him back. He swiftly moved his sword upwards, timing it so it was behind her daggers. Sakura pulled her daggers backwards, trying to wrench Syaoran's sword out of his hands using her blades. The sharp tip of his sword had cut her leg, making it annoying to use. Bracing herself on the one leg, she kicked Syaoran in the knees, hard. On reflex, Syaoran kicked back, aiming for her hands, resulting in him leaving an opening that Sakura took advantage of. Slashing his leg with Sora and Runa, she leaped backwards to avoid the sword blade moving towards her. This went on for what felt like a while, this trading of blow for blow, injury for injury.

~A while later~

Sakura and Syaoran were both covered in injuries, their clothes soaked in blood. Eventually the fighting and adrenaline got to Sakura. Her head spun, feeling like the blood was rushing to her head. The headiness exhilarated her. It didn't take long under that pressure for something to snap. She finally saw Syaoran as merely an enemy. Someone, no... something she was fighting, something to toy with. Sakura had stepped inside his guard, lifting Sora and Runa, angling them on Syaoran's wrist, and swung; severing Syaoran's hand from his wrist, forcing him to pick up the sword that had fallen with his other hand.

Even as he dodged her incoming strikes, Sakura could see the magic that he was weaving simultaneously on the stub to stop the bleeding. She snickered, quickly dissolving into a maniacal, mocking laughter as she dodged and parried Syaoran's attacks. It had been so, so long since she was allowed to fight like this. She dove off that cliff in her mind, relishing the sense of power that she felt in this deep end. She saw Syaoran's injuries in a new light, seeing the eerie beauty in the magic he had weaved, albeit the cruelness of it she could still realize. Sakura foolishly let herself be distracted by this maddening sense, malicious as it was. So when Syaoran rushed at her, she was momentarily caught off guard long enough for him to put his sword at her throat. Pressing hard enough to draw blood, she could see the flash of rage in his eyes. This shocked her out of her reverie, bringing her back to herself. She quickly assessed the situation, quickly forming a plan in her mind's eye. Hoping that he would be experiencing the 'phantom limb' sensation, she closed her eyes briefly as though exasperated and asked this question:

"Syaoran, what hand are you holding your sword in right now?"

She opened her eyes in time to see him looking down at his hand to see which hand his sword was in.

"Never let your enemy distract you." Sakura said. Syaoran stiffened, preparing himself for her attack. She relaxed her stance for long enough that if he chose to, he would get an open hit. Evidently, this perplexed Syaoran. Taking advantage of his confusion, Sakura quickly moved out of his grasp, knocking him down onto the ground and putting Sora and Runa to his neck.

She contemplated using her magic to hold him still, but decided against it. After all, if he struggled that would show that he was still willing to fight, thus giving her guardians a reason to call it a draw. As expected, Syaoran did fight back via to kneeing her in the stomach, trying to get her either off of him or loosen her grip on her daggers. She did neither.

"It's a draw!" Kero and Yue said immediately. Sakura moved back from Syaoran, sheathing her daggers and looping them in her belt loops. She casually walked over to Syaoran's severed hand and and calmly said:

"Illusion, thanks for your help. Please dissipate and show Syaoran the truth."

Syaoran's shock was plain on his face as the "severed hand" disappeared and his hand was 'miraculously' restored, albeit with deep lacerations on the wrist. The shock on his face, unsurprisingly, turned to anger quickly.

"You cheated!" Syaoran yelled as he rushed at her with his sword gripped tightly in both hands.

"Actually, I didn't cheat. I said anything goes, except for fatal wounds. Magic is a part of that 'anything', isn't it? It's not my fault that you didn't think of using it." Sakura replied calmly, serenely almost.

"At the very least, you are lucky that the injury wasn't real. Wouldn't you agree? "Sakura added. She waited until he was almost about to be able to stab her, moving behind him so fast that she looked like a blur. She raised her hand and hit him cleanly back of the neck, hard enough to knock him unconscious but not break his neck. He collapsed, unconscious.

Sakura had already dealt with her injuries while putting Syaoran's sword away, and set about tending to Syaoran's wounds. While she healed him, she used Bubbles on her and Syaoran's clothes. It wouldn't look good if they were bloodstained, especially if they had to leave quickly and inconspicuously. She let Syaoran sleep, letting Yue take over keeping Time up.

"Hey sleepyhead. Feeling better?" Sakura asked when he awoke. She stood up, brushing the grass off her pants.

"Well, now that we know that the other can leave without having to worry so much about each other when we hunt, I'll be heading off now." Sakura said before Syaoran could reply.

"Of course, we'll meet up as always after the hunts. Regardless of how long it takes to meet up." she added.

Sakura packed up her bags as Syaoran did the same for his.

"Will you be hunting the vampire?" Syaoran called to her as she walked away.

"No, of course not." Sakura called over her shoulder, something in her cringing at the lie. She called out to Yue, and Yukito by default:

"Yue, you stay with Syaoran to protect him. Kero, come with me"

"Should we keep in contact with one another after and on the way to our hunts?" Sakura asked Syaoran.

"Absolutely," he replied.

"Will you be in my dreams?" Syaoran asked suspiciously.

"You wish." Sakura replied, her tone filled with disdain towards the question.

As she walked off, she let go of Time.

A/N: That's all folks! What did you think? I'm still new at this, with it being my second story and all. I'd also like to say that no matter how long the hiatus, I will never abandon my stories. By the way, my stalker stole my computer to edit this. XD - Sweetie-Saphira

Update as of 7/16/2015: I'm already working on the next chapter but will not post it until I get at least one review. Tell me what you think! Did you think it was good? Awful? Why? Also, if one person reviews, not only will I upload the nest chapter ASAP, but I'll post the original, gorier version of this chapter

Update as of 8/4/2015: You know what? I'm not going to wait for a review. I'm updating this today. IDC anymore! PS. This was censored for gore. I might set up a poll on whether or not to upload this story under "M" for gore, and uncensor it. Of course, I will keep this version up as well, so it will not be disappearing.