Shards of Kaos: Card Captor Nadeshiko
"NADESHIKOOOOOO!" Sonomi screams out.
Running down the street, all Sonomi can think about is her friend. Ever the klutz, Nadeshiko should have known better to challenge someone… or something as powerful as that Yue fellow to any sort of physical confrontation. The pouring, torrential rains only made it worse, what with Nadeshiko's grip being slick and weak on the best of days. Even if it meant losing her friends, the Clow Cards, Nadeshiko should have just given up long before her fragile health became an issue. Nadeshiko had too much to live for…
All that matters now is getting to her fallen friend. That self-proclaimed Judge sent Nadeshiko flying into an alley three blocks away. They had to get there. They had to stop him. They had to save Nadeshiko's life.
"NADESHIKO! HANG ON, I'M COMING!" a booming male voice shouts from behind Sonomi as its bearer passes her by.
Darn that Kinomoto-sensei! It wasn't bad enough to steal her friend away, but to marry his own student? At least now, in times of trying difficulties, he's finally starting to pull his weight like a man ought to…
Nadeshiko relinquishes her weakened grip on the pink staff with the massive feathery wings. She didn't have the strength to hold onto it after being thrown back-first into a tall chain-link fence. She surveys the scars running down her bare left arm, the cotton sleeve of her sweater torn away by those icy cold blades he threw at her. While she appeared to have dodged the worst of it, the rain exacerbates the look of the slight cuts. What would normally be slight bleeding from easily-healed scrapes was drenched by the rain, and Nadeshiko nearly faints at the red streams of diluted blood running down her arm.
Of course, for her, even the smallest cuts can prove life-threatening. Ever since she could remember, her body conspired against her. She always felt weak, but even the slightest tickle of germs could reduce her strength to a slow trickle. Why? Who had she wronged that she be punished with such a crippling weakness? The doctors she frequently visited called it 'primary immunodeficiency'. All she knew was exhaustion. Separation from her loved ones for days, sometimes weeks on end. And pain. Lots of pain.
As the wind whips gently around Nadeshiko, she realized she didn't have the time to feel such pain. That is, if she wanted to protect the Clow Cards. Yue descends slowly and ominously. Though looking like an angel, after such a vicious beating, Nadeshiko could think of him as nothing more than a reaper. An angel of death. The angel that had finally come to take such a sickly girl from such a pleasant, lively world that she clearly didn't belong in.
"The Rain Card is a Clow Card under the jurisdiction of the Moon," Yue explains to her, all without even the slightest trace of compassion, emotion, or anything discernibly human. "You could not possibly expect Clow Cards that answer to me to obey you. Yet again, Keroberos chooses foolishly."
Nadeshiko stares up at the imposing figure now pacing in towards her. Dispelling the massive wings on her staff, Nadeshiko props herself up on it like a cane.
"No… I can't let you win…" Nadeshiko mutters defiantly. "You'll make us all forget our feelings. How could you do something so cruel? I love the Clow Cards, but you…"
Nadeshiko pauses long, staring up at Yue. Yue ceases his implacable approach, almost curious.
"…You're a monster! A kaiju!" Nadeshiko spits at the Guardian, completely against her character. Nadeshiko prided herself on her ability to befriend virtually anyone. However, this Yue wasn't simply anyone. Despite his appearance, he wasn't any more human than Kero-chan. Even less, in fact, now that she considers it.
"I follow the edicts of my Master, Clow Reed," Yue responds in his eerie monotony. "I am to judge whether or not the selected Card Captor is worthy to be the Master of the Clow Cards. But none are worthy. The Clow Cards will never know another Master. To allow another Master would tarnish the memory of the only true Master I answer to. No one could ever be like…"
Yue trails off, with his monotony drifting towards nostalgia.
"…like him."
Nadeshiko grits her teeth and leans back against the chain linked fence. Gripping onto the links of the fence, she holds herself upright, allowing her to stare contemptuously at her… would 'Judge' even still be an appropriate term? Despite the odds, Nadeshiko refuses to give up. Holding onto the fence for support, she holds up her staff in her right hand, preparing for one last great act of defiance.
Yue takes easy notice of Nadeshiko's stance. "Is this truly the way you envisioned yourself dying, mortal?" Yue inquires. Though no more or less pathetic than any of the other Card Captors, they all blended together after a while, Yue couldn't help but admire Nadeshiko's determination. Something is driving this girl, Yue surmises. There must be some reason why she won't quit. Nevertheless, such questions aren't his place to ask. Clow's legacy will not be denied. It's as simple as that
"Eleven… years…" Nadeshiko mutters. "I opened that magic book eleven years ago. Fujitaka-sensei was with me from the very start. We've gotten married and started a family since then. If it weren't for the Clow Cards, we never would have grown so close together, either as the couple we were, or as the family we became. Little Touya-kun… and cute little Sakura-chan… I can't let you take away those feelings of love that the Clow Cards helped forge. I won't!" Nadeshiko reaches two fingers into a small bag hanging from her shoulder. Pulling out a Clow Card, she prepares to make good on her boast, even in spite of the tears of terror and sorrow flowing down her face.
"NADESHIKOOO!"
A loud shout breaks Nadeshiko's focus. Delivered with such fury and passion, it even draws Yue's frozen gaze.
Stumbling around the corner, Fujitaka dashes in between Yue and Nadeshiko. Finding Nadeshiko scraped and scarred from her air-jousting, his heart breaks to see her so battered. Who was this Yue to pass such vicious judgment on Nadeshiko? He was only testing her ability to fight. That wasn't what Nadeshiko was about at all! In no small hurry to get to Nadeshiko's aid as fast as possible, he crashes headlong into the fence, bouncing slightly against it. Once at rest, he wastes no time in sending a spite-filled glare up at Yue, telling him all the colorful things he thought of the Judge with naught but a look.
Nadeshiko smiles widely but weakly as her enthusiastic husband comes to her aid. A bit silly, as always, but sweet nevertheless. She drapes her right arm over Fujitaka's shoulder and hugs him weakly. "Fujitaka-sensei…" she sighs, her recent exertions leaving her strength too taxed to greet her husband with the enthusiastic smile such a wonderful guy deserved.
"You realize that your interference constitutes Nadeshiko's forfeit, Fujitaka Kinomoto?" Yue clarifies. "You all will lose the memories of love you have developed because of the Clow Ca-"
"I don't give a damn about your Final Judgment!" Fujitaka shouts back, cradling Nadeshiko defensively. "Nadeshiko is sick. Very, very sick. She can't fight you. She shouldn't. It's not fair."
"She must, or she will be disqualified," Yue insists.
"Well she shouldn't have to fight you!" Fujitaka continues his tirade. "If you were even the slightest bit human, you would see that her inability to fight shouldn't disqualify her from being the Card Captor. The Clow Cards love Nadeshiko. That alone should make her their master! But to put Nadeshiko in a street fight and pretend that it's some kind of 'Judgment'? What the hell does fighting prove?"
Just then, Sonomi finally breaks around the corner. Completely winded, she takes a moment to lean on her knees, but she hears Fujitaka. When she finally lifts her head, she sees him as well. Holding Nadeshiko in his arms in that nauseatingly lovey-dovey way he always does… only differently this time. This time, Nadeshiko isn't snuggling in Fujitaka's arms. She's hurt, barely conscious. This time, Fujitaka isn't smiling warmly at Nadeshiko's eagerly grinning face. He's spitefully staring down the freak who shot Nadeshiko out of the sky just moments ago. This time, Sonomi isn't boiling over in envious fury of the teacher who stole away her cousin and childhood friend. She's… she's listening, much to even her own surprise.
"What right does someone like you have to judge Nadeshiko?" Fujitaka continues.
"It is not a right," Yue denies simply. "It is an obligation."
"Oh, go takeyour obligations and shove 'em up your-"
"Fujitaka-kun…" Nadeshiko interjects weakly.
Fujitaka didn't get this way often. He'd only truly go off on those teachers and students who gave him grief for marrying one of his students, defending Nadeshiko from the crude, colorful remarks from both students and faculty alike. Fujitaka didn't like conflict in the slightest, and Nadeshiko knew this quite well, but even then, one thing Fujitaka liked even less was others trying to harm her or slander her. What era was Fujitaka from that he not only cared for her, but defended her from any possible harm? Such antiquated chivalry was cute in its own way.
Nadeshiko savors these thoughts, as she would never have them again. She was spent. The Judgment was all but finished. Moreover, she was also strained by her own failing, accursed body. Either she would lose the memory of her love for Fujitaka, or she would die then and there in that dirty alley. Possibly both.
Nadeshiko coughs into Fujitaka's rain-drenched polo shirt before lifting her eyes to her husband's. "Fujitaka-kun… it's over. I… I lost…" Upon admitting her defeat, she drops the Clow Card she was holding in her right hand, the most recent Card she captured, the last Card she was intending to use against Yue, the Windy Card. It hits the soggy ground edge-first with a soft thud.
Nadeshiko throws her arms around Fujitaka's neck as she sobs softly. "I'm… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I failed. I failed the Clow Cards. I failed little Touya-kun and cute little Sakura-chan. I failed all of us…"
Fujitaka runs his fingers through Nadeshiko's wet hair. He tries and fails miserably to hold back his own tears, knowing full well what Nadeshiko's defeat meant. "No, you did fine, sweetheart. You did the best you could. You… did… your best…" Fujitaka hugs Nadeshiko fearfully close. Whatever horror it was to lose your feelings of love, he wanted it to pass quickly. In tears, he can't bear the anticipation of such a cataclysm. "I will always love you… Nadeshiko-san."
Nadeshiko bites her lip in acknowledgment.
Sonomi watches on from the street. The angelic being had vanished without a trace. The only ones in the alley were Fujitaka and Nadeshiko, still hugging in the rain. The thought to get them both to shelter occurs to Sonomi, but she can't bring herself to interject. They were where they needed to be: with each other. Her interference wasn't needed. They could take care of themselves. Right? It was just like she kept telling her own daughter. When you love someone, you want for them to be happy, even if they're not happiest with you. Right? Right?
"…Right?" Sonomi mutters to herself.
Sonomi pauses, feeling the rain drip down her cheeks. The rain and nothing else.
(after midnight)
"Kaa-san! Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" the diminutive auburn-haired girl cries out loudly, not hushed even in the slightest by her brother's pleas for a little peace and quiet. But who could blame her? Kinomoto Sakura, a mere three years old, at her mother's death-bed? How did this happen? Why is mommy lying down so still? It's not fair! It's just not fair! "…Not fair… It's not fair…" she mutters, her crying dissipating, at least for the moment. She buries her face in her father's shoulder.
Fujitaka stands by Nadeshiko's hospital bed. The doctors had left some time ago, doubtlessly scurrying off to fill out the death certificate and other paperwork. Such bureaucratic creatures. Fujitaka holds Sakura up with his right hand, cradling the sobbing girl and letting her cry herself to sleep. Fujitaka's left hand hangs low, where it hangs in the icy, unmoving grip of his ten-year-old son, Touya.
"Touya-kun, are you alright?" Fujitaka asks blankly.
Touya doesn't answer, or even move. After insinuating that Nadeshiko's ghost would haunt his baby sister if she didn't hush up, Touya hadn't said a word.
Not remembering much of his own youngest years, only being a decade old himself, Touya almost pitied Sakura. When she got to be his age, she probably wouldn't remember any of what happened this night anyway. Touya instead feared for himself. He knew his mother. She had taught him to play the piano. She had encouraged him to take up karate. He could attribute so much of his young experiences to his mother. Touya tries his best to focus on the sterile smell of the air in the hospital. He was the oldest. He couldn't afford to break down. This is something he would always remember, and he would do so with grave and somber responsibility. When Sakura grows up and asks what their mom was like, it would fall to him to give an account. As their mother was incredibly kind, Touya took a moment's solace in knowing that he could tell his sister how wonderful the woman they called "kaa-san" used to be when she was alive.
What a stupid smell. The air must be getting to Touya, as he can feel his left hand tremble. With his right hand holding his dad's hand, Touya stilled the trembling in that hand with all the might he could muster. He attempts to still his right hand by stuffing it in his pants pocket, but the relief is virtually non-existent. Touya taps his sneaker on the cold linoleum floor nervously. He had to move. He had to do something. Anything to keep mobile. It helped.
"…d…n't …y…"
Keep twitching, Touya.
"…on… …cr…"
Touya pulls his hand out of his pocket and scratches at his collar, back and forth, back and forth.
"…don… …ry"
Why does the air smell so weird?
"Touya-kun… don't cry…"
Time travels strangely during periods of duress. One minute, Touya was standing within arm's reach of his mother's remains. The next minute, he was all buckled up in the back seat of the car, just waiting to go home. All three of them.
Three… That's going to take some serious getting used to.
Surely enough, Sakura had cried herself to sleep, and her head rests in Touya's lap as she sits belted up in the seat next to him. Sakura hadn't ever been up this late at night before, and as far as Touya knew, neither had he. Touya wonders if he had been a bit hard on his poor sister, seeing her with a new viewpoint. While once she was a noisy, attention-hogging little brat, now, like her namesake, she's incredibly fragile. Touya would have to tread carefully on the day Sakura would finally ask about their mother. He was already preparing his script for that day in his mind.
"Touya-kun…?" Fujitaka begins gently, trying to get Touya's attention without waking Sakura. After getting Touya's attention, Fujitaka simply idles in his speech for a few moments. As to why, Touya can only guess.
"Tou-san?" Touya responds, breaking the eerie silence. "It's okay. I'm alright," he adds, predicting his father to start on a 'don't cry' spiel of his own. And just after his mom got finished giving the same exact speech, too…
"Kaa-san told me not to cry," Touya adds. "I heard her in the hospital. She's alright."
Fujitaka remains quiet at his son's reply. At first he dismisses it as wishful thinking on his son's part to hear from his mother, but for some reason, he feels compelled to believe him. Though his memory had been starting to get fuzzy lately, no doubt because of all the fuss of Nadeshiko passing away, Fujitaka feels an unmistakable feeling in his gut telling him that strange, almost magical things are more than just fairy tales, but real possibilities.
Fujitaka didn't say another word all night. None of them did. Fujitaka took a slight detour down to his study to put a book away, but that was all for the night.