Tsubasa reservoir chronicle: the beginning of the adventure

"Sakura hime! Sakura hime!"

The princess of Clow's kingdom suddenly opened her jade green eyes, turning her head around. There was only water, almost as blue as a starry night sky like she'd never seen before. Lots of weird fishes from different colors were swimming near the big and bright corals that dwelled the backdrop; some used to get in little caves and others got next to her, smelling her shoes. She gazed at them curiously, gentlly shaking them away and took an amazed look at that subaquous world that surrounded her.

It looked like a sort of ocean, but she couldn't say it for certain.

"How…how have I reached this place?

She tried to remember how she had come there, but not a single fragment of memory seemed to light up her mind.

No, better: how am I supposed to breath underwater? shesuddenly realized.

"I've got no gills or any kind of super technological mean which allows me to survive here! So, how the heck can I…?"

"Sakura hime!

That voice distracted her from her thoughts.

"Who is? " Trying to localize the source of it. She kept gazing around her, but nothing seemed have spoken through that flowing dark water.

The princess began to shiver: the temperature had lowered and the light began to fade away. Now she started to feel like in a prison without an horizon, an end which could lead her to a shelter. Weird and deep sounds were propagating in the city of corals under her figur; she couldn't tell exactly from where they were coming from or worse, from what they were produced.

She tightened her arms around her chest, closing the eyes as though this could made her feel safer.

" I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid….." she kept on repeating herself until the voice reached her ears once again, this time closer.

"Sakura hime!"

The voice was getting nearer and nearer, but still she couldn't recognize it; and yet she knew it.

"Sakura hime!"

This time she saw a little dot ahead: the more it was nearer, the more it was becoming thin and black, forming a strange shape, until Sakura saw well: a kind of shadow with acute, clear blue eyes like lapis lazuli were staring at her. She felt like her heart was pierced by a couple of sharp ice cues. Then a strange sound started to fill her mind: it was mischievous, evil, like a… " a lullaby which just want to make you feel empty of any kind of happy emotions, memories." She thought, slowly beginning to feel tired, lifeless. Her eyes were half-closed when she saw the shadow streching its hand toward her forehead.

"What….what is happening? It's just as if my mind is being sucked away…" but she couldn't carry on thinkin because something hard hit her head aside, making her faint. The last thing she foresaw was a shape with a human one on it against the angry shadow. Then everything became blured.

"Sakura hime!" Wake up!"

That voice reached her ears like a quick lightning, waking her up on a pair of soft arms. She had finally recognized it.

"Syaoran kun" she said whispering, still a bit fainted.

"Yes, Sakura hime. I'm here" he said looking straight into her eyes, smiling.

Slowly the princess stood her chest and took a look at the rounded surface on which they were sitting; Syaoran must have saved her from falling even more down after have chased the shadow and taking care of her while she had been fainted.

"Aren't you hurt?" she asked, stretching her hand to his cheeek, on which there was a small bruise. He grabbed it and, gently, he tightened.

" It's just a mere scratch; no need you to worry about"

" Don't you mind if I just take a quick look?" she said, lenghtening to see the bruise better. Syaoran could feel her hair flowing ahead of him, and her soft skin touching on his chin. He deviated his face from her face blushing strongly.

"Eeeeh it's okay hime. I'm sure it'll heal soon." He said still red and with some drops of sweat on the verge of his forehead.

(yes I know we're underwater, but I'm sure you can understand the sense )

"Oh well….if you say so" said Sakura shyly, lowering the head.

Suddenly something hit her back from behind. She turned and what she saw was the serious muzzle of what looked like a sort of whale, but thinner and sharpened.

"Iiiiiiiiii…what's this thing?" she asked, frightened, hiddening behind Syaoran's back.

" Don't be scared: it's just weird creature with which I made friendship after he saved me from being trapped with my foot in a rock. In some way I can communicate with him, but I don't really know how: it must be this place." He said. Then, putting his arma round her shivering shoulders, he pushed the princess toward it.

" Don't be shy; he's not dangerous." he encouraged her to touch him, but the creature shifted his face away.

"Maybe he's just jealous" he said laughing. Sakura joined the laugh and with a warm gaze looked Syaoran.

" Anyway, thank you for saving me" she said smiling brightly.

Syaoran couldn't say a word: he was sunk in her green eyes, which were sparkling like small emeralds around a visage full of happiness. Then, as guided by a invisible force, he approached and put his right hand on her cheek: he could feel her soft skin under his fingers, her gaze piercing his body, warming it once again. Very slowly, he was getting near her lips.

" What…what am I doing? I can't control myself!" he thought, while approaching her face even more. Then he saw Sakura closing her eyes, as if she was waiting for him.

"This..this can't be. Is she really think of me as….." but the sudden and quick move of the whale made him fall back, followed by Sakura on his body. They both blushed strongly, distancing each other immediately.

"Well…maybe we should begin exploring this place, shouldn't we?" he said, bowing his head, still embarassed.

"Yeah….perhaps" said Sakura, the cheeks still red like strawberries.

Syaoran whispered some words to the whale and finally he led toward the unknown and mysterious ocean.

During the trip both of Syaoran and Sakura remained silent until she finally broke it.

"Syaoran kun?"

"What, Sakura hime?"

"Where do you think we are exactly?"

"I know less than you, hime. I only remember that we were with Fye, Kurogane and Mokona, making our journey to a new dimensional world, when I felt myself falling down; then I was swimming in this place, without an idea of where you all were." He stopped as if some other thought had crossed his mind.

Then was Sakura who spoke.

"Well…..the same thing happened to me, but the difference is that I encountered that strange shadow, from which you saved me."

He turned toward the princess.

"Hime, for what followed after I saved you…..I…..?" but he couldn't complete the phrase, cause' Sakura shouted.

" Syaoran look there! There's something glowing!" she said pointing at a far glowing dot ahead of them.

He focused where she was pointing at and a big city appeared in front of them: the more they got nearer, the more they both closed their eyes because of the blind light.

"It's huge. Where do we are?" she asked amazed.

Syaoran looked at her with a funny smile.

"Well…the only thing we can do is finding out".