Sakura sat down heavily in the chair. She had been so close to revealing everything to Tomoyo. Reaching up, she massaged her aching chest.
"It happened again?" asked Kero, fluttering down onto Sakuras shoulder.
"Yeah," Sakura answered quietly. "It's getting worse. And more and more often."
"For heaven's sake Sakura," Kero said softly. "You have to go to a doctor or something. This is getting out of hand."
"I can't.'
"Why not? What can you gain from keeping it to yourself?"
"It's already too late. Nothing I do will make it any better. There's no point in making everyone worry."
"But how do you know it's too late if you haven't talked to anyone about it?" Kero asked.
"I can feel it. Besides..."
Sakura broke off her sentence and looked out the window.
"Besides what?"
"I'm sure this is what killed my mother," said Sakura, in a voice that was almost a whisper. "If she didn't survive, what chance do I have? No Kero. They're better off not knowing."
Kero sighed. "There's no use arguing with you is there?"
"None at all."
"How long...?"
"Until I die?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know exactly."
Kero sat silently for a few minutes. Then: "Are you scared?"
"Yeah. But not about dying."
"Then what?"
"I'm scared about how people will react. Tomoyo in particular..."
"Why her?"
"She and I are so close. We spend so much time together and we care so deeply about each other. If... When I die, she's going to take it really hard."
"I'll do my best to look after her. I can't guarantee that I can keep her safe though. I can't watch her all the time."
"I appreciate that Kero. I really do."
"Yue is really angry at you."
"How did he find out?!" Sakura exclaimed, horrified. "If he knows, then Yukito knows too!"
"We're attuned to your magic. It's been ebbing away for the last few months. Of course he knows."
Sakura hid her face in her hands. "Oh god."
"Call Yukito over now."
Sakura glowered at Kero through her fingers. "So he can yell at me? No thanks. I don't need any more stress."
"I will keep him calm. Besides, you're already stressing about this and I want to put it to bed before you get any worse."
Lowering her hands slightly Sakura stared at Kero with tears in her eyes. "Yue won't talk to me. He's going to hate me..."
"He's angry, yes. But he cares about you as much as I do and he wants to stop you from suffering."
Sakura looked away. "The phone is over there," She said bitterly. "Call him if you want."
Kero ruffled her hair gently before fluttering over the phone and dialing Yukito's number. "Hey. Can I speak to Yue? Yue? Yeah it's Keroberos. I want you to talk to Sakura. I don't care. No listen to me. You and she need to talk. Yue, with all due respect, shut your mouth and get over here. NOW."
With a beep he hung up the phone, cutting off Yue in mid-sentence.
Sighing he turned around. "He's on his way. Don't worr-"
He cut off at the sight of Sakura weeping. Tears were streaming down her face as she pressed her hand over her chest.
"Sakura! Is it your heart again?"
"N-no," Sakura sobbed. "Yue h-hates me. I can t-tell."
"Oh Sakura..." Kero sighed, transforming into his true form, and wrapping his wings around her. "He doesn't hate you. He will never hate you. No matter how cold he seems, he cares about you as deeply as I do."
"I should have told him when I t-told you," Sakura wailed miserably. "I b-betrayed him. I'm a terrible m-master."
"Stop that talk," said Kero. "You're as fine a master as Clow Reed was."
"He looked after y-you for years and years. I'm already f-failing and..."
Kero lifted Sakura's head so she was looking him right in the eye. "Listen to me Sakura. You are an amazing master. You're also an amazing friend. I saw Clow Reed do so many amazing things. But the strength you've shown over these past few months is beyond anything I've ever seen. You have borne your condition in silence, and while I might not agree with it, I've never seen anyone bear your burden and still smile. And through all of this, you've done everything a Clow master should do and more. Don't you dare disrespect yourself again Sakura."
Sakura sniffled, and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry Kero. It's been so hard dealing with this."
"Then you should have asked for help" said a chilly voice from the window.
Sakura spun quickly to face the moon guardian, Yue.
His face was still and impassive.
"Yue..."
"You have a lot of explaining to do Sakura."
"Yeah I know. Look. You'd better come in and sit down. It can't be very comfortable there."
Yue nodded, stepped gracefully through the window, and sat on Sakura's bed with his legs crossed. "Now explain."
"I don't know where to begin..."Sakura said, twisting her hands in her lap.
"Why don't you tell me what is wrong with you?"
Sakura frowned slightly. "I'm not sure really. I think I have what my mother had. But they didn't know what it was then and I doubt they do now. It's come on a lot earlier for me than it did for her."
"And what is the outcome you expect?"
"I'm going to die."
Yue was silent.
"Trust me," Sakura said. "I'm not thrilled about it either."
"This is not a joking matter Sakura!" snapped Yue.
Sakura turned her chair to the window and rested her head on her arms.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I don't want my last few days to be filled with sad people. I want smiles to be the last thing I see on people's faces."
"You could have gone and gotten medical help. You could have saved yourself."
"I really didn't have a chance of surviving."
Yue radiated disapproval. "You might have survived had you..."
Kero was staring at Sakura, horrified. "You said..."
Sakura nodded sadly. "Yeah..."
"DAYS!" Kero cried. "HOW MANY?"
"I don't know. Three. Maybe four. It's hard to say. But I can tell I don't have much time left."
"Yukito will be telling your father and brother about this," Yue said. "They'll get you help. I'm not going to let you die."
"Yue no!" Sakura said desperately. "No! You can't!"
"I can. He already knows everything you've said."
Sakura's face went blank and she stood up straight. "As master of the Clow cards and the Clow guardians I order you to hold your tongue and prevent Yukito from saying anything about this to anyone."
Yue went very still. His pale skin seemed to get even paler.
"Sakura..." Kero whispered. "Oh Sakura..."
"Yue," Sakura said more powerfully. "You will do as I ask."
"Yes. Master."
Sakura flinched at the venom in the words. "I'm sorry. I had to Yue. I didn't want to but you left me no choice."
"I'm sorry too," said Yue, standing up, and transforming back into Yukito.
"Yukito?" Sakura said in alarm.
Yukito gave her a hard look. "You can order Yue around all you want but I won't follow your orders."
"Yukito please," Sakura begged. "Don't tell them."
"I don't have a choice Sakura. They deserve to know. I owe it to your brother and your father."
"Yukito please..."
Yukito turned his back on her. "You dug this hole Sakura."
Sakura took a step forward, arm outstretched.
WHUMP.
Yukito spun around quickly and stopped short.
Sakura lay crumpled on the floor, twitching and spasming violently.
"Sakura!" Kero cried.
A horrible moan issued from Sakura's crumpled form. "Huuuurts..."
Yukito bent down over her, and turned her over gently.
Tears were running down her face as she writhed in Yukito's grip. "Yukito... please stop this... It hurts so bad."
Yukito looked down at her, pity in his eyes. "I can't do anything about it."
Sitting down, he pulled her close to himself, feeling her small, frail form trembling in his arms. Turning to Kero, he spoke again. "Is it like this every time?"
Kero shook his head. "Normally she screams. It's... not easy to watch."
"No," Yukito agreed. "I can imagine..."
Slowly, Sakura's spasms slowed down, and she was able to struggle into a more dignified sitting position. "Please help me to bed," she said in a hoarse whisper. "I need to rest."
Yukito lifted her gently onto the bed and pulled the covers over her.
She was already asleep, her face pale and tense, as if she were still in pain.
"How long will she be out?" Yukito asked quietly.
"A few hours," Kero sighed.
"I'm getting her taken to the hospital,"Yukito said grimly. "Maybe they can't save her life but they can certainly stop the pain."
"She won't be happy."
"She'll be in less pain. That's what I care about."
"I suppose you're right."
Yukito left Kero with Sakura and headed downstairs to the telephone.
Dialing a number he waited.
"Hello," said Toya. "Who is this?"
"Yuki."
"Oh hey. What's up? You sound tired."
"You should come home right now. Can you get Fujitaka as well. It's important."
"What's this about?"
"I'll explain it all when you get here. It's about Sakura."
"I'm on my way," Toya said instantly, and hung up.
Yukito hung up the phone and walked outside. The sun was hidden behind heavy grey clouds and it was bitterly cold.
"It's going to snow," he muttered to himself.
"Hey! Yukito!"
He turned to see a young, raven haired girl jogging toward him. "Hello Tomoyo. What are you doing here?"
"Well," said Tomoyo. "Sakura ran out in the middle of recess and she looked really sick or something. I figured I would stop by after school to see if she was okay."
"You should probably come inside," Yukito said, gesturing to the open door. "There are some things you should know."
Tomoyo's smile turned to a look of apprehension. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah."
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Come inside. Toya and Fujitaka are on their way now, and I will explain then."
Tomoyo covered her mouth. "It's that serious?"
Yukito nodded. "Sakura has been keeping a lot from you and her family."
"I want to see her."
"She's sleeping now. Let her rest. She's had a rough day."
"I won't wake her. I just need to see her."
Yukito hesitated. Then he relented. "Okay. Just be quiet okay?"
"I will," Tomoyo promised, and darted up the stairs.
Quietly, she pushed open the bedroom door and peeked inside.
"Come in Tomoyo," whispered Kero. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
Tomoyo tiptoed in and closed the door. "Hey Kero. How'd you know it was me?"
Kero smiled wanly. "Yue would have just walked in. Has he explained everything yet?"
"He just told me something was seriously wrong with Sakura."
"I'll let him explain then. She is asleep now so don't wake her okay?"
Tomoyo looked over at the bed. Sakura was still very pale and her face was screwed up in pain. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and her hands were clenched on top of the blankets. She looked so frail that Tomoyo almost started to cry.
"Oh my god," she whispered. "What happened? She wasn't like this today."
"Sakura has become a very good actor over the past few months. She's good at hiding her illness from people."
"What illness?"
"I'll let Yue explain."
"Tell me Kero," Tomoyo snarled.
Sakura groaned and shifted slightly, but remained asleep.
"Shh," Kero admonished. "I said I will let Yue explain. I'm pretty sure that's Toya and Fujitaka arriving now. Go downstairs and Yue will tell you everything."
Tomoyo looked once more at Sakura and slipped down the stairs.
Walking into the living room, she saw Yukito sitting on the sofa, and Fujitaka and Toya pulling off coats.
"Hey Tomoyo," said Fujitaka with a smile. "I didn't know you'd be here too. Now Yukito. What is wrong?"
"Sakura is dying," Yukito said quietly.