That Time Old Feeling
By Hoshi Tenshi
~Prologue~
[Saigo No Shinpan. Gambatte Ne, Sakura!]
Mizuki Kaho walked down the street towards Seijou High. She was supposed to meet Touya after his afternoon classes. Even if she had already stopped teaching as a substitute, Kaho could not help but want to see the intriguing young man again.
She held in her arms a fresh bouquet of lilies. They had been displayed so beautifully in the nearby flower shop that the miko had decided to buy them for Touya.
Humming lightly, she paused to stand at a red light at the road. Kaho peered down at the snow white blossoms cradled in her arms.
"Kaho!" a deep, male voice called to her from across the street.
Looking up, she could see a grinning Touya balancing his books in one hand and waving with the other. Giggling, she waved back, and as the light turned green, she started to dash across, to throw herself into his arms.
She never saw the truck barreling towards her.
By the time she saw the blinding headlights and heard the frantic honking of the driver, it was too late.
"Kaho! IIE!!" Touya's pain filled scream echoed down the street, as Kaho's bouquet fell to the ground after her body.
Innocent white petals fluttered weakly to the concrete-- contrasting grotesquely with the crimson drops of life that decorated them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jan-pu!" Sakura commanded. Transparent wings sprouted from the heels of her shoes and Sakura leaped high above the ground.
Yue was not far behind. "Time to end this," he said softly, his expression unreadable.
Sakura's mind raced. *I can't attack him! Even if do... I can't win...* Kero-chan had never warned her about something like this.
Everything was looking more and more hopeless.
*I still can't fight him--* A strong force slammed into her . The wind knocked out of her, Sakura choked and gasped on the cold concrete path leading to the temple.
Her friends were beside her instantly. Kero-chan, now Cerberus, encircled her shaking body with his huge wings. "Sakura... I'm sorry. I can't help you." Sakura couldn't comfort him, couldn't tell him it wasn't his fault-- she was trembling too much to talk.
Tomoyo was kneeling beside her. "Sakura-chan, daijoubu ka?!" she asked frantically. "Gomen ne. I've never felt so useless..." She broke down and wept bitterly, her smashed V8 lying unnoticed by her side.
Sakura could only will Tomoyo to understand how wrong she was. Tomoyo had been her strength all the time, she did so much for her, while all Sakura could do was put her in danger. "Oh, Tomoyo-chan... I love your wonderful costumes," Sakura managed.
The quietest of them all was Syaoran. He was crouched behind her, supporting her with his arms. He wasn't scowling as usual, but his brows were furrowed and he had an anguished expression on his face.
Finally, "I should have helped you instead of competing against you," he said simply. His fingers tightened around her arms.
This was too much.
Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yamate," she whispered. Then, she yelled it louder. "Yamate!" startling everyone around her.
"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo questioned timidly
Sakura dashed some tears off her cheeks. "Do you know have any idea how much all of mean to me?!" she cried. "Kero-chan, Tomoyo-chan, and Syaoran-kun, all of you have been my strength and my best friends. You are like family to me. As much as otou-san and onii-chan!"
I wanted to be a good card captor, for you guys, if no one else...cause everyone tried so hard to help me. But...I..." she paused and caught her breath, now coming in short gasps. "The only irresponsible and foolish one here is me."
Sakura staggered up on weak legs. Everyone tried to protest, but she silenced them with a shaky upraised hand.
"Iie. I'm gonna try my best to win this on my own. I have to do it by myself." Looking behind her shoulder with a sad smile on her face, she said, "Thank you, so very much." She looked deep into each of their eyes. Cerberus' blazing goldens, Tomoyo-chan's tearful violets, and Syaoran's once fierce-- but now resigned --fawn-colored ones.
Sakura looked back apologetically. Then with a determined grip on her staff, she turned around. She strode, with unsteady steps, towards the impatient final adjudicator.
"Are you ready?" he asked coolly.
"Hai," she answered simply. "Powers of darkness hidden within this staff, I ask you to gather inside the strength of this Clow Card! Wu-di! Become a reprimanding chain and bind the one who stands before me!"
She didn't hear Kero-chan wailing, "Yada! The full moon!" behind her.
The magic circle of Clow Reed shimmered golden on the ground under her, humming with power. She struck the face of the card with her staff. Vines suddenly shot out and filled up the space around her. As the foliage surrounded her, Sakura was in shock; instead of capturing Yue, they seemed to explode from all sides and bind _her_ in their leaves.
Writhing painfully as the Clow Card suspended her in mid-air, she winced as she felt the plants' grip tighten around her.
Yue leisurely approached her on his magnificent wings now. His pale, beautiful face held no emotion, as he drifted towards her. Sakura jerked around in vain, as her heart plummeted in her chest. She had failed.
Yue ignored Kero's pleading and demanding as he closed his eyes in meditation.
On the ground below the Card Captor, Tomoyo collapsed to her knees, ignoring the stinging pain as her flesh hit the coarse ground. *Iie! I don't want to lose Sakura-chan!* she screamed in her mind. Tears didn't stop flowing, even as the lap of her dress grew damp. *This can't be happening. It can't!* Sakura had been everything to her... The sister she never had. And she loved her more than anything else in the world, in more ways than one.
Syaoran looked away, his eyes shut tightly, and his fist clenched, until his short fingernails drew blood. He had never felt so damn useless! *There is nothing I can do...nothing...!* There never was anyone else in the world like her. *Don't leave us, dammit!* To his horror, he felt tears prickling his eyes, but he didn't even try to hold them back.
Cerberus stopped his raging and hung his head low, ignoring the tightness in his chest and the rising tears. *She deserves to be the Card Mistress. No one can love them as much as she does.* He snarled at Yue uncharacteristically. Why did that baka have to be so damned cold-blooded? *Sakura...if you forget me, who's going to cook me your special pancakes? Who's going to laugh and joke with me? And who will I have to wait for to come home after school? Who...?*
When Yue opened his eyes, he spoke slowly and quietly. "I, Yue, as the Final Judge, did not recognize Kinomoto Sakura as the new Card Mistress." He went on, as tears trickled down Sakura's cheeks. She couldn't even wipe them away with her hands and arms trapped.
"I shall now bring disaster upon the world," he finished, raising a pale hand in the air in front of Sakura's forehead. She closed her eyes firmly, squeezing out more tears.
As Yue's magic started to penetrate her, she felt a strange burning entering, deep into her chest, encircling her body in a cavity of warmth.
A desperate cry of a voice, a voice she had known-- perhaps once in a dream --was heard. "Iie! This is not the way it was meant to be! YAMATE!!" It was a low voice of a man. His voice held a foreign tone on the edges, and he sounded wise.
Every word held power in them. It brought her back from the dark oblivion she was falling into steadily, and lifted her away. Before she could wonder to whom the voice belonged to and what he was doing, everything went black.
[End of Prologue]
AN: #1. Konnichi wa minna! Hoshi Tenshi here, with yet _another_ revamping of That Time Old Feeling... or as I affectionately call it, TOFU. [The 'U' stands for 'unfinished.' I have a feeling it'll stay that way... Depends on the number of reviews...=]
I really thought I gotta make the plot and conflict clearer...so I'm fixing it. This version's 3.0. I'm pretty sure. There are small and big differences!
#2. ...You hate me for killing Kaho, ne? ::cries:: I hate myself too...but that's one part I wanted to keep! Gomen... If Kaho stayed alive, Sakura would have completed the Final Judgment successfully, and this story wouldn't happen. Obviously, this is an AS (Alternate Situation) fic.
#3. BGM for this chapter-- But of course, the battle themes from the 3rd CCS OST! =]
#4. Thanks for reading! Demo, the prologue is only a taste of the beginning~ don't forget to come back for the real thing minna! ^_^ Questions to me at [Hoshi_no_Tenshi@hotmail.com]!
Review, review, review. C'mon...u kno u wanna try out this new pop-up type of commenting... ::nudges:: ^_^
By Hoshi Tenshi
~Prologue~
[Saigo No Shinpan. Gambatte Ne, Sakura!]
Mizuki Kaho walked down the street towards Seijou High. She was supposed to meet Touya after his afternoon classes. Even if she had already stopped teaching as a substitute, Kaho could not help but want to see the intriguing young man again.
She held in her arms a fresh bouquet of lilies. They had been displayed so beautifully in the nearby flower shop that the miko had decided to buy them for Touya.
Humming lightly, she paused to stand at a red light at the road. Kaho peered down at the snow white blossoms cradled in her arms.
"Kaho!" a deep, male voice called to her from across the street.
Looking up, she could see a grinning Touya balancing his books in one hand and waving with the other. Giggling, she waved back, and as the light turned green, she started to dash across, to throw herself into his arms.
She never saw the truck barreling towards her.
By the time she saw the blinding headlights and heard the frantic honking of the driver, it was too late.
"Kaho! IIE!!" Touya's pain filled scream echoed down the street, as Kaho's bouquet fell to the ground after her body.
Innocent white petals fluttered weakly to the concrete-- contrasting grotesquely with the crimson drops of life that decorated them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jan-pu!" Sakura commanded. Transparent wings sprouted from the heels of her shoes and Sakura leaped high above the ground.
Yue was not far behind. "Time to end this," he said softly, his expression unreadable.
Sakura's mind raced. *I can't attack him! Even if do... I can't win...* Kero-chan had never warned her about something like this.
Everything was looking more and more hopeless.
*I still can't fight him--* A strong force slammed into her . The wind knocked out of her, Sakura choked and gasped on the cold concrete path leading to the temple.
Her friends were beside her instantly. Kero-chan, now Cerberus, encircled her shaking body with his huge wings. "Sakura... I'm sorry. I can't help you." Sakura couldn't comfort him, couldn't tell him it wasn't his fault-- she was trembling too much to talk.
Tomoyo was kneeling beside her. "Sakura-chan, daijoubu ka?!" she asked frantically. "Gomen ne. I've never felt so useless..." She broke down and wept bitterly, her smashed V8 lying unnoticed by her side.
Sakura could only will Tomoyo to understand how wrong she was. Tomoyo had been her strength all the time, she did so much for her, while all Sakura could do was put her in danger. "Oh, Tomoyo-chan... I love your wonderful costumes," Sakura managed.
The quietest of them all was Syaoran. He was crouched behind her, supporting her with his arms. He wasn't scowling as usual, but his brows were furrowed and he had an anguished expression on his face.
Finally, "I should have helped you instead of competing against you," he said simply. His fingers tightened around her arms.
This was too much.
Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yamate," she whispered. Then, she yelled it louder. "Yamate!" startling everyone around her.
"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo questioned timidly
Sakura dashed some tears off her cheeks. "Do you know have any idea how much all of mean to me?!" she cried. "Kero-chan, Tomoyo-chan, and Syaoran-kun, all of you have been my strength and my best friends. You are like family to me. As much as otou-san and onii-chan!"
I wanted to be a good card captor, for you guys, if no one else...cause everyone tried so hard to help me. But...I..." she paused and caught her breath, now coming in short gasps. "The only irresponsible and foolish one here is me."
Sakura staggered up on weak legs. Everyone tried to protest, but she silenced them with a shaky upraised hand.
"Iie. I'm gonna try my best to win this on my own. I have to do it by myself." Looking behind her shoulder with a sad smile on her face, she said, "Thank you, so very much." She looked deep into each of their eyes. Cerberus' blazing goldens, Tomoyo-chan's tearful violets, and Syaoran's once fierce-- but now resigned --fawn-colored ones.
Sakura looked back apologetically. Then with a determined grip on her staff, she turned around. She strode, with unsteady steps, towards the impatient final adjudicator.
"Are you ready?" he asked coolly.
"Hai," she answered simply. "Powers of darkness hidden within this staff, I ask you to gather inside the strength of this Clow Card! Wu-di! Become a reprimanding chain and bind the one who stands before me!"
She didn't hear Kero-chan wailing, "Yada! The full moon!" behind her.
The magic circle of Clow Reed shimmered golden on the ground under her, humming with power. She struck the face of the card with her staff. Vines suddenly shot out and filled up the space around her. As the foliage surrounded her, Sakura was in shock; instead of capturing Yue, they seemed to explode from all sides and bind _her_ in their leaves.
Writhing painfully as the Clow Card suspended her in mid-air, she winced as she felt the plants' grip tighten around her.
Yue leisurely approached her on his magnificent wings now. His pale, beautiful face held no emotion, as he drifted towards her. Sakura jerked around in vain, as her heart plummeted in her chest. She had failed.
Yue ignored Kero's pleading and demanding as he closed his eyes in meditation.
On the ground below the Card Captor, Tomoyo collapsed to her knees, ignoring the stinging pain as her flesh hit the coarse ground. *Iie! I don't want to lose Sakura-chan!* she screamed in her mind. Tears didn't stop flowing, even as the lap of her dress grew damp. *This can't be happening. It can't!* Sakura had been everything to her... The sister she never had. And she loved her more than anything else in the world, in more ways than one.
Syaoran looked away, his eyes shut tightly, and his fist clenched, until his short fingernails drew blood. He had never felt so damn useless! *There is nothing I can do...nothing...!* There never was anyone else in the world like her. *Don't leave us, dammit!* To his horror, he felt tears prickling his eyes, but he didn't even try to hold them back.
Cerberus stopped his raging and hung his head low, ignoring the tightness in his chest and the rising tears. *She deserves to be the Card Mistress. No one can love them as much as she does.* He snarled at Yue uncharacteristically. Why did that baka have to be so damned cold-blooded? *Sakura...if you forget me, who's going to cook me your special pancakes? Who's going to laugh and joke with me? And who will I have to wait for to come home after school? Who...?*
When Yue opened his eyes, he spoke slowly and quietly. "I, Yue, as the Final Judge, did not recognize Kinomoto Sakura as the new Card Mistress." He went on, as tears trickled down Sakura's cheeks. She couldn't even wipe them away with her hands and arms trapped.
"I shall now bring disaster upon the world," he finished, raising a pale hand in the air in front of Sakura's forehead. She closed her eyes firmly, squeezing out more tears.
As Yue's magic started to penetrate her, she felt a strange burning entering, deep into her chest, encircling her body in a cavity of warmth.
A desperate cry of a voice, a voice she had known-- perhaps once in a dream --was heard. "Iie! This is not the way it was meant to be! YAMATE!!" It was a low voice of a man. His voice held a foreign tone on the edges, and he sounded wise.
Every word held power in them. It brought her back from the dark oblivion she was falling into steadily, and lifted her away. Before she could wonder to whom the voice belonged to and what he was doing, everything went black.
[End of Prologue]
AN: #1. Konnichi wa minna! Hoshi Tenshi here, with yet _another_ revamping of That Time Old Feeling... or as I affectionately call it, TOFU. [The 'U' stands for 'unfinished.' I have a feeling it'll stay that way... Depends on the number of reviews...=]
I really thought I gotta make the plot and conflict clearer...so I'm fixing it. This version's 3.0. I'm pretty sure. There are small and big differences!
#2. ...You hate me for killing Kaho, ne? ::cries:: I hate myself too...but that's one part I wanted to keep! Gomen... If Kaho stayed alive, Sakura would have completed the Final Judgment successfully, and this story wouldn't happen. Obviously, this is an AS (Alternate Situation) fic.
#3. BGM for this chapter-- But of course, the battle themes from the 3rd CCS OST! =]
#4. Thanks for reading! Demo, the prologue is only a taste of the beginning~ don't forget to come back for the real thing minna! ^_^ Questions to me at [Hoshi_no_Tenshi@hotmail.com]!
Review, review, review. C'mon...u kno u wanna try out this new pop-up type of commenting... ::nudges:: ^_^