Behind the Veil
Chapter One - Veiled in Mystery
What am I doing up here?
Sakura looked around her and gasped. There was nothing but dark sky above and city lights below.
I'm floating. Why am I floating?
She gazed ahead and there, floating several feet in front of her, was a figure fully awash in the blue-white beams of the moon. The only thing Sakura could see on the figure was a long veil, shining silvery-white like it was made out of the moonbeams the figure was standing in. Sakura was hardly worried. She'd been in stranger situations before, floated in front of stranger entities than this veiled figure, faced stranger creatures in stranger places than this. All she needed was Kero -
Where's Kero?
Sakura looked frantically about her and found that neither hide nor hair of Kero could be seen. She longed for the comforting presence of her Guardian Beast, even for the comforting yet small presence of her Guardian Beast in his small teddy bear-like form. But he wasn't here with her, she was all by herself…
I need Kero. Where's Kero? Kero-chan!
Ring!
The veiled figure's arm suddenly rose, and it pointed a long white finger directly at Sakura. Sakura felt her knees shaking.
Kero-chan, where are you?
Ring!
The figure suddenly screamed something, and her shrill voice echoed through the night sky. Suddenly everything went black, and Sakura could feel the ground disappear from beneath her feet… she was falling now, tumbling through this strange, eternal blackness…
KERO!!
Ring!
" Sakura! Sakura, wake up!! Come on, snap out of it!! "
Sakura bolted upright and felt pain shoot through her as she smacked heads with her older brother Touya. Touya stumbled backwards and hit the wall on the opposite side of the room. " Finally, " he muttered. Then he realized how much his head ached. He winced. " Ow. What the heck was wrong with you? "
Sakura blinked and looked around, disoriented by the bright sunlight streaming through the window. She wasn't floating above the city or falling through darkness, she was sitting in her nice warm bed. She looked around to find Kero and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him lying awkwardly on the floor as if he'd been tossed out of the bed. He was hurting all over but tried his best to maintain his plush toy position. She peered upwards and saw her brother sitting on the floor rubbing his head. " Touya, " she mumbled confusedly. " What are you doing on the floor? "
Touya shook his head and stood up. " Finally, you're awake. You slept through your alarm; you somehow slept through me beating on you to wake up. " His voice suddenly had a tinge of concern. " Were you having a bad dream or something? What was that you were yelling? Kero? "
" Oh… " Sakura fumbled for an explanation. " My bear, " she answered, grabbing Kero off the floor.
" Your bear. Right. You're thirteen years old and for some deranged reason you still sleep with a bear. Were you dreaming or something? "
" Why are you so concerned? "
" Because you were screaming loud enough to wake the dead. Now hurry up and get dressed. "
" What… why? "
" Remember? The funeral. "
Sakura literally jumped out of bed. " Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! " She ran to her closet and rummaged around for clothes, then turned around. " Get out of here, " she hissed at Touya.
" I was just getting to that, " Touya snapped back, and left the room. Sakura heard a sigh of relief from Kero, who was still lying on the floor.
" I don't know how long I could've held my breath for, " Kero panted. " What was Touya saying about you dreaming? "
Sakura pulled a black skirt out of her closet and sighed, then told Kero about her dream. " I don't know what to do about this, " she said. " I mean, what if it's another one of those dreams? "
" You mean with Yue and - "
" Yeah. "
Kero thought a while. " Nah, I doubt it. "
" Sakura! " Touya yelled. " Stop talking with your stuffed animals and hurry up already! "
" Whose funeral is this anyway? " Touya asked on their way to the cemetery.
" It's your aunt and uncle's, " their father Fujitaka said, with a touch of disapproval in his voice. " You remember your cousin Kari, don't you? "
" Barely, " Sakura chimed in. " She isn't the one who died, Oto-san, is she? "
" No. Her stepparents got into a car accident, and neither of them survived. "
" So if they're her stepparents then they aren't really our aunt and uncle. So what are we doing going to their funeral? "
Fujitaka sighed. " It's for Kari. She has no other living relatives besides us, so she may be living here for a while. "
" Great, " Touya muttered, staring out the window of the car. " Another Sakura. "
" Hardly, " Fujitaka retorted, noting the frustration in Touya's voice. " Kari is nearly five years older than Sakura. I think you two should get along rather well. "
" Yeah, right. " Touya peered into the rear-view mirror to see Sakura going through her purse. He noted the pearly white wing sticking out of the opening. " Sakura, you didn't bring that stupid bear with you again, did you? "
Inside the purse, Kero fumed. Stupid bear indeed!
The funeral was actually pretty nondescript. Sakura didn't cry that much at first because she barely knew her cousin Kari or her stepparents. But the gloomy gray sky and the overwhelming scent of flowers reminded her of her mother, whose grave was a small distance away from where they were. She had died when Sakura was three, and Sakura felt horrible that she never got a chance to really know her mother. The thought of it was the only thing that brought tears to her eyes.
After the funeral Sakura asked if she could be alone for a while so that she could visit her mother's grave. She walked a few feet away from the rest of the group and knelt by a pure white marble headstone engraved with flowers. Sakura looked upwards and noticed that the sky had turned much darker, from a pale gray to a stormy, dark gray. She figured she might as well make it quick. " Hello, Oka-san, " Sakura said quietly, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek and splash down onto the front of her cheek.
" Sakura, watch out! " Kero yelled suddenly from inside Sakura's purse.
A sharp pain shot through Sakura's arm and interrupted her deep thoughts. Sakura stood up and looked around.
Standing about three plots away was a tall, thin girl dressed in a long black dress, black gloves, and a black hat with a black veil that covered the girl's face. The girl began to move towards Sakura, and Sakura could hear her black gown rustle against the grass as she walked - then she noticed that the girl wasn't walking at all, but floating.
" Who are you? " Sakura cried, but the girl didn't answer, just kept floating closer and closer. Soon she was standing right in front of Sakura, towering over her in mid-air, an ebony pillar in the monochrome day. Sakura could barely see the face behind the veil, only a pair of pale blue eyes sparking with anger.
" What do you want? " Sakura whispered, her voice shaking. The pale eyes staring into her seemed to set off sparks again, and pain shot all through Sakura's body, a pain so unbearable that if she remained conscious another moment she felt she would surely explode…
" Sakura! Are you all right? "
Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she strained to focus on the figures hovering above her. Suddenly everything came sharply into focus, including the aching in her body, which until this point had seemed subdued and dulled. Touya and Fujitaka were kneeling over her, trying to pick her up. " Touya, " she whispered.
" What happened to you? " Fujitaka asked.
Sakura remembered the girl in jet black, and the way her icy blue eyes glinted with hatred. " I… I don't know. I just… fainted. "
" Again, " Touya said, angry but uneasy. " I knew it, first that psycho dream you had last night and now this… we'd better go home. "
From within the safeguard of Touya's arms Sakura looked behind her, at her mother's grave. She thought she could see an ebony pillar hovering above it like a deadly omen.
Chapter One - Veiled in Mystery
What am I doing up here?
Sakura looked around her and gasped. There was nothing but dark sky above and city lights below.
I'm floating. Why am I floating?
She gazed ahead and there, floating several feet in front of her, was a figure fully awash in the blue-white beams of the moon. The only thing Sakura could see on the figure was a long veil, shining silvery-white like it was made out of the moonbeams the figure was standing in. Sakura was hardly worried. She'd been in stranger situations before, floated in front of stranger entities than this veiled figure, faced stranger creatures in stranger places than this. All she needed was Kero -
Where's Kero?
Sakura looked frantically about her and found that neither hide nor hair of Kero could be seen. She longed for the comforting presence of her Guardian Beast, even for the comforting yet small presence of her Guardian Beast in his small teddy bear-like form. But he wasn't here with her, she was all by herself…
I need Kero. Where's Kero? Kero-chan!
Ring!
The veiled figure's arm suddenly rose, and it pointed a long white finger directly at Sakura. Sakura felt her knees shaking.
Kero-chan, where are you?
Ring!
The figure suddenly screamed something, and her shrill voice echoed through the night sky. Suddenly everything went black, and Sakura could feel the ground disappear from beneath her feet… she was falling now, tumbling through this strange, eternal blackness…
KERO!!
Ring!
" Sakura! Sakura, wake up!! Come on, snap out of it!! "
Sakura bolted upright and felt pain shoot through her as she smacked heads with her older brother Touya. Touya stumbled backwards and hit the wall on the opposite side of the room. " Finally, " he muttered. Then he realized how much his head ached. He winced. " Ow. What the heck was wrong with you? "
Sakura blinked and looked around, disoriented by the bright sunlight streaming through the window. She wasn't floating above the city or falling through darkness, she was sitting in her nice warm bed. She looked around to find Kero and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him lying awkwardly on the floor as if he'd been tossed out of the bed. He was hurting all over but tried his best to maintain his plush toy position. She peered upwards and saw her brother sitting on the floor rubbing his head. " Touya, " she mumbled confusedly. " What are you doing on the floor? "
Touya shook his head and stood up. " Finally, you're awake. You slept through your alarm; you somehow slept through me beating on you to wake up. " His voice suddenly had a tinge of concern. " Were you having a bad dream or something? What was that you were yelling? Kero? "
" Oh… " Sakura fumbled for an explanation. " My bear, " she answered, grabbing Kero off the floor.
" Your bear. Right. You're thirteen years old and for some deranged reason you still sleep with a bear. Were you dreaming or something? "
" Why are you so concerned? "
" Because you were screaming loud enough to wake the dead. Now hurry up and get dressed. "
" What… why? "
" Remember? The funeral. "
Sakura literally jumped out of bed. " Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! " She ran to her closet and rummaged around for clothes, then turned around. " Get out of here, " she hissed at Touya.
" I was just getting to that, " Touya snapped back, and left the room. Sakura heard a sigh of relief from Kero, who was still lying on the floor.
" I don't know how long I could've held my breath for, " Kero panted. " What was Touya saying about you dreaming? "
Sakura pulled a black skirt out of her closet and sighed, then told Kero about her dream. " I don't know what to do about this, " she said. " I mean, what if it's another one of those dreams? "
" You mean with Yue and - "
" Yeah. "
Kero thought a while. " Nah, I doubt it. "
" Sakura! " Touya yelled. " Stop talking with your stuffed animals and hurry up already! "
" Whose funeral is this anyway? " Touya asked on their way to the cemetery.
" It's your aunt and uncle's, " their father Fujitaka said, with a touch of disapproval in his voice. " You remember your cousin Kari, don't you? "
" Barely, " Sakura chimed in. " She isn't the one who died, Oto-san, is she? "
" No. Her stepparents got into a car accident, and neither of them survived. "
" So if they're her stepparents then they aren't really our aunt and uncle. So what are we doing going to their funeral? "
Fujitaka sighed. " It's for Kari. She has no other living relatives besides us, so she may be living here for a while. "
" Great, " Touya muttered, staring out the window of the car. " Another Sakura. "
" Hardly, " Fujitaka retorted, noting the frustration in Touya's voice. " Kari is nearly five years older than Sakura. I think you two should get along rather well. "
" Yeah, right. " Touya peered into the rear-view mirror to see Sakura going through her purse. He noted the pearly white wing sticking out of the opening. " Sakura, you didn't bring that stupid bear with you again, did you? "
Inside the purse, Kero fumed. Stupid bear indeed!
The funeral was actually pretty nondescript. Sakura didn't cry that much at first because she barely knew her cousin Kari or her stepparents. But the gloomy gray sky and the overwhelming scent of flowers reminded her of her mother, whose grave was a small distance away from where they were. She had died when Sakura was three, and Sakura felt horrible that she never got a chance to really know her mother. The thought of it was the only thing that brought tears to her eyes.
After the funeral Sakura asked if she could be alone for a while so that she could visit her mother's grave. She walked a few feet away from the rest of the group and knelt by a pure white marble headstone engraved with flowers. Sakura looked upwards and noticed that the sky had turned much darker, from a pale gray to a stormy, dark gray. She figured she might as well make it quick. " Hello, Oka-san, " Sakura said quietly, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek and splash down onto the front of her cheek.
" Sakura, watch out! " Kero yelled suddenly from inside Sakura's purse.
A sharp pain shot through Sakura's arm and interrupted her deep thoughts. Sakura stood up and looked around.
Standing about three plots away was a tall, thin girl dressed in a long black dress, black gloves, and a black hat with a black veil that covered the girl's face. The girl began to move towards Sakura, and Sakura could hear her black gown rustle against the grass as she walked - then she noticed that the girl wasn't walking at all, but floating.
" Who are you? " Sakura cried, but the girl didn't answer, just kept floating closer and closer. Soon she was standing right in front of Sakura, towering over her in mid-air, an ebony pillar in the monochrome day. Sakura could barely see the face behind the veil, only a pair of pale blue eyes sparking with anger.
" What do you want? " Sakura whispered, her voice shaking. The pale eyes staring into her seemed to set off sparks again, and pain shot all through Sakura's body, a pain so unbearable that if she remained conscious another moment she felt she would surely explode…
" Sakura! Are you all right? "
Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she strained to focus on the figures hovering above her. Suddenly everything came sharply into focus, including the aching in her body, which until this point had seemed subdued and dulled. Touya and Fujitaka were kneeling over her, trying to pick her up. " Touya, " she whispered.
" What happened to you? " Fujitaka asked.
Sakura remembered the girl in jet black, and the way her icy blue eyes glinted with hatred. " I… I don't know. I just… fainted. "
" Again, " Touya said, angry but uneasy. " I knew it, first that psycho dream you had last night and now this… we'd better go home. "
From within the safeguard of Touya's arms Sakura looked behind her, at her mother's grave. She thought she could see an ebony pillar hovering above it like a deadly omen.