Disclaimer: I do not own CCS.
Did I place my OC here? Oh, yes. I placed two-in-one OC. ^^
Please enjoy reading this one. Kinda mushy, though.
Please write a review. I'll appreciate it. ^^
Vengeance (A Daughter's Fury)
"Breakfast is ready!" Touya Kinomoto shouted from the kitchen of their house. He and Sakura, her younger sister, were left at the house because their father was on a business trip. He was waiting for Sakura for five minutes but Sakura hasn't come down yet. "Sakura, breakfast is ready! Hurry up and come down!" he shouted. Yet, Sakura didn't answer. He, then, decided to go up and get her. He opened the door of Sakura's room and found her still sleeping soundly. "Sakura!" he called. "Wake up already. You're going to be late!"
Sakura was awakened by Touya's rampaging to her room. "What is it, Onii-chan?" she asked, obviously irritated with Touya's presence.
"It's already seven o'clock! You're already late," Touya said.
Sakura remembered that today, she'll be second year in junior high. She jumped out of her bed and pushed Touya out of the room. "I'm going to change my clothes! I'm late!"
Touya went down and prepared to go to his university. "Hurry up, Sakura!" After a few minutes, Sakura ran down the stairs. "Your breakfast is on the table. I'm off!" he said as he left the house.
"Wait Onii-chan!" Sakura shouted. "I am Sakura Kinomoto. And today, I'm going to be a second year junior high student. I live here with my brother and father. My mother died when I was little so I don't have much memory of her. But, father always tells a lot about her. I like the subjects music and PE. That means I'm an energetic person. And, I am the mistress of the Clow Cards, now Sakura Cards. The little yellow stuffed animal is Cerberus or Kero-chan as I call him." She immediately ate her breakfast, washed the plates and followed Touya out. "Geez, he's like that everyday! I wonder if he'll change," Sakura said to herself. She ran faster with her roller-skates and saw Touya the time she turned left. "There he is."
Touya noticed Sakura already beside him. "You're fast," he said.
"Of course, I'm fast!" Sakura angrily said. "Why are you always leaving me behind every morning?"
"You always wake up late," he replied. Then, he waved his hand and called, "Yuki!"
"Ohayo, Touya. Ohayo, Sakura-chan," Yukito, in his university uniform, greeted them.
"Ohayo, Yukito-san," Sakura greeted too. "He is Yukito Tsukishiro, my brother's best friend. He is the false form of Yue, the one who conducted the Last Judgment when I captured all the scattered Clow Cards."
"You're a little late, Touya," Yukito said.
"It's because a big monster woke up late," Touya said, obviously pertaining to Sakura.
"Onii-chan!"
"Let's go. We're going to be late," Yukito said.
"We're here," a woman with a black hat and long black hair said in front of the airport. "We're finally back."
Sakura stopped in front of her school and bade Yukito and Touya good-bye. As she went inside, she saw Tomoyo, still with her long, black, curly hair, waiting for her. "Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan," she greeted. "This is Tomoyo Daidouji, she's my best friend since grade school and she is a daughter of the owner of a big toy company. And, her mother is the cousin of my mother."
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo replied. "You're quite late today."
"I'm sorry. I overslept," Sakura, explained.
"Let's go inside. The classes are going to start," Tomoyo said.
On their way inside the room, they saw Aria Hiragizawa, the girl with a long, straight, dark blue hair, standing in front of the door. "Good morning, Aria-chan," Sakura greeted. "She is Aria Hiragizawa, the younger twin sister of Eriol Hiragizawa, the reincarnation of Clow Reed who helped me transform the Clow Cards to Sakura Cards."
"Good morning, Sakura-chan," she replied sadly.
"What's the problem?"
"Nothing. I just don't feel going inside yet," she said. "I'm nervous. I don't know why."
"Maybe it's because we're already second year students," Tomoyo said. "Don't worry, Aria-chan. . . Everything's going to be fine. Let's go in."
The three of them went inside the classroom just before the teacher went inside.
"Good morning, class," the teacher greeted.
"Good morning, sensei," the class greeted.
"Okay. Let's start homeroom," the teacher said. "Today, you're all second year students. And, you're going to have new classmates." There were murmurs inside the class. It's been a long time since they had a new classmate. "Silence please," the teacher said. "Please come in," he said to someone outside the room. Then, two persons, a girl and a boy, came inside.
Aria suddenly felt her heart thump loudly as if it would explode. She stared at the boy who is staring at Sakura. Then, she felt goose bumps all over her body. "Creepy," she said.
"They came from Hong Kong and will be studying here with you," the teacher said after he finished writing their names. "His name is Li Syaoran. And she is Li Mei-lin."
Sakura suddenly turned pale and looked at the boy. When their eyes met, Li Syaoran smiled at her that made her feel uneasy. "Why did he smile at me?" Sakura asked Tomoyo.
"I don't know, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo answered. "Maybe he wants to be friends with you."
"I don't like the feeling, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said.
"Okay," the teacher said. "Li-kun, you can sit behind Sakura-san. And, Mei-lin-san can sit beside him."
Syaoran and Mei-lin walked to their seats. As Syaoran and Sakura's eyes met, they both became uneasy and Syaoran turned red. "Tomoyo-chan," Sakura whispered. "Why . . . did he turn red?" she asked.
The school clock tower rang indicating the end of classes. Tomoyo, Sakura, and Aria, together with Syaoran and Mei-lin were left in the room.
Sakura stretched her arms high and sighed. "At last," she said.
Tomoyo stood in front of Sakura's table. "Let's go, Sakura-chan. Your brother must be waiting for you."
"Oh, yeah! I forgot. I promised to go out with him today," Sakura remembered. "Let's go, Aria-chan." Aria seemed not to hear Sakura. She just stared at her shaking hands and beads of sweat are falling from her forehead. "Aria-chan? Are you okay?" Sakura asked.
"Huh?" Aria finally noticed Sakura. "What?"
"Let's go," Sakura said. "He's probably waiting for us."
Aria stood up and carried her things. "Oh, yeah. He'll be very angry if we're ten minutes late."
But before the three of them could get out of the classroom, Syaoran suddenly stood up and grabbed Sakura's left arm. "Wait," he said.
Sakura removed Syaoran's hand from her arm. "Sorry, Li-kun. We have to go now," she politely said. Then, they went out.
Syaoran, and Mei-lin, were surprised with Sakura's attitude towards him.
"Sakura," Syaoran muttered.
Mei-lin turned slightly irritated with Sakura. "What's her problem? Don't tell me she already forgot about you."
Syaoran didn't answer. Instead, he just stared at the door where Sakura stood earlier.
"Osoi de!" Touya shouted at Sakura in front of the train station.
"Sorry, Onii-chan," Sakura said. "Someone just went on our way."
"Who's that person?" Yukito asked.
"He's a new student by the name of Li Syaoran," Aria answered.
"Li Syaoran?" Touya asked. "Chinese?"
"He's from Hong Kong."
"Do you know him, Onii-chan?" Sakura asked.
"No. Never heard of him before," Touya answered. "Why? What did he do?"
"Nothing. He's just giving me these stares."
"Maybe he thought you're someone he knows," Yukito said. "Why don't you confront him tomorrow, Sakura-chan? Tell him it's the first time you saw him."
"That's a good idea, Yukito-san," Sakura said.
Sakura and Aria was early the next morning because of their duties. As they arrived at the classroom, Syaoran and Mei-lin were already there. "Good morning," Sakura greeted.
"Good morning," Mei-lin replied.
"You're early today, Mei-lin-chan," Aria said. "You too, Li-kun."
"Aria-chan, can you please accompany me at the library? I need to borrow a book," Mei-lin asked.
"Uhm," Aria thought for a second. Then, she looked at Sakura. "Okay. But, let's hurry up because I have something to do too."
"Thank you, Aria-chan!" Mei-lin said. Then, she pulled Aria outside. "Let's go."
"Mei-lin-chan is quite cheerful, right, Li-kun?" Sakura said.
"Yeah," Syaoran answered. "Ah,"
"Sorry, I have to do something. I'll come back to you later, okay?" Sakura said as she went out of the room.
Syaoran followed her. "Wait a minute!" he called. Sakura stopped and looked back at him. "Uhm…"
"What is it, Li-kun?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura…"
"Huh? Isn't it right to call me by my first name?"
Syaoran was surprised. He gave a fake laugh and said, "Hey, Sakura, are you playing jokes with me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The Clow Cards…" he said. "…was turned into Sakura Cards, right?"
"How…did you know about the Sakura Cards? I don't remember telling it to you…or to anybody."
Syaoran went near her and held both of her arms. "Sakura, don't you remember me? It's me Syaoran."
Sakura removed his hands and walked two steps backward. "Sorry, but yesterday's the first time I saw you…" Sakura said. "And…how… did you know about the Sakura Cards?"
Syaoran stared at her for a while, sat on a chair and sighed. "I'm sorry, Kinomoto-san…"
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry for bothering you…" Syaoran said and then he went out of the classroom, leaving Sakura staggered with his attitude.
"Really?" Tomoyo asked as she helped Sakura lay the cloth on the grass. "He knows something about the Sakura Cards?"
"Yeah," Sakura said. "But, when I asked him again how he knew about them, he suddenly changed. He stopped calling me Sakura."
"But, isn't it nice, Sakura-chan? He already stopped giving you these smiles…"
"Yeah… But it's obvious that he's very sad. Even Mei-lin-chan cannot cheer him up," Sakura said as she opened their lunch boxes.
While Mei-lin was walking with Syaoran, she saw Tomoyo and Sakura eating their lunch under a shade of a tree. "Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan!" she called.
Both of them looked up and saw Mei-lin and Syaoran together. "Mei-lin-chan! Li-kun!" Sakura called.
Mei-lin pulled Syaoran down and ran towards Sakura. "Can we join you?" she asked.
"Of course, Mei-lin-chan," Tomoyo answered. "Here," Tomoyo pointed them to sit beside them.
"Thank you," Mei-lin replied.
Sakura handed Mei-lin and Syaoran two of her rice balls. "Here, take one. Onii-chan made these."
"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Mei-lin said. She gave Syaoran the other one. "Here, Syaoran take this."
Syaoran removed his eyes on Sakura and took the rice ball. "Thanks," he said.
Mei-lin took a bite and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "It's delicious! Your brother is good in cooking!" she exclaimed.
"Really? Thank goodness you liked it!" Sakura said. "How about you Li-kun? How's the taste?"
"Huh? Ah, it's delicious," Syaoran answered.
Sakura's face turned serious. "Uhm," she started. "Li-kun…about the Sakura Cards…" Syaoran and Mei-lin turned serious too when they heard the Sakura Cards. "How did you know about them?" she asked.
Mei-lin sighed. "Syaoran?"
"I am…" Syaoran started. "…a descendant of Clow Reed, the magician who created the Clow Cards," he said. Sakura noticed Mei-lin's face turn sad. "Our family stayed in Hong Kong for a long time. They, then, decided to transfer here in Japan so that they can solve the problems happening in Hong Kong… We heard that a certain girl scattered all the Clow Cards…then, she transformed it to Sakura Cards. I suppose it was you…"
"Syaoran?" Mei-lin said.
"That's right. I am the one who scattered all the Clow Cards and changed them to Sakura Cards," Sakura said. "But…why were you calling me Sakura?"
Syaoran bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry… I thought I can call you by your first name." Then, he stood up and left the three of them.
Mei-lin also stood up. "I'm sorry but I need to follow him," she said. Then, she ran and followed Syaoran. She saw him standing in front of a pond. "Syaoran…" she called. "Why did you lie to her?" she asked.
"It seems that she really didn't remember me. That's why, I lied to her," Syaoran answered without looking at Mei-lin.
"What will you do?"
"I need to know the reason why did she forget about us. Even Daidouji forgot about us too," he said. "Something's going on that we are not aware of."
"Do you think Aria Hiragizawa knows something about this? She's the sister of the reincarnation of Clow Reed, right?" Mei-lin said.
Rriinngg… Aria's cell phone rang as she was walking home. She stopped for a while and answered it. "Hello?"
"Aria…" the voice from the phone said.
"Eriol," Aria said. "Why did you call me?" she asked seriously.
"I'm here in Japan," he said. "Fetch me here at the airport."
Aria's face turned pale. "W-what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'll tell it to you later. Hurry up and fetch me here," Eriol said.
Aria opened the door of their house to let Eriol and Nakuru in. She prepared tea and cakes for them and sat down on a black couch, almost as big as Clow Reed's red chair, placed near the bonfire. "Now, tell me, why are you here? I thought you'll never go back here again," Aria said tightly. Her voice slightly changed compared to her voice when talking to Sakura and the others.
"Yes, I said that," Eriol answered with his Clow Reed accent. "But, I will go back if something's happening."
"What are you talking about?"
"You did something, Aria," he said. "You altered their memories without their permission for you to do so."
"So?"
"You knew all along that if you did that, you'll receive the worst punishment."
"Yes, I knew that. But, I'll do everything just to do what I need to do…even if my life's at stake," Aria answered.
"But what about your counterpart? She'll die too," Nakuru said.
"Aria? No one needs her… She and I are one… She can't do anything against my will."
Eriol stood up and walked in front of Aria.
"Oh, yeah. She's your sister, right? But, if I'm not alive, she won't be here either. And, in fact, she didn't even contradict me when I did that. If she did that, there might be a way to save her."
Eriol slapped her in the face. "Aria…"
Aria seemed to be in her normal state again. "Eriol…" she called. "Welcome back…" Then, she fell asleep immediately.
Eriol caught her and said, "Don't worry, Aria, I'll help you." Then, he carried her into her room to let her rest.
Nakuru was standing outside Aria's room. "What will you do?" she asked.
"There must be some way to stop her," Eriol answered.
Eriol pulled the curtains open. The morning sun was visible as it emerges from the sky. He went inside Aria's room and brought her breakfast. "Good morning, Aria," Eriol greeted. "Wake up already. Breakfast is ready."
Aria slowly opened her eyes and saw Eriol standing beside her bed carrying a tray of food. "Eriol," she called. "You don't have to bring me that."
"It's been a long time since we've talked to each other like this. I want to pamper my little sister while I'm still here," Eriol answered. He placed the tray on her side table and sat on her bedside.
"Thank you, Eriol," Aria said as she hugged him and cried silently. "I thought I won't ever see you again."
Eriol hugged her too and said, "Of course that won't happen. So please stop crying." Eriol tried to remove Aria's arms around her but she tightened her hug more.
Aria cried even harder than earlier. "I really, really, really, really thought I'd never see you again, Eriol… I thought that no one would ever save me from her… I'm really, really, really glad you came!"
Eriol patted her back and said, "Are you scared when I was away?"
Aria nodded. "I was scared… Really, really scared."
"Don't worry, I'm already here. Onii-chan will protect you…"
The classroom door opened and Aria went inside happily. "Good morning!" she greeted.
"Good morning, Aria-chan," Sakura greeted back.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan. Good morning, Tomoyo-chan. Good morning, Mei-lin-chan, Good morning, Li-kun!" She greeted happily but when she greeted Syaoran was with a sad expression.
"You're in a good mood today, Aria-chan," Tomoyo said.
"Yeah… Onii-chan's back!" she said. "He arrived yesterday."
"Really?!" Sakura asked excitedly. "Eriol-kun is back?"
"Yes! He really is back! And… he's going to study here too!"
"Uhm, excuse me…" Mei-lin said. "Is he Clow Reed's reincarnation?"
"Eriol is Eriol and Clow is Clow… They're not the same… but, yes, he's Clow-san's reincarnation," Aria answered. "Why?"
"Uhm, nothing. . ."
Then, their homeroom teacher arrived. All the students went back to their seats immediately. "Good morning, class," the teacher greeted. "Today, you'll have a new classmate," he started. You can see excitement on Aria and Sakura's face. "Please come in." Then, Eriol came in. He's much taller than before but his face didn't change. He still has his eyeglasses. "He is Eriol Hiragizawa from England. He is Aria-san's older twin brother." Then, the teacher pointed him to a vacant chair in front of Sakura.
Eriol walked to his chair and greeted Sakura. "Long time no see, Sakura-san," he said.
"You've become taller since we've last met each other, Eriol-kun," Sakura replied with a smile.
Then, Eriol smiled at Syaoran, who is giving him a suspicious smile.
"Hey, Syaoran, why does Sakura remember him?" Mei-lin whispered to Syaoran. "Is he the one behind her memory loss?"
"Eriol!" Aria shouted as Eriol went out of the school building. "Over here!" Eriol came over, carrying a pile of books. "Hey, what's with those books?" Aria asked.
"I'm going to study," Eriol answered. "It's about memory loss."
Aria turned pale when Eriol mentioned memory loss. "For what?" she asked.
"A friend suffers from memory loss. I think I can help her," Eriol said.
"And, who could that be?" Sakura asked from behind.
"Sakura-san," Eriol called. "You frightened me."
"I'm sorry, Eriol-kun."
"Good afternoon, Hiragizawa-kun, Aria-chan," Tomoyo greeted.
"Good afternoon, Tomoyo-chan," Aria replied.
"Ah, Eriol-kun, who's that friend of yours who suffers from memory loss?" Sakura asked.
"Someone close to me."
"I guess you don't want to tell us who it is," Sakura said.
Eriol gave a fake laugh. "Yeah, it's my secret. Even Aria doesn't know who that person is."
"Eriol-kun. . . Why did you suddenly came back here?" Sakura asked.
"The friend I was talking about earlier needs my help."
"Oh, is that so? Well, how are you now? You grew a lot taller than me."
"Yeah, I think I did grow a lot taller," Eriol said and then, he laughed.
"But, I wonder why I didn't grow that much," Aria joked. "He's my twin after all."
"That's because you don't eat well, Aria," Eriol said. "And you don't exercise every morning."
"Don't say that as if you do that everyday, Onii-chan!"
Then, all of them laughed. But when Syaoran and Mei-lin came, they stopped. "Good afternoon, Li-kun, Mei-lin-chan," Aria greeted. "Are you going home?"
"Yeah," Syaoran answered.
"Uhh, what a loss," Aria said. "I thought I could invite you two to come over at our house for Eriol's welcome back party."
"We can go with you," Mei-lin said. "We have nothing to do today. So, I think we can go."
"Really?" Aria asked. "I'm glad you can attend the party! The party's not complete without Onii-chan's old friends, right, Onii-chan?"
"Old friends?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah. Eriol and Li-kun were classmates when they were still grade school students, right?"
"Really? On what school?"
"On Tomo-." But before Aria could finish talking, she felt something weird around them. "What's that?" she asked. "Did you feel it? That strange feeling?"
"What feeling? I didn't feel anything," Sakura said. "Did you, Tomoyo-chan?"
"No, I didn't feel anything strange either," Tomoyo answered.
"Me neither," Mei-lin said.
"Even me," Syaoran said.
"You, Onii-chan? Did you feel something strange?" Aria asked Eriol who looked very serious.
"Huh? No… It's nothing," Eriol said.
"Maybe that's just my imagination," Aria concluded. "Well, let's go to our house. Nakuru-san might be waiting for us."
"Ah, Sakura-san," Eriol called. "I would be happy if Yue and Cerberus will go too."
"Huh?" Sakura was surprised. "Really?! Kero-chan and Yue-san would be very happy! I'll go home now and call them." Then, Sakura ran back to their house.
"Are you sure you want them to go?" Aria asked.
"Yeah," Eriol answered. "I know Yue wants to talk."
"Uhm, excuse me," Syaoran said. "Why does Sakura didn't forget about you?" Syaoran asked straightly to the point.
Aria's heart pumped hardly that made her uneasy. Then, she looked at Eriol, who is smiling as if he doesn't know anything. "That's because the one who caused her memory loss is close to me," Eriol answered.
"You know who the cause of her memory loss is?"
"Yeah, sort of…"
"Who is it? And, why did that person did that to her and to all the people around her? Even Daidouji forgot about us."
"You'll know someday… And, I still don't know why she did that," Eriol said while smiling at Aria.
"H-hey, why are you smiling at me like that, Eriol?" Aria asked.
"Nothing… I just want to smile at my little sister."
"Well, stop that. I'm feeling edgy when you do that," she said.
"Okay," Eriol said. "Well, let's go to the house. They're probably waiting for us."
"Oh yeah!" Aria shouted.
"What is it?" Eriol asked.
"Nakuru-san asked me to invite Sakura's older brother to come over at our house," Aria said.
"You mean Touya Kinomoto?"
While working on his part-time job, Touya felt a cold breeze pass him that made him sneeze.
"Do you have a cold, Touya?" Yukito asked.
Touya scratched his nose and said, "No. . . It seems someone remembers me." Then, he saw Aria, Eriol, Syaoran and Mei-lin standing outside. "We have visitors." Touya went outside with Yukito and greeted them.
"Good afternoon, Touya-san," Aria greeted.
"What are you doing here?" Touya asked.
"We'll be having a party at our house today. Won't you mind coming?"
"I'll go after my part-time job," Touya replied. Then, he noticed Syaoran staring at him. "Hey, are you the one from Hong Kong?" he asked.
"Yeah," Syaoran answered. "How did you know?"
"Sakura told me."
Aria felt a slight tension between the two even though they're not letting it out. "H-hey, let's go at our house," she said. "Touya-san, I'll be waiting for you. You too, Yukito-san." Then, she turned her back at them.
"Hey," Eriol called Syaoran. "Even though their memories are deleted, Kinomoto-san still feels bad when you're around," he said.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"The one responsible for altering their memories isn't totally successful in doing so."
"I don't understand," Syaoran replied.
Eriol stopped in front of him and said, "Altering one's memories should also concern the feelings they felt for that person. Earlier, Kinomoto-san felt annoyance when you're there just like the old times, right?"
"Yeah."
"That means there's a big possibility to recover their lost memories and punish the one guilty for this," Eriol explained with a smile.
Syaoran's face suddenly lightened up. Eriol gave him courage to pursue on taking Sakura's memories back. "He's right. There's a way to bring her memories back."
"Onii-chan! Li-kun!" Aria shouted from in the distance while waving her hand. "Hurry up! It's starting to get dark and Sakura's on her way too with Cerberus!" she shouted.
Eriol waved his hand too and shouted, "Coming!" Then, they both ran towards Aria. "But when that happens, I will lose my sister," he said to himself, his expressions suddenly changed. Without his knowledge, Syaoran noticed his sudden change of expression when Aria shouted.
When, they were near Eriol's house, Aria saw Sakura waiting outside with Kero-chan flying around her. "Hey, Hey, Sakura. What time is it? They're already late!" Kero-chan shouted.
"Kero-chan!" Aria shouted as she grabbed Kero-chan with both of her hands. "I'm sorry we made you wait, Sakura-chan," she said.
"It's okay. I just arrived five minutes earlier," Sakura replied with a smile.
"Let's go in," Aria invited. She stood in front of the big gate and it automatically opened. Then, they all went in. All the doors are opening automatically when Aria stands in front of them. Then, they finally reached the dining room. Nakuru and Suppi are waiting inside. There were all kinds of cakes and chocolates and tea. "Please enjoy," she said.
"Yay!" Kero-chan shouted with glee. He flew around the table and smelled the sweet aroma of the tea and the ambiance of different kinds of cakes and chocolates. "Cakes! Cakes!" he shouted.
While flying with glee, he bumped at Suppi who is staring at him with irritation. "Ouch!"
"Will you please look at the path you're flying?!" Suppi shouted at him.
"Ah, Suppi!" Kero-chan greeted. "Long time no see! Would you like to have some cakes?" Kero-chan asked. He picked a piece of cupcake and shoved it to Suppi's mouth.
In an instant, Suppi's attitude changed. "Yummy!" Suppi shouted. "Suppi wants more!"
"Here," Kero-chan shoved another to his mouth. "Suppi can eat too."
"Yay! Suppi can eat too!" Suppi said. Then, he dived on a chocolate cake in front of him and started eating it. "Yum, yum!" he said.
"Spinel Sun and Cerberus are having fun today, aren't they?" Aria said.
"It's been a long time since Suppi ate lots of sweets," Nakuru said.
"Sakura-chan," Aria called. "Touya-san and Yukito-san will be coming later, after they finished their part-time job."
"Okay," Sakura replied as she took a bite on one of the cakes. "It's delicious!" she said. "Aria-chan, are you the one who baked all of these?"
"Yeah, sort of…" she replied. "But, Nakuru-san helped me clean the mess I made." Then, the doorbell rang. "They're here."
"I'll get it," Eriol said.
"I'll go with you," Aria said.
Eriol opened the gate and let Yukito and Touya in. "Please come inside. They're all waiting for you two," Eriol said.
"Good evening, Touya-san, Yukito-san," Aria greeted them.
"Good evening, Aria-chan," Yukito replied.
"Let's go in," she invited. She let Touya and Yukito walk ahead of them.
When they reached the door, Eriol asked Aria to go with him. "But, the party is not complete without you," Aria said.
"We need to talk," Eriol repeated. "It's very important."
"What do you want, Onii-chan?" Aria asked.
"Ria…" he said.
Then, there was a flash of light. Aria's expression suddenly changed and her eyes became a little too furious for her. "What?" she asked.
"Let's talk."
"We're already talking."
"Tell me, why did you do that?"
"Do what? I've done many things. Which one?"
Behind them was Syaoran, secretly listening to their conversation.
"Bring back Sakura-san's and the other's memories," Eriol said.
"Why would I?"
"Just do it or else…"
When Syaoran heard that Aria was the one who altered their memories, he ran away from them to release his anger.
"Or else what?" Ria asked. "Or else you'll kill me? Hah! You're crazy Eriol. If you'll kill me, you'll kill your sister too."
She's right. If Eriol kills her, he'll be killing his sister too. What should he do? He doesn't know any magic to bring back lost memories…or go back to the past. Go back to the past. That's right! He can ask Sakura to use the Return Card to bring them back to the days when Syaoran was with her capturing all the Clow Cards. Eriol slapped her to bring Aria back. "Let's go inside," he said.
"What?!" Mei-lin shrieked.
"What's the problem Mei-lin-chan?" Sakura asked.
"Uh, nothing…It's nothing," Mei-lin replied. She pulled Syaoran at the veranda and whispered, "Are you sure you heard him right, Syaoran?"
"Yes," he replied. "He asked his sister to bring their memories back."
"So, that's why Sakura still remembers him," Mei-lin theorized. "Why don't you ask her the reason why she did that?"
"You're a really good baker, Aria-chan!" Sakura praised Aria.
"Not really… I just do all my best to make the cakes I make delicious," Aria replied.
"Your cakes are wonderful, Aria-chan," Mei-lin said. "One of these days, can you please teach me to make one? Honestly speaking, I'm not that good in baking," she said with a giggle.
"Sure, Mei-lin-chan. I'll –." Syaoran appeared from behind and pulled her. He dragged her out of the house, where there's no one around. When they were outside, Aria pulled her hand and slapped Syaoran. "What in the world came inside your mind to come behind me and drag me like a sack outside our house?!" she shouted.
"You're asking me why?! You altered Sakura's memories! You even did it to everybody in Tomoeda including Cerberus!" Syaoran replied angrily. "Tell me! Why do you have to do that?!" he asked while shaking Aria. With his fury, he accidentally slapped Aria.
Aria gave him a fierce look and extended her right arm sideward. There was a strong wind spinning around her. And, on her right hand was a sword that appeared just now. Syaoran, in turn, took out his sword in case Aria attacks him. Aria held the sword as if she's going to attack Syaoran. She walked in front of him while pointing her sword to his neck. "You're going to die!" she shouted. But, instead of slashing Syaoran, she stabbed herself and shouted in anguish. Blood was surging from her abdomen. Syaoran's sword was filled with blood too because of the blood that spurted earlier. Aria's sword disappeared the time she pulled it out of her flesh.
"Are you crazy?!" Syaoran yelled at her. He went near her and almost carried her but Sakura and the others came running to them.
"Aria!" Yue came flying from above. He took Aria from Syaoran. He was about to ask who did it to her but he saw Syaoran's sword full of blood. "Why did you do this to her?!" he shouted.
"What? I didn't do anything! She's the one who stabbed herself with a sword!" Syaoran explained.
"Aria-chan!" Sakura called. "What happened to you?"
"That boy over there stabbed her with his sword," Yue said.
"Li-kun?! Why?!"
"That's not true! I didn't do anything!" Syaoran defended himself.
"He's saying that Aria stabbed herself with a sword. Aria doesn't even have a sword!" Yue said.
"She has a sword! She showed it to me earlier!" Syaoran said.
"Why, Li-kun? Aria-chan isn't doing anything bad! Why did you?!" Sakura shouted. "Yue-san, please take Aria-chan away from here."
Yue flew away and carried Aria with him. "What are you going to do, Sakura?"
Sakura looked at Syaoran ferociously. "I'm gonna make him pay for doing that to Aria-chan!" she shouted. She took out the key and pronounced the magic words, "O key which hides the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me. Under the contract, I, Sakura Kinomoto, commands you, RELEASE!" Then, she threw a card. "Make a chain that will seize him, WINDY!"
Windy appeared in front of Syaoran and clutched him. "Sakura stop it! Believe me! I didn't do anything!" Syaoran shouted.
"Stop calling me by my name!" Sakura shouted. "THUNDER!"
"Aahh!" Syaoran shouted in pain.
Mei-lin came running with Tomoyo out from the house. "Syaoran!" she called. "Kinomoto, stop it! Syaoran didn't do anything!"
"Back off, Mei-lin-chan! You don't have to cover Syaoran!"
"But, I'm telling the truth! Syaoran didn't do anything! Aria-chan is the one who altered your memories!" Mei-lin shouted.
"No one altered my memories! I remember everything clearly from the day I scattered all the Clow Cards until the day I turned it all to Sakura Cards!" Sakura shouted. "Dark!" Then, the whole place was engulfed by darkness. Everybody disappeared except Sakura and Syaoran. "Now, tell me, Li-kun. Why did you do that to Aria-chan?!"
"I told you I didn't do anything to her!" Syaoran shouted.
Then, there was a beam of light behind Syaoran. Then, Eriol appeared. "Eriol-kun, what are you doing here? How did you-?!"
"Bring us back to the times of yore, RETURN!"
The place was filled with cherry blossoms then they we're at the airport. "What're we doing here?!" Sakura asked Eriol.
"Look," Eriol pointed to a little boy wearing a brown jacket standing in the middle of the airport.
"That's…" Syaoran said.
"The day you left Japan," Eriol continued.
"What's the meaning of this, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked.
"Syaoran!" a little girl came running to him.
"H-hey… that's me," Sakura said.
"How…?" the little boy asked.
Then, an old man came to him and handed him a black teddy bear. "Syaoran-sama," he said. "Here you go."
Sakura was rendered speechless with what she's seeing. She just stared at the scenario.
"I…" the girl started.
"What?"
"Can I have that bear…?" the little girl asked. Then, the little Syaoran smiled and handed her the bear. The time their hands touched each other, Sakura saw different things and events with Syaoran flashing in her mind. When Syaoran and Sakura's eyes met, Sakura remembered everything. "Syaoran…" Then, were back at the dimension created by Dark. Sakura removed the magic and came to Syaoran. "Syaoran, I'm sorry…I'm really, really sorry…"
"I'm glad you remembered me," Syaoran replied. Then, he touched Sakura's face and almost fell asleep.
"Don't…" Eriol said. "Don't sleep. Try to be awake."
Then, they felt a very strong aura coming their way. "What's that?"
"She's here," Eriol said. "Prepare yourselves." Then, a woman with long black hair and black wings came down. "Ria," Eriol said.
"Aria-chan?!" Sakura called. "Why are you-?"
"I'm not Aria! She's inside me, sleeping at the moment," the woman said.
"But, how did you manage to control her body?" Eriol asked. Then, Yue came down beside her. "Yue?!"
"Yue-san?!" Sakura called. "E-Eriol-kun, what's happening?"
"Yue, why?" Eriol asked.
"I'm sorry. But she'll kill Aria if I won't help her," Yue replied. "And, Aria agreed on giving Ria the chance to use her body."
"Aria-chan," Sakura called.
"I said I'm not Aria! She's inside, sleeping soundly and peacefully! So, stop calling me Aria!" Ria shouted.
"Aria-chan…" Sakura repeated.
"I said stop it!" Ria used her black magic to Sakura but she evaded it.
"Aria-chan!" Sakura called again.
"STOP!" Ria used her magic to hold Sakura's arms and feet. Then, she extended her right hand and there, appeared a sword. She aimed it to Sakura but Eriol grabbed the sword. "What the-?!"
"Sakura isn't your real target, Ria," Eriol said. "It's Syaoran."
"Huh?"
Ria noticed Syaoran trying to stand. She suddenly appeared beside him and helped him stand up. But, she has another sword on her left hand that she used to slash Syaoran.
"Syaoran!" Sakura shouted. She tried to be free from Ria's magic but she's a lot powerful from Sakura.
When Ria was about to slash Syaoran again, Eriol interfered. "Stop it, Ria," he said. "You don't have any good reason to kill him."
"No reason?! You're saying that I have no reason to kill that guy?!" Ria shouted. "How can you tell that I have no reason to kill him? You don't know anything, Eriol! Even Clow Reed doesn't know anything!"
"What are you talking about?" Eriol asked. "Tell me, Ria… Why do you want to kill Syaoran?"
"Why will I tell you?! Even if I tell it to you, you can't do anything to change it!"
"Even if I can't change anything, I can still help you move on, Ria…"
"I'm not gonna move on if I won't kill him! I want to move on but I can't until he's alive!"
"We can't understand you, Ria. Tell us. Why are you angry with him?" Eriol said. "If you won't tell it, you'll just continue to hurt many people."
"Ria…" Yue called. "Stop it already. You've had enough," Yue said. He walked towards Ria and touched her shoulders. "Eriol's right. You'll just hurt many people if you'll continue."
"No, Yue…" She looked at him and removed his hands from her shoulders. "It's for you… I won't let the next generations hurt your feelings again…" Tears started to fall from Ria's eyes. When a drop of her tear touched the ground, Aria came back. "Yue…" she called.
Yue hugged her and said, "I'm glad you came back."
"It's because of you, Yue… Thank you," Aria said.
"Aria," Eriol called. "What happened?" he asked sternly.
"She's been suffering too much, Onii-chan. I just gave her one chance to kill him but she failed. She promised me she'll surrender if she fails to kill Clow's descendant on one blow," Aria replied. "That's the agreement when she transferred to my body from grandmother."
"Agreement?"
"This agreement is about her transfer from generation to generation," Aria said. "We had an agreement on how she'll kill Clow's descendant. Every woman in our family had different agreements with her."
"What did you ask her?"
"I said that I'll only allow her to take over my whole body for one time only. And that time would be the best time to kill Clow's descendant. And if she failed to kill his descendant on one blow, she'll surrender to us and withdraw her vengeance," Aria explained.
"Vengeance?" Syaoran asked. "For me? Why?"
"Because you're Clow Reed's descendant. His descendant from his mother."
"Why does she want to kill me?"
"Because she is Clow's younger sister. She's a lot younger than him. When Clow died, she took care of Yue and Cerberus for a long time. She protected them, especially Yue, from Clow's mother."
"Mother? I thought Clow-san's parents died ahead of him," Sakura said.
"Yeah," Aria said. "His father died ahead of him but his mother just went away. When she heard of Clow's death, she came back. She maltreated Yue so much that Yue almost died. I don't know why but his mother really hates even the mere existence of Yue. That's when Ria came, she fought for Yue. Their mother is the reason why Yue will just rely on the power of their new master. When Ria was about to confront her mother, she just disappeared into thin air. From then on, Ria promised to herself that she would have revenge on Clow's descendant in his mother's side. She'll transfer from generation to generation until she kills the descendant. Syaoran is Clow's descendant in this generation. That's why Ria wants to kill him that much," Aria explained.
"And after she kills me, what would she do?" Syaoran asked.
"She'll be in peace and follow Clow," she replied.
"Now…" Eriol seemed to be not in his normal state. His instincts seemed to take over. "Let's begin…"
"Huh?"
Aria fell unconscious and then floated in the air. She exchanged places again with Ria.
"Yue…" Ria called. "I'm sorry I didn't fulfill my promise."
"Now, we will apply the rules of the agreement you made with Aria," Eriol said. He took a deep breath and waited Yue's signal to start. "I, Eriol Hiragizawa, reincarnation of Clow Reed, am announcing that Ria Reed was unable to fulfill her vengeance. And thus, the rules of the agreement shall be done."
Then, Ria was engulfed by the light coming from Eriol's staff. (To begin the ritual, Clow's reincarnation must use his staff.) Then, Ria was slowly and carefully removed from Aria's body.
"Any last words?" Eriol asked.
"Thanks for allowing me to take over, Aria," Ria said. "And, thank you for agreeing with me for the last time," Then, she disappeared.
Aria fell down to the ground after Ria disappeared. Yue came to catch her.
"Aria-chan, are you okay?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah," she answered. "Thanks…"
"Aria…" Eriol called. "Next time don't make agreements like that that would make me nervous, okay?"
"Got 'ya," Aria said. "Arigato, Onii-chan…" She smiled.
Yue kneeled down to reach her. He touched her face and hugged her. "Youkata anata wa genki desu… Hontou ni, hontou ni youkata…"
"You shouldn't worry that much. Don't forget I'm Aria Hiragizawa. I can beat anything that comes on my way," Aria said and then laughed. "But…" she started. "I was really, really afraid when Ria took over. But then, Yue came to support me. He helped me overcome my fear. Dakara, watashi no rei wo uketemasu, Yue…"
"Ah," Sakura remembered the memories of the other people on Tomoeda. "What about the others? Are they going to remember everything now?" she asked.
"If they saw Syaoran, they would," Eriol said. "Let's go inside."
Early next morning, Aria went to the yard while the others are still sleeping. She saw Yue standing under a tree, thinking deeply. "Yue…" she called.
Yue turned around and saw Aria. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks…" Then, she sat down under the shade of the tree. Yue followed her. She took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't know what I should feel. It's either to be happy because Ria's gone or to be sad because you won't see her anymore…"
"Aria…" Yue called. Aria looked at him and saw his smiling face. "Ria is with Clow now. I'm sure she's happy there." Aria leaned on Yue's shoulder. Yue was surprised. This is it. He thought. It's the best time to tell her what he really feels. "Aria," he called again.
"What is it, Yue?"
Yue hugged her tight. Aria was shocked with what Yue did. Yue never did that to her before. She didn't know what to do that she just let Yue hug her. After a while, Yue released her. Then, without hesitation, he kissed Aria on the lips. After a minute, Yue stood up and walked away without asking Aria's reply. Aria stood up too and followed him. "Yue!" she called. She grabbed Yue's right hand and hugged him. "Don't go."
Yue turned back but he did not look on Aria's eyes. Aria touched Yue's face and made him look at her. "Look at me," she said. "I love you too, Yue…"
Yue hugged her again and smiled. Then, Aria removed Yue's arms around her. "Why?" Yue asked.
Aria touched his face and kissed Yue. Subconsciously, Yue's wings covered the both of them as they kissed each other tenderly while touching each other's face…
~July 7, 2007~