I told you all i would be back, you guys sometimes lose faith in me and my ability to write stories, nah just kidding with you all, here it is, chapter 1 of the story, officially this story will have 8 to nine chapters, non counting prologue and epilogue, it will run in the same time format as the others, meaning that the beggining event of Naruto the Maelstrom, Danny the Tsunami and Ichigo the inferno are occuring at the same time as hers, just to clear some doubts, and will cover all her six months prior to her entrance to Crystalia and the last story, Rayearth knights, still working on a appropiate subtittle.

now read and review, and a cookie to those who can see where i got the inspiration for Sakura's dream sequence.


CHAPTER 1: NORMAL DAYS

Then main plaza was filled to the brim with every possible person or human shaped animal possible, but they were behind, separated by a wave of red robed beings with pointy hats, all held their heads low in reverence at the carriage pulled by two six legged horses with golden fur and twice as big as any other horse know.

Inside the carriage a wrinkled hand waved at the mass of people behind the ones with the red robed ones, the people didn't looked so happy by the appearance of the person inside the carriage, nor the fact that the green armored elves kept a close watch at any troublemaker up in the roofs.

But that was about to change, a lone female figure, hidden in the shadows waited for the moment, and then she began to move, her small frame fitting more of a kid of roughly twelve years old, dressed in a school uniform that resembled a sailor outfit, white skirt with a black shirt, yellow elbow pads protected her exposed elbows and part of her forearms, what seemed black skin tight shorts under her skirt along with yellow kneepads and white sneakers, her brown hair moved alongside with the wind and her green eyes looked about the gathered crowd, then she moved.

With every step she took onward and into the crow, the people parted away, recognizing her almost immediately, most of the crowd of villagers by their clothes stared at her left hand, recognizing immediately the glove in it.

She was not ignored by the guards in the roofs of course, one of the elf guards loaded her rifle and aimed as people parted ways to allow the girl access, the crystalium lens gleaming at the sunlight, but before the elf could do something a shadow fell over her, all she saw after that was red hair and a fist sailing to her face.

The girl kept advancing, and the crowd kept parting away, two elf guards rushed at her, only to stagger a little and held their necks, pulling a needle like projectile with some purple liquid coated around it, the two guards instantly fell to the ground, unconscious, on the roofs each elf guard fell against what seemed a red and green blur that kept breaking their noses with brutal ease.

Soon she reached the red robed ones, they broke out of her way so fast that it was nearly comical, or sad considering that they were afraid of her upon laying sights on her, unlike the others who just opened a path to her and didn't show fear.

Two guards that seemed more like orcs rushed at her, but she simply slammed her extended palms at their stomachs, making them gasp in pain and shock, falling unconscious this was noted by another pair of guards that immediately rushed at her, she simply shot her hands upwards, and the ground in front of both elf guards rushing at her ruptured, forming a wall in which their crashed quite violently, this actions provoked the rest of the green armored elf guard who immediately began to pour out, surrounding her with pikes that had glowing tips that seemed to emanate small thunders out of it, yet she seemed unaffected by this.

"Bravo…bravo, how brave, and how foolish of you to come here…princess"

The brown haired girl didn't even reacted at the taunting voice of the woman who had emerged out of the carriage, clad in very expansive robes that seemed to gleam like gold, the hair of the woman being of a purple shade that was eyesore but neatly tied on a double bun behind her head, her eyes being on a grey colored shade, her hip held of course a single rapier, the hilt greatly decorated and ornamented.

The brown haired girl simply raised her sight a little, smiled a little and nodded, the woman seemed to notice this a little too late because she saw with utter shock how the guards around the 'princess' began to fall, half of them clutching their necks while the others seemed to stiffen like wooden tables when white bolts of energy hit them, the 'princess' simply moved away one of the elf guards in front of her gently, yet this was enough to cause the guy to fall to the ground.

The woman simply sneered and ordered two Orc guards mounting what seemed Rhinos with two frontal horns to attack at the 'princess' the brown haired girl simply advanced as the riders came at her, with a facility that many found frightening she backslapped the head of the first beast, sending it flying to her right, the second pulled his sword and tried to slash her, she simply made a sweeping motion with her left hand at the ground, the beast and rider were send flying away when the ground simply pushed them away towards a building.

The woman simply sneered in anger at that, "Royal Guard!" she commanded, the 'princess' simply stared with a frown as several people that were obviously not members of the guard showed in front of her, then the woman began to advance, taking a frontal position, drawing her rapier out and kissing the blade softly, a smirk on her face, one that was obviously erased once she saw the people backing the 'princess' up.

The 'princess' soon was backed up by several people, because they were behind her she was unable to see their faces, but she knew they were behind her, backing her up, she didn't knew how many, just that they were there, at her side.

"You think because the guardians selected knights and you have squires at your side means you will win you have another thing coming, Crystalia shall not bow to a petty outsider like you"

"…I will not allow people suffer more because of you" and with that told the 'princess' charged she felt the people behind her follow her on her charge, she could see clearly how the woman and the guard charged as well, anger etched on her face.

Brushing the back of her left hand with her right hand, the 'princess' seemed to summon something, holding it on her hands as she jumped at the charging opponents, soon she saw she had a yellow like staff, with a cry she lunged at her opponent…

"Hooeee!"

Sakura Kinomoto bolted out of her bed in shock and fright, small drops of sweat running down her forehead after that extreme dream.

None of the dreams she had before were as vivid and live as this one, not even her first dream, the dream that showed her the world that she would enter in the future, the world of magic, becoming a card captor, and eventually becoming the mistress of the Sakura cards, once the Clow cards.

But this dream, so different than the one she had before, on her other dreams she never had dreamt of another people, well maybe Li, or Tomoyo, but never of people she had never met, well perhaps Kero, but in the end she had met him a day later.

Maybe her prophetic dreams allowed her to see people she would meet on an immediate future, but then what would explain the strange setting she had dream as well, elves, horses that were more like mutant rhinos, and it was the very first time in her dreams that she could hear someone speak.

That and also the fact she seemed super strong in that dream, she basically slapped those rhino things barehanded, like swatting flies away, perhaps she was using The Power card to gain incredible strength, but yet that didn't explain how she made a wall of rock emerge out of the ground with ease, maybe she was using The Earthy as well…yet in her dream she didn't saw herself calling forth the power of both of those cards.

It worried her; it really worried her, as she collapsed on her back, attempting to return to Morpheus's embrace, she idly wondered when she would get some peace.

It had been four months ever since her last involvement with the Clow cards, or with anything relating Clow Reed for that matter, his dead lover trying to kill her had been quite a shock, and in China no less, the fact this had been kinda foreseen had her slightly pissed.

She was learning to this point of stopping ignoring her most vivid and intense dreams.

Now leaning on her bed, and staring at the ceiling, she wondered many things on her life, at her short age she had become the new mistress of the Clow Cards, now aptly named the Sakura Cards (and aptly colored as well) she had also created a new card, the Nothingness card was transformed into another card, she had a boyfriend, international mage like boyfriend mind you, and all at the tender age of eleven.

But as she stared at the ceiling, and replayed the scenes of her dream on her head, she idly wondered what the future might hold now for her.

"…Why me?" was her only question to the world before she went to sleep again, this time without odd dreams bothering her…for the moment.


"Is it her?"

"Yes…her mana reading match the one of the queen, it is her"

"Hard to believe that the next in line to the throne barely reach the age of twelve"

"Inconsequential, our mission is clear, we capture or eliminate"

"She is just a little girl; elimination is out of the question"

"Illogical, her mere presence is a danger for Crystalia's stability; elimination is the correct and most logical way"

"You machinos and your logic, that's why I hate working with you, you don't have a heart, and you don't have a conscience"

"I don't need a 1000 terabyte brain processor and a dual core memory enhancer to realize that as assassins we do not require hearts or a conscience"

"You disgust me"

"Irrelevant, let's continue with surveillance"

"…you know, on some worlds doing this is considered law offense and more to a little girl…well…"

"I said irrelevant"

The man just smiled, tipping his hat forward so his eyes could be covered of the neon yellow gaze of his companion.

"Remember our objectives, and what stands here, the safety of this girl is irrelevant compared to the safety of Crystalia"

"I know I know" the man said.

"Good" was all she said as they continued surveillance over an unsuspecting Sakura…

Morning…

Sakura groaned as she stood up, she had been unable to catch some well earned sleep after that dream she had, perhaps two hours of sleep, and that was it, fragments of the dream kept popping into place, making her wake up and remain awake for several minutes, sometimes hours, she was glad there was no school yet, a month separated her of the new school period.

"What a night" she muttered to herself, looking at the ceiling of her room, the twelve years old girl could only smile slightly, even if the dream had been…intense, it surely was a prelude of things to come, good and bad things.

To be honest after the Clow cards and Clow Reed's former love trying to kill her, not to mention the reincarnated former master of the cards putting tests to her, things have been boring, and while Tomoyo had spiced her life with some modeling, mostly of outfits her dad would have an aneurysm because they left little to the imagination of lolicons, her life had been boring up to this point.

Kero, as guardian of the cards, and the only guardian that could actually shift to a small form, stayed with her, helping her, after all being the mistress of the cards didn't immediately made her a sorceress of the level of Clow Reed had been back in his prime.

Learning what he learned had become a habit of her, that and using the bubble card to clean the dishes, now that was a card anyone would want, and Kero seemed to be slightly surprised that Sakura had found another use to the seemingly useless card besides using it to wash him.

With a stiffed yawn, Sakura stood up of bed, hearing the slight snorts of Kero on his small flat/drawer, after all they had done, Kero had took the habit of sleeping a little more, of course that habit would end as soon school period starts once again, she has to wake up early to help with the chores in the house, everyone had to pull their weight in the Kinomoto household.

Her dad and brother were surely out of the house as well, the house was hers to command and to clean, they were surely surprised she could both clean the house fast enough and with extreme precision and still have time to eat and go to her part-time work.

Yep, she was already saving money for college, and to whatever she wanted to buy for herself, sure as hell she wasn't going to spend the last two years of high school working, like her brother.

Of course her part-time work as a courier on Tomoeda, while not profiting as many would expect, allowed her to see the city like she didn't see before during her hunt of the Clown cards, besides the tips were good.

With sigh she made it to the kitchen, finding a small pile of clean dishes piled to one side, a small sigh escaped her lips, sometimes her dad or brother would take some minutes to clean up the dishes after dinner, leaving her no workload in the kitchen besides her own breakfast in the mornings.

"Well, more time for me then" Sakura said with a small smile, making her way to the bathroom, she would cook later, now it was 'me' time, today was one of those lazy days in the courier office, the only day she could actually arrive late, true it was not what she was taught all her life, punctuality was paramount on her society, it showed commitment, but once in a while doesn't hurt at all.

Ten minutes later…

"Hmm, what a good bath" she exclaimed to herself, making her way towards the kitchen, already clad in her favorite light pink sweatpants and jacket, her bare feet echoing on the wooden floor, she was happy, her spiking was evidence of it.

Once on the kitchen she started to work, she would indulge herself on her favorite food, rice omelets, she had more than enough time for them.

As she worked on the breakfast, humming a tone along the way and tapping her foot on the floor, she suddenly stopped cooking, her humming as well, the knife she was using to chop some vegetables also…

"Hyia!" she cried, turning around, fast, much to her shock she tossed the knife, hard, the thing went up to the hilt, imbedding itself on a wall.

"…Hooeee" she moaned, looking in horror at what she had done, not because she just tossed the knife like a spear, or the fact the knife was now firmly stuck to a wall up to the hilt, but because she just had stuck a knife to the hilt, in a wall of her house, too near or her dad's favorite picture, and so hers, her mother's picture.

"Kuso" she muttered, reaching for the knife, and trying to pull, seeing that this one would not budge, she decided to the next course of action.

Turning the oven off, she went to her room, she needed the power and wood cards for this.

The first floor remained silent, only the steady breathing of a male who had his eyes wide as how close that knife had come of meeting his forehead!

"Okay, she has eyes behind her head…no sneaking while holding sharp objects" the invisible stalker bowed, silently leaving the place, just the same way he entered, through a window.


Absentminded was not a word to describe Sakura, that was certain, the only times her mind detached from her body was when she had visions so vivid that she failed to see reality from the dream, like the time her head met the blunt end of her baton because her baton had suddenly transformed into her pink magic staff in mid-spin, suffice to say, it hurt, a lot.

After leaving her home and a generous amount of sweets for Kero to eat in her room while he plays video-games and sometimes sees the soap-operas (He'll never admit it) Sakura, clad for her daily work, made her way out in her roller skates.

Then again in her distracted state and on roller skates is not exactly the best idea ever.

"HEY WATCH IT!"

"Gomenasai!"

This was the third time she nearly crashed with a car, and this one was not exactly as forgiving as the other two drivers.

"IF YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD THEN LOOSE IT!" the angry driver replied, not long he sped away, his car leaving tire marks on the asphalt.

"Jerk" Sakura muttered, slightly smirking when she heard sirens not far from where the car went, "Serves you right" she added as an afterthought, imagining the man fuming his head off at the traffic cop after stopping him and giving him a ticket.

Yes it was odd of her being like that, but well, one attempt of assassination by a ghost, the test of Yue, which was harsh in itself, and Clow's reincarnated self tests kinda made her mature a little faster than other girls of her age.

Also it helps to have a boyfriend who can shoot thunders with a sword and a piece of paper.

So far the reason that kept her distracted eluded her with great skill, and was pissing her off!

Shaking her head, Sakura rolled her way down to the courier post, which had a garage at its side.

Big T courier/garage shop was new compared to other business in Tomoeda, baring only five years of being open, compared to the fifty or some of other business, also the courier post/ garage shop was different from other courier posts for several reasons.

It was the sole competitor of flashlight delivery, the second courier post on Tomoeda, which had bought or assimilated other courier posts after they bankrupted or were to, two, it was by far the most relievable way to get your packages or letters from point A to point B without a hitch, third, the boss of the courier post she worked on was in fact a former convict from over the pond who decided to start anew.

Caught red-handed after shoplifting with a gun, he was sentenced for ten years in jail, kinda light considering that where he was arrested these kind of crimes were punished harshly, the only reason he got out light was because the gun was a toy gun and he had stole food and money to feed himself and pay himself a room, he got the ten years because he stole and beat up the shopkeeper with so said gun.

In jail he saw the worse of mankind, and swore to start over if he got out, which he did, after ten years he was free, the first thing he did was buy a ticket and get the hell out of the place that held bitter memories, with the remaining money he got from works inside the prison, he was able to buy the building which now hold Big T's garage and courier post, after that those unable to meet the harsh requirements that flashlight demanded on their employees, meaning all of them had to have cars or bikes to make the deliveries, Big T endorsed the use to bicycles, roller skates or modified bicycles with bike engines made by the employees to make the deliveries, which varied from simple letters and clothes bought on the internet, to a piano, which Sakura once made part of the escort convoy to deliver it to.

The last reason Big T was so famous was because the delivery prices were criminally cheap, meaning more people could send meager things without exerting their pockets, meaning also that the couriers got more tips, tips they didn't spend on gasoline for their vehicles.

Making it to the entrance of the garage, Sakura stopped right in front of a teenage kid working on some bike chains, greasing them up, "Asura, good morning"

"Good morning to you Sakura-sama, the boss is waiting for ya, he ordered me to basically pry you out of your rollers and grease them up for a long day" the teen identified as Asura said, making Sakura frown.

"It is a slow day Asura, why he would ask them to be greased for a long one?" she asked.

"Don't know, but I got a peek at your road this day, you basically have to go to one end and the other of the city, I'll have them ready for you alongside some water bottles, you'll need them" losing her skates off, Sakura handed them to Asura, who immediately began to work on them, taking the tires and greasing the joints with expert ease.

It was odd for someone to go on their socks on their place of work, but the boss was so informal that they didn't had defined uniforms, the only way you could only knew a person was of Big T's courier post was the vests they wore over their clothes that had the logo of the post, alongside their names, and their radios.

That it was informal looking didn't mean it wasn't organized.

Reaching for her locker, Sakura immediately donned her vest, she passed her way towards the longue room, usually in these days the other couriers would be there, resting after a long delivery or simply watching TV, oddly enough the longue room was empty.

"Odd" she muttered, then shrugged and made her way towards the office of the boss.

The boss in question was a six foot tall man, with dark skin, built to break someone with a snap of his hand, clad in baggy clothes that, in Sakura's honest opinion, would make Tomoyo break in sad tears, then tackle her boss and drag him to one of her rooms to dress him properly, after finding something of his size.

"Boss, Sakura reporting!" Sakura said with a mock salute.

"About time star struck, it seems we got caught once again in another plot of flashlight" the boss said.

"Again?" Sakura wondered, "They must really hate you to do these things, what they did this time?" Sakura asked.

"Simple, they knew it was a slow day to us, and most of our couriers would be resting, so they closed for the day, leaving us underhanded for the combined workload…assholes" Sakura made a face at that last word, instantly pointing at a jar on the end of the room.

"Okay okay, I will put my five yen there, sheez, you're like my mom but smaller"

"Boss" Sakura drawled.

"Yeah I get it, basically I had to call everyone to cover up, even then we don't have enough people, we all are taking four jobs each, right now Akane is overworked on keeping the system online and keeping you all updated, so grab your gear and requests and get a move on!" Sakura didn't need to be told twice, she bolted out of the office immediately, reaching the second office, in this one a single radio and headpiece waited for her.

Now with all needed, all what Sakura needed were orders.

"Kinomoto, first order of delivery, 78 ave, crossing Tomoeda College, our first client requests us to take a fragile vase to the museum, do so carefully, the password is 'dust to dust' get a move on"

"Good old Akane, sometimes too serious for her own good, sometimes she sounds like relaying a mission for special operatives rather than couriers" Sakura thought with a smile as she made it to the garage, there her roller skates were already waiting for her, wasting no time she put them on and began to roll away, faster than before, after all tips for fast, relievable service were the reason she was the star deliver of Big T post and garage.

The feeling of someone following her fell over her again.


"I have her trail again, look at her go; she is like a rabbit on coffee"

"Her speed might be a problem for you if you attempt to snipe her"

"Agreed, I need her to stop somewhere secluded…we don't want to cause unnecessary panic"

"Irrelevant"

"Look you might drop that off, we don't want to cause unnecessary panic, besides I am a sniper, I am suited to one shot one kill, not gunfights, especially against the police force"

"The police force present is minimal, their weapons are primitive and unrelievable, they still rely on solid ammunition, our shields are more than enough to hold some shells"

"Listen, get it into your thick bug infested, Trojan damaged CPU you call a brain, my operation, my shot, and I say do the deed on a secluded place, clear?"

"…you didn't had to be so cruel"

"Ugh"

He had to admit, he was a little cruel, to a sentient construct like a machinos, what he said was very insulting, it insinuated that she was basically diving herself into dubious net pages, and didn't updated regularly to erase the damage on her CPU.

Well, done is done, he had to focus in a way to get the princess into a secluded place, so far he had only seen one, but he had to make it so without looking suspicious to her, part of the trap is the target not seeing the trap at all.

With a sigh he brought his rifle to his eyes again, the lens crosshair focused on Sakura's form, aimed at her head.

He didn't want to do it, but his duty was beyond his wants.

Sakura would die today.


"Another delivery done and done Akane, what's next?" Sakura asked on her headpiece.

"Nothing yet, it seems you covered them all, and in record time"

"And I got enough tips on me today to pay me an apartment for a month, gotta thank flashlight for this" Sakura said with a smile.

"Yes well, you are the only one thankful; the others are cursing a storm now"

"Then the jar of curses is going to be filled today, heading back"

"Acknowledge…wait, we got another call"

"Uh, really?" Sakura asked in shock and annoyance.

"Really, the client wants you in 'Penguin Park' in ten minutes or no tip; he needs you to deliver something important"

"I'm close; I'll be there in five"

With that Sakura began to make her way towards Penguin Park, the reason the park had such a name was because the park, while normal in appereance, was dominated by the massive penguin king slide, also several of her fights during her time as card captor and during their eventual transformation to Sakura cards ended up here, go figure why.

Rolling her way fast, and knowing the sector better than anyone else it was a piece of cake to make it to the park, at this hour it was not odd to her to see no one but her there, not even the kids in the swings waiting for their parents after a long day of work where present, and it wasn't less, it was already dark, her father was going to pop a vessel if she comes late.

Then again she has also the right to pop one, after the so many times he came late and left dinner she worked hard on, cold.

Reaching the park, Sakura stopped, scanning the area, the feeling she had been feeling for a good chunk of the day returning full force, something that was here and didn't belong was near.

"Akane, I'm here, no sign of the client"

"Odd, he told he would be waiting at the statue of the penguin king"

"Well he ain't, I swear if this other flashlight goons trying to intimidate us one by one I swear…"

"Calm yourself Kinomoto, scout the area, look for the client, if he is not there vacate the area, you have receives that need to be deliver here"

"Yes mom" Sakura said, lazily looking around, her eyes darting to one end of the other of the park, no sight of the client at all.

"It's a hoax, heading back"

"Acknowledged"

Cutting the signal off, Sakura began to make her way back.

"Sorry" Sakura heard, turning around she gasped when she felt something hot, like…nothing she could describe, pierce her chest.

Pain was inconsequential as she fell to the ground with a flat 'thud' and slightly coughed, her vision gathering red when she did so.

"W-w-wh…" the ground was a constant reminder of what she was done to her.

She closed her eyes, asking why.

And she opened them again.

Gasping for air, Sakura eyes darted around in fear, true, genuine fear, her hands were already clasped to her chest, trying to feel the hole that had been done to her, the hole that had been shot open.

"Calm down, my child"

Sakura looked around, there was a white void, she didn't knew where the voice came from, the only thing she knew was that she was…

"No, nonononononoNO!" Sakura gasped, trying to stand up, but something stopped her, a hand, right on her chest, clasping her hands, gently.

"You are in between"

"Between? Between what?"

"Between life and death"

Sakura panicked again, trying to stand up once more, but the pressure on her chest remained, it was gentle, but it was impossible to break.

"You worry too much, you won't die"

"Won't die? I got shot!?"

"Yes, but if you think I will allow your death you have another thing coming"

Sakura eyes were wide, not knowing what this female voice meant.

"No one, and I mean, no ONE, messes with my chosen one!"


"Ancients…what a waste"

"You didn't aim to the head, she suffered…you obviously wanted this"

"Don't…just don't Raina, just shut the hell up" the man said, slowly approaching the body of the girl he had just killed, her eyes were still open, the lively green color in her eyes now dulled, a look of betrayal in them.

"Find peace in whatever heaven you might end" he said, kneeling in front of the girl he killed, reaching for her face and getting ready to close her eyes…

"MOVE!" only to feel Raina push him away, then the sound akin to god punching the stars to oblivion itself.

Only he realized it was Raina's armor and hardened skin giving away against a fist.

Neurion looked in shock, as if time was slowed down as how his vice-captain was lifted by a vicious hit on her stomach, his eyes traveled to the owner of the fist, his eyes going wide as he saw the girl he sniped, the girl he killed, more alive than before, and royally pissed if her glowing yellow…

"Yellow!" was the last thought Neurion had before a gloved fist met his armored face, breaking his helmet, his nose and jaw, sending him flying towards the penguin king, breaking the pure concrete figure with ease, and kept flying towards the woods nearby.

Raina by her part covered her stomach with her hands, on her knees and gasping for air, looking shocked and utterly defeated, not knowing where it to feel ashamed because their victory was snatched out of her hands, or lucky because the punch didn't rip her in two, and had only ruptured a small coolant line that was already sealed by the nanites in her.

Slowly looking up, Raina gasped in shock when a gloved hand seized her face and slowly rose her up, her armor did little to deter the physically smaller girl from lifting her up with ease…

"You got some nerve" Raina just looked at the girl in shock, it was impossible, so the stories were true, a Rayearth had to truly be 'near dead' and not truly dead so they could become rayearths, die in their former forms to be reborn as crystalians.

"Attacking my chosen knight"

"She is a danger" Raina answered.

"To you queen, not to Crystalia"

"One way or another, she will die, you can't be always present to help her"

"True…but I can be damn sure to give her time to be ready for you two"

The next thing Raina knows is that she is slammed to the ground, repeatedly, she counted at least ten times, her armor groaning with each blow towards the ground, then tossed upwards, just to be seized by the ankles, and then spun like a ragdoll, tossed away towards Neurion's last know location.

The park remained eerie silent after that, only the steady breathing of a small girl who stared at the broken trees with her golden eyes, then stared around.

"This world is not yet ready to know…hmm, now for an alibi"

Then honk of a car in the distance seemed to draw her like flame does to a moth.

"Heeello alibi"


She felt…light, there was no other way to describe it, she felt light, like a feather, her clothes didn't weighted as much as she expected, she could feel grass tickling her fingertips, the wind licking her hair, the water hitting her bare feet, the sun warming her face…

"Wait a minute, I have shoes, Penguin Park is all but sand, there are no water but the small water fountain on the edge of the park, and its night!"

Opening her eyes, Sakura eyes could not give credit to what she was seeing, there, in the spotless sky sat perhaps the brightest sun she had seen, yet it didn't bothered her at all, the few science class she knew told her immediately that the sun shouldn't be of that size, or the planet would surely be the biggest oven on the solar system, serving well cooked humans.

But there it was, a sun twice the size she is used to glance, not see directly, glance…where those five moons?

"What? Where? Hoe?"

"Hoe? Really? That's all you have to say after getting shot, tethering between life and death and seeing five moons? Hoe?"

Sakura was too dumbstruck to even answer that, the voice came from everywhere, but at the same time it came right in front of her.

"Whe-where am I?" Sakura asked.

"You are where you're supposed to be…for the moment" the voice said.

"Where…but I don't want to be here…I want to go back" Sakura exclaimed.

"Not now, I want to talk"

"Talk? About what?" Sakura asked, eyes darting around.

"About why an enhanced and a machinos wanted you dead to start with"

Sakura frowned at that, clearly remembering that particular moment, "Talking about my last moments is not exactly the way to broach a subject" Sakura said.

"Says the girl who has seen death as close as the most veteran soldiers in war"

"We haven't had wars in over 75 years" Sakura countered.

"Correct, but you really think those survivors, upon seeing you would see a little girl? No, they would see a sister in arms, someone who has stared death straight in the eyes and said 'don't even think about it' that's why Big T calls you star struck, because you look if you have seen entire solar systems die" the voice said.

"I haven't seen planets blow up with people in them…but I have been close…closer than I want to admit" Sakura says, slowly standing up, looking at the sky, staring at the five moons, oddly enough the moons look like if they had life in them, like if they were…

"The moons, they have people in them"

"Living there? Colonized?" Sakura asked, it was something pulled out of a sci-fi movie.

"Yes, those two come of one of the moons, the red one to be specific" the voice pointed out, Sakura looked at the red moon, red was not a way to describe the color to be honest, more like a copper like coloration.

"Why?" Sakura finally asked, staring at the copper colored moon with some sadness.

"They were ordered to"

Sakura scoffed, "I'm not that important, maybe a few months ago I would have believed that, but I'm not important, not anymore, the cards…I'm the new mistress of cards, the Li have accepted me as the owner of the cards, there is nothing more, it's over"

"You really think that?"

"Yeah, what's next?" Sakura asked.

"Your life won't end at twelve, despite what you think, what has happened is just a little peek of what will come to your life"

"If my life will be looking over my back every minute then I don't want it"

"You realize you don't have a say in this…just like the one that shot you"

"Not a say…he shot me!"

"But have you wondered why? Why he said sorry before he shot? Why he looked so sorrowful when he pulled the trigger, even with the helmet on you could see his eyes, they were full of remorse, he didn't want that, yet he did it, why? Because he had no choice, because forces beyond his control dictate him to pull the trigger, to let that laser burn a hole in your skin, in your muscles, your veins, your heart, your very soul"

Sakura remained quiet, simply collapsing on the grass and kneeling, looking at the sky once more.

"Life doesn't have to end just because you think it does…this is not over until the fat lady sings, and so far I haven't see a fat lady"

Sakura giggled at that, and then sobered up.

"What now? Am I dead?"

"No, you are reborn, between life and death only a new life can come, those who come of these experiences never come back the same, they come back changed, they see their lives in a different pallet, people in a different picture, the world in a different screen, for now rest, rest, for what comes ahead will truly test you"

"Test me?"

"Yes…for you are my chosen one, you are my knight, now sleep"

"But I don't wanna" Sakura whined, letting out a cute yawn that made the female voice giggle, Sakura eyes felt heavy as she went to sleep, the problems of the outside world forgotten.

Her body stood on a sterile bed, on a hospital, with several bandages over her petit frame, several equipment tied to her and monitoring her vitals, her family, her whole family at her side, her boss at one side, looking worried and ready to cry if she didn't woke up.

She slept for two days.

At the end of the second day she woke up with a gasp, like coming out of the water, her father was at her side the moment her eyes began to dart around in panic, only to soften and stop when she saw him at her side, looking haggard, she summarized that he hadn't slept in days.

When she saw her brother Toya flanking her, looking just like her dad, she realized that both of them had been at her side, not wanting to sleep until she woke up.

Sakura let a small smile lit up, letting them know she was fine and happy to see them, but the tension in her smile told them all.

She was too tired to do anything else but to smile, she was just minutes short of going to sleep again, which she did, but both her father and brother knew that she would wake up the next day.

The next time she woke up her hand instantly shot up at something, she didn't knew what, but something told her to grip whatever she had caught in her hand, and slowly squeeze.

"Oh God!"

The cry of pain made Sakura wake up fully and stare, with shocked eyes how her right hand gripped the wrist of an innocent nurse who held a single needle on her hand, so said hand was slowly turning purple.

"Gomen!" Sakura cried, releasing the wrist of the nurse, the nurse by her part rubbed her wrist in pain, Sakura noted how she had taken two steps back while at it.

"Well, we can add to your medical history that you definitely don't like needles" the nurse said with a nervous smile.

Sakura mimicked the smile, "No…I don't" she answered, letting the arm go limp and rest of the bed, "Uh…what was the shot anyway?" she asked.

"A single tetanus shot, you did get pinned by two cars and had multiple cuts by the damaged metal, we had to make sure, I added one before you woke up last night" the nurse summarized, seeing Sakura's lost look.

"You don't remember" she stated, Sakura shook her head, "Can't say I blame you, most patients block the experience fully, the way the brain copes with the pain some say, trying to forget" the nurse said, slowly turning away.

"I'll let your family know you're awake, good day" Sakura nodded slightly, thanking silently the nurse for this.

Not less than two minutes after the nurse left, the room was again occupied, this time by her father and her older brother, albeit older was a loose term considering that he was born a 29th of February, and his birthday was every four years, meaning he was a leaping, technically, she was the oldest sister.

"Sakura-chan" her father whispered, holding her hand, Sakura let a small smile on her lips, "You had us worried"

"Don't…worry…" Sakura said slowly, her early exertions were catching up with her, not to mention that her body hurt, a lot, everywhere.

"…What happened?" Sakura asked.

Her father and brother looked hesitant to answer her question, "What happened?" she asked again, this time more forcefully, her family noted this; the demand on her voice was palpable.

"According to the cops you were going out of Penguin Park when suddenly a truck hit you and a car, pinning you on both of them, it was sheer luck you survived the hit, apparently the truck had a malfunction on its breaks and steering wheel, it was unable to stop or move away, you, the driver of the car and the truck driver were lucky, especially you, they say you should be dead, I'm glad is not that" her father replied, much to her shock.

"…When I will be able to leave?" she asked again.

"Don't know" Toya answered, "Like dad said, you should be dead, glad you're not, hell the truck and car got worse than you to be honest, they recon you should stay another week to see how you recover" he answered.

"I feel fine…just sore" Sakura simply answered.

"Sakura, you should have nearly all your bones broken, the doctors said you only have fissures in them" her dad said, making her blink.

"Fissures?"

"Yes, mini-fractures all over your skeleton, or so they say, they don't want to risk it thought, they want you on observation to see how they heal, those fissures can easily become full-blown fractures if you don't heal properly" Toya said.

"That means once you get out you have to quit your job" her dad added, much to her shock.

"What? Dad I can't! It was just an accident" Sakura argued.

"The doctors agreed with this Sakura-chan, I'm not against your job, but as you are it is a high-risk job, the constant movement would make the fissures worse, and they want you to rest as much as possible before you go to school" Sakura let a long, tired and annoyed sounding sigh, her family noting this.

"…We'll see how it goes" was all she said as she accommodated on the bed and closed her eyes.

"Sakura…"

"We'll see" she repeated, this time more forcefully, it was obvious all the information, instead of ease her, had in fact annoyed her to no end.

Seeing that Sakura was basically in no mood to talk after the news, her family left, her father leveling a small look to her, "For all what its worth I'm sorry"

"…You weren't driving the truck, you got nothing to apologize" Sakura whispered, but it was loud enough for him to hear.

A week later…

"Amazing, just…amazing" the doctor said, looking at some X-ray plaques, to be more specific Sakura's X-ray plaques.

Her whole ordeal had been, to be blunt, a sheer miracle, to survive being hit by a truck and pinned to a car, with only cuts, scraps and lacerations, alongside minor fissures on her skeleton was nothing short of a miracle, it was obvious someone was looking out for her, for the front of the truck looked more like if had hit a concrete wall rather than a little girl.

Now this, on his left hand he had Sakura's X-rays of the day she awoke, her skeleton, more precisely her ribcage and skull, showing the many fissures that still dotted her body, her spine was the only area that didn't showed this fissures, a true miracle or Sakura would be singing a different tune altogether.

On his right hand were X-rays of the same areas, taken a week later, prior to her imminent discharge, what he saw amazed him.

Her skull and ribcage showed no fissures at all, it was spotless, her arms, legs, her pelvis, every single bone in her body were as it was before the accident, the skeleton of a healthy 12 year old girl, no fissures, fractures or anything that could be translated as damage, in fact her skeleton looked more like ready to withstand another round with the truck and leave with nothing else but dust.

And that was just the tip, Sakura's body had healed completely, no cuts or scrapes, she was brand new, just out of the fabric, she simply didn't had any kind of psychical wounds, but one thing is the body, other is the mind, his area of expertise was the body, the mind was too complicated, even for those who dive in that area, she had survived a very traumatic experience, who knows how she would cope with it.

One thing was certain, she was more than healthy than the average girl, and was obvious she would be able to undertake her part-time job as courier.


Toya honestly had never seen his sister this alive, the trip back home had been, to be honest, short, Sakura had basically set the pace, which left him and his dad dead tired, while she was as fresh as a cabbage, it was still unbelievable that she had been hospitalized, usually newly discharged are as lethargic as a blind and deaf zombie, but apparently his sister was the opposite of the rule.

She was fine as dandy, he was half-tempted to break to her that he knew about her and the Sakura cards and the many times she used it, and ask her if she by some chance had used some card that actually allows her to heal from wounds, or a card that had shielded her of the horrible wounds that she should have after getting rammed by a truck head front.

Yet he couldn't, Sakura by nature was defensive, always on the defensive, never in his life he had seen her take the offensive, not even with that Li brat had been nearly been killed by Yue during his trials of the cards, even then she was hesitant to take the bold step onward, on the offensive she sucks, to be honest, the very rare occasions she has ever been on the offensive it has been because someone's life was on the line, on those rare occasions her sister became what he usually nicknames her, a giant, and you don't mess with a giant.

Defensively she has better options, and this worries him, ever since she became the mistress of the Sakura Cards, she has been on the risk of getting discovered by their dad, three times to be exact, she had lied to him those three times to keep the secret, and with reason, their dad would have a cardiac arrest if ever found out that his only daughter had been fighting for her life, not to mention that he would have to intervene, revealing what he knew about Sakura and the cards, bringing a wedge among the family, the last thing he wanted to do, family was important to him, to Sakura, to their father, their dad finding out would mean a gap that not all the magic in the world could hope to mend.

With a sigh he resigned himself to keep yet another secret, as they finally reached home, he noted how Sakura had immediately went to her bedroom, surely to see how Kero was, the small creature was surely worried sick, after all he was now Sakura's guardian.

There he smiled sadly, the thing must be beating itself, some guardian it turned to be.

The last glimpse of Sakura he had was of her left gloved hand…

"Gloved hand?"


"Sakura-chan!"

The mistress of cards smiled sadly as she saw Kero babble his little eyes out, she couldn't blame him, he had already lived the lost of Clow Reed as an elder, it would tear him if he lost her as a child, with roughly months after they met.

Scratching the head of the diminutive guardian with her left gloved…

"Wait back up what!?"

Sakura had lived a lot of magical odd experiences, enough to send a normal fickle mind to an asylum, but not her, before and after what she lived with the Clow cards, she was used to odd, the yearned for it, expected it.

So when she saw the same fingerless glove with the same emblem the Sakura cards now had, but in a gold like yellow crystal, firmly set on her left upper hand, somehow she knew that her life was going to change…again.

"…What in the name of…"

"Sakura-chan, why you have a trembling red dot in your forehead?"

"Trembling red dot HOLY!"

Sakura reacted almost instantly, hitting the deck, covering Kero with her body, she was able to see a disturbance in the very air, like some sort of invisible beam sailing too near of her, making a hole on her window, her favorite curtain and her wall!

Someone really wanted her dead, and this time they were aiming for the sure kill, on the sanctity of her bedroom, on her home!

"Ohh, now I'm mad" she didn't knew where that came from, but she was definitely pissed.

As if her magic book read her thoughts, it floated to her, opening itself and exposing the deck of pink cards inside.

"Decisions, decisions" she began in her mind, with her head low, "Should I use the power to maul him to a fine paste…where that came from…no, no…use the grow and stomp on him! Okay I'm a little pissed, relax…use the firey card to burn him from the inside out!"

"…"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME" Sakura bellowed, taking the magical key out of the book, then taking the shot and the shield with her.

He was going to get a taste of his own medicine, courtesy of the never missing Shot card.


Neurion slung his Deathshot particle rifle to his shoulder and to his back, letting the magnetic straps on it to do the job, then he began to run, run like hell, optical camouflage activated as well.

He made the mistake of looking back, and he saw a very pissed newly minted Rayearth of earth coming out of her home, one who was already on his trail.

"Of all the knights we had to get the one that can feel even the slightest vibrations on the ground even with shoes on, make earthquakes with just a stomp and survived a particle shot to the heart!"

He had reasons to be worried, the legendary knights were as dangerous and powerful as the myth told, he might not be a millennia old, in fact he is 35, and he rather live long enough to see his son marry and get grandchildren.

Thing is that when you piss a Rayearth knight, your life is already forfeit.

Other fact is that the only somewhat effective way to stop a Rayearth from their target is putting an army between them and the army, and since this world didn't had an army per se, since wars or conflicts hadn't broke in 75 years, he was pretty much on his own.

This was proven right when he leaped away, from roof to roof, looking down he saw the Rayearth of earth giving chase, suddenly somersaulting over a car, her jump was short, and she ended up landing on the back of the car with such strength that she lifted the car off its wheels and bended the area of her landing, ground included.

He gulped at the very pissed off expression on her face, oh and he also noted the flying toy at her side, trying to talk some sense into her, or asking her how she was able to do that somersault.

"Oh crap!" he shouted, he had to take the hit when people where on their houses and not on the streets, they might have hindered the girl long enough for him to escape, after all she was a girl, a very polite looking girl.

Then again according to some intelligence files, the Rayearth of wind was in fact not so polite and as blunt as a wrecking ball…

"Oh by the pillars it's already happening!"

He could not allow it to happen, if the sharing continued then the girl would have the backbone needed to fight, as he saw in her eyes before his first hit on her, she didn't had a malicious bone on her, but the other knights did had a mean streak according to the seers, who recommended not to piss them off, or there would be little to pick off the offenders afterwards, if there was something to pick of course.

"Dammit, Raina I'm heading to the location with a VERY piss-off newly minted Rayearth on my tail! She has the glove; I repeat she has the glove!"

"Void and damnation! What did you did!?"

"Shoot her, apparently she has developed a serious case of 'shoot me again and your dead' aversion, be glad I haven't led her to a car jam, she would have toss them around like ragdolls!"

"Inconse…"

"The hell they are, this kid just gained the powers of a Rayearth knight and now is chasing me to the location, she is pissed, being trailed by some sort of magic plushy AND she saw the particle beam after I fired, must remind you it came out of the barrel of a deathshot rifle, that kid…we are way over our heads, we must pull back!"

"No! we can still take her down, she is still too fresh!"

"Rayearths learn too fast, you know it! Combat will only accelerate their growth, return to Crystalia, warn the guard, tell them to not trust the queen!"

"WHAT!? She is our lady!"

"According to the guardians and the glove the girl has, not anymore" Neurion said, jumping into another roof and sliding off of the roof, landing on the ground and moving away, Sakura hot on his trail.

"I need confirmation, site still accorded?"

"Confirmed, guide her to the construction site, make sure she is not followed"

"Then mission failed, she has a flying toy tailing her"

Neurion didn't heard what Raina said next, the next thing he knows and his attention is drawn to, its that something slams onto him, hard.

Crying in pain in the alley, Neurion had little time to ponder what had tackled him when he felt the armor on his back, weapon included meet the hard bricks of a wall, hard, and while he was at it being dragged down to his butt, down to Sakura's eye level.

There he noted that she no longer was being tailed by that magical plushy, but instead now she was flanked by a massive tiger/lion hybrid with wings and armor on, looking pissed as her.

He would have retaliated, years of training had taught him he was on a disadvantage, and the vibro-knife he had hidden on his boots would help a lot against the massive winged animal, against a Rayearth not so much.

So it was not surprise to him when she slammed him again on the wall, harder than before, he didn't cry in pain, but mentally he cursed when he heard his deathshot rifle being totaled by the brick wall and pressure.

"Why?" was the question Sakura made, her voice said one thing, pain, betrayal, rage, but her eyes, Neurion summarized, said another story.

They said 'tell me now or else' and with a Rayearth that 'else' is usually accompanied with pain, lots of pain, no matter how sweet an innocent looking the knight might look.

"…Mission" was all he said, if it was the wrong thing to say, the girl surely showed him why.

Neurion next conscious thoughts is how much strength this girl truly has, for she easily lifted him by his chestplate, over her head, then slammed him towards the wall, breaking the 15 cm brick wall with him like nothing, and making him feel everything, his armor was designed to take the brunt of everything, be it kinetic of energy based, but it had its limits, limits it just met against a wall.

Slowly standing up with a horrible groan on his lips, he noted how the tiger/lion was again on him, the massive claw pinning his neck, Sakura was nowhere on sight, neither was his now useless rifle.

"Listen me well trash" the beast spoke, adding pressure to the neck, one of the few weak points of the armor, "I don't want to see you or any other person with you near my mistress, understand?" Neurion didn't spoke at that; his drill sergeant said the same to him when he began dating his then daughter, now wife.

"If you keep attacking her I will kill you, simple as that" the beast spoke, and seemed to think something else, "Then I will go for your family"

"YOU BASUUGH!" that got a reaction out of the captain of the guard, the beast smirked; slowly leaning to Neurion's armored face.

"I know what she is now…and I'm damn proud of her, try it again…I dare you" then the beast was gone, not before slamming one of its paws on his stomach, hard, Neurion groaned in pain, that girl had softened him good.

Slowly he stood up, instinctively reaching for his rifle, only to find an empty space.

"…she stole my rifle" he gasped, slowly gasping for air, and then letting a mirthless chuckle.

She stole his rifle.

Just like he stole her life.


Kero slowly hovered towards Sakura, the girl was hiding near a tree, away of the alley she had tossed the armored guy, without aid of the power card, or any other card she had caught up with the guy and had all but manhandled him.

Of course he had noted the distress in her eyes the moment she used the guy as an improvised battering ram, basically opening a hole on a thick wall, it was sheer luck no one on the streets had noted that, considering they were deep on an alley, he counted themselves lucky.

"Sakura-chan?" he asked, again back into his 'plushy' body, looking at the new mistress of the cards and friend with worry, on her right hand she held…

"Why you have that gun with you?" he asked, Sakura turned around, a small, sad smile on her face.

"…I don't know…I just took it"

It was all he would get of her as they make their way back home.

And it was that way until school began anew.


The codex Maxima, a 'pocket' encyclopedia…

Rayearth: the term 'Rayearth' is usually used to describe the legendary knights of Crystalia, warriors called from out of the borders of the crystalian empire by supernatural forces, granted powers to control the natural forces (wind, fire, water and in some cases earth) among other powers to defend the core world, catalogued among the 'ultra' class of any know species.

The word Rayearth is traduced in different languages among the many species living in Crystalia, it usually means 'protector' or 'warrior' the most accurate translation is 'warriors from the outside' due to the fact they are called from worlds outside crystalian borders, however the now extinct blood elves had a different translation for the word Rayearth, translated to their dead language, Rayearth means 'honor less outsiders'

Enhanced, superior and ultra: the many species on the universe have been catalogued by crystalian scientists in three different categories depending on their evolutionary tree, the natural are the baseline of any species, let it be human or elf, from there three branches extend, the enhanced, artificially enhanced beings, let it be by magical of technological ways, the enhanced class usually have their baseline attributes doubled or tripled to meet certain ends.

Then there is the superior, this is an oddity among evolutionary branches, as the species itself has evolved pass beyond the enhanced, gaining natural gifts that most species can only achieve by being technologically enhanced, only a handful of species in the universe have ever reached this, it is considered the pinnacle of evolution.

The ultras on the other hand are beings who have reached a level that enhance their natural gifts in ways no other superior can ever reach, ultras are rare and in between only a handful are born on each species, held in high regard an honor, the only know examples of an ultra is a Rayearth knight.

The AR-12X rifle: colloquially know as the 'deathshot' AR-12X sniper rifle, the weapon is a custom made weapon highly regulated by crystalian armies, only granted to the best marksman in their world, the AR-12X is a particle rifle, firing a single, invisible particle round at the speed of light or less, capable of tearing against the thickest armor ever created, the 'deathshot' has earned its name because simply, you shoot and the guy on the other end of the barrel dies, it never misses, gravity pull has little to no effect on the super-heated particles that travel at the speed of light.

The sniper rifle however is not favored by the best, seeing that several physical laws are ignored by the round, it makes aiming too easy, many snipers complain that the lack of this causes them to lose their edge, therefore they favor rifles that fire solid rounds or laser rifles that are still affected by physical laws, and only use the 'deathshot' on targets that really need to die.

There have been survivors of a shot of this rifle, three in fact, a dictator who got a round to his chest, where his heart should be, the sniper discovered that the dictator had a heart condition, and thus his heart was not on the right place, the second survivor was by accident, a kid had been behind the intended target, and had received the round on the neck, surviving by sheer luck, but was unable to speak afterwards, his vocal chords being burned clean by the particle round.

The third survivor is a recent one, a newly minted Rayearth that took the rifle as her own after catching up with the man who tried to kill her.

All AR-12X rifles have the names of the survivors carved on the stock, to remind the snipers that 'one shot, one kill' sometimes do not apply to them.

Machinos: the machinos are an advanced synthetic race that reached full sentience over two millennia ago, after their creators killed each other on a needless war, the machinos are the only survivors and witness of such event, after this the machinos began to work on the remains of their creators and the destroyed cities, leaving the planet not shy a century later, roaming the galaxy and harvesting whenever asteroid that came across their ships.

When they reached Crystalia, out of a fluke, as even the logical machinos are subjected to the laws of chaos and some luck, they confessed that in the two millennia they drifted in space, they had evolved, constantly changing their platforms and reaching a higher level of intelligence, true 'artificial intelligence' or 'synthetic intelligence'

A machinos in appereance are not different than other species, they mingle, they learn, they adapt, learning all they can from other species, they only true way to identify a machinos is for their eyes, usually glowing eyes with four circles around the irises, something all machinos share and refuse to erase.


well there you go, another chapter gone and gone, I hope youy liked the way I took the story at this point, and of course the Codex as well, somethign people complained about was that some terms were not know to them, and they racked their heads figuring out what the helll some terms meant, well the codex maxima is the solution, it will include entries not only of the current story, but of the other stories as time advance, so I hope you like it.

so there is no more for me to do here, just read, review and read again, if possible read my other stories to those new in this, read it in order of course, firts Naruto the maelstrom, then Danny the tsunami and last ichigo the inferno so you cna understand it a little better, you'll thank me, or not.

Anyway i'm off to make more chapter, wish me luck, good days to you all, peace!