Arc 1, Cardcaptor Sakura II; II
Or alternatively; Sakura makes a new, out-of-the-world friend, learns that flowers are terrifying, and gets tricked into being the Cardcaptor.
In all honesty, Sakura didn't exactly know how she ended up in this mess. Well, she did know but she was still trying to process it. It wasn't every day a flying stuffed toy popped out of a book and informed you of the possible end of the world, offhandedly commenting it was your fault, after all. Give her some slack.
"That was a lot harder than I expected it to be." The said flying stuffed toy – apparently called Keroberus – huffed and joined her on the blessedly flower-free ground.
"That's one way to put it." She wheezed. She could barely move, was sweating enough that she could fill a small river or who, and would really love not seeing anything even remotely flower-like for at least a month. Which was ironic, considering her own appearance and name.
Well, look at it this way partner. Sakura loathed to hear what Inner was going to say. That amount of glee should be illegal considering they were the same person. You saved Konoha from a vengeful magic flower. Not everyone can say the same. And no one can really say that they got their ass kicked by her too.
Shut it, Inner. She grumbled back.
"I don't get it. FLOWER was supposed to be the easy one. She should've just grabbed you for a dance and then given herself up." At least she wasn't the only unhappy camper around. Keroberus – ugh, that name was too long, she should shorten it – sounded as if his whole worldview had been flipped upside down.
"If that was supposed to be easy, I'm not looking towards meeting the hard cards."
Keroberus groaned. "I'm so going to need so much cake after this."
Sakura found herself inclined to agree. How long has it been since she's had a nice, tasty cake all for herself? It felt like years, though she didn't know how she resisted.
She lifted her head and immediately let it fall back down. Her body was sore in places she wasn't even aware existed until today, and her empty chakra reserves appalled her. Her reserves had emptied halfway through her impromptu game of tag with THE FLOWER, which was an embarrassment for the kunoichi-in-training. How was she supposed to be a strong protector of her village if she lost use of her chakra five minutes into a fight? She really needed to up her game during the break, or she was going to fail graduation.
Perhaps Keroberus – nickname, nickname, his name was too long – could help her train? He was from another world after all, so he would surely have some foreign tricks to show her.
Sakura still wondered how she ended up in some random training ground with a flying alien plush toy, both of them exhausted after chasing a magical card that was the representation of flowers Oh, yeah, and she couldn't forget the possibility of the end of the world looming over their heads.
She certainly didn't expect to end up here this morning.
In all honesty, she was blaming Watanuki-san and his wish granting shop.
Sakura woke up to a pounding headache. Which was rather uncommon since Inner usually protected her mind from them, and she could've sworn she hadn't pulled an all-nighter. In fact, she was pretty sure she fell asleep sometime in the morning, after Watanuki-san laid her down on the comfy futon and proceeded to take the price for her wish.
She shot up and her world spun.
For a few dizzying seconds all she could see was the soft pink of her walls mixing with the other colours of her room – when did she get back? – and the dark spots that clung to the corners of her sight.
Then—
For the love of the Sage, Sakura! Don't sit up so fast! Inner's voice rang out loud and clear from inside her head. She sounded as if she went against a Kage and lost. Badly. As your mind's last line of defence, I am very much in pain right now and you sitting up so suddenly does not help.
She cringed. If she had a horrible headache, Inner must be having one ten times worse.
Sorry, she replied meekly, trying not to rile up her counterpart anymore than she already is.
No answer.
Unsurprised, Sakura laid down and closed her eyes. Then she rolled and rolled and rolled until she fell from her bed and onto the soft brown carpet decorating the floor. All she felt was a dull ache, the pain from her mind taking the front seat.
She opened her eyes and spread herself on the carpet, staring at her soft pink ceiling. She remembered that time so many years ago when she, Makoto-niisan and Kizashi-ojisan painted the walls of her room. It had been a lot of fun, with Makoto-niisan teasing her for not being able to reach high due to seven-year-old Sakura's height. She had splashed pink paint into her brother's bewildered face, which led to him retaliating, and then Kizashi-ojisan joined in on the fun. Despite Mebuki-obasan coming in with refreshments and scolding them for making such a mess, it was one of Sakura's fondest memories.
Sakura smiled sadly. With her training to be a kunoichi, Mebuki-obasan taking more shifts at the painfully understaffed hospital, Kizashi-ojisan too busy with paperwork and with Makoto-niisan not being around anymore, it felt like a lifetime ago.
Suddenly, a thought struck her like one of Hyūga Hinata's not-so-gentle fists to the gut.
Oi, Inner?
Hm? She grunted, still half asleep.
I really hope we actually got something to help us get stronger— (there was a flash of confusion, why did she want to be strong?)— and didn't get ripped off by a pretty man and his creepy servants.
Or get a jutsu placed on us that will force us to be a spy for him or force us to kill someone or make us commit treason or—
Please, for the love of all things sweet, do not continue with that train of thought. I'll never be able to forgive myself if any of that's true. She sighed, and everything went blissfully silent.
For a few precious moments Sakura could pretend nothing life changing happened in the past 24 hours. There was no Watanuki-san, no pessimistic Inner, no threats of strange jutsu placed on her while her memory was wiped. It was just her, her comfy little carpet and her pain-in-the-ass headache.
Of course, like all things peaceful, it was broken by such a small thing.
A thud, coming from somewhere to her right. Reluctantly, she looked and found herself staring at the strange chest the doll-like twins had carried into the room. She remembered Watanuki-san saying something about a book, and the twins something about helpful items from her. Who that 'her' was, neither Sakura nor Inner knew.
We might as well open it. She pushed herself up and crawled over to it. She couldn't really be bothered to stand up right now. It was too – dare she say it – troublesome.
Probably, Sakura could imagine Inner giving her a shrug. But there's no key.
Of course there wasn't. Watanuki-san just had to make everything more difficult than it already was, didn't he?
Sakura cradled her chin in her hands and thought about the next course of action. She doubted the pretty shopkeeper would give her a chest that was impossible to open, since she paid that price and had the headache to show for it. She could try to break it open with a kunai, but there was a chance that she would damage the contents so she wasn't willing to risk it yet. An idea came to mind, making her perk up.
Sometime during this year her class had a lesson on sealing. Naruto had been even more excitable than usual, which she could sign off to his mother being a Seal Mistress and both of them being from the long scattered Uzumaki clan. Iruka-sensei had talked a bit about Uzushiogakure, the hidden village Uzumaki Kushina was from, which had been a close and very dear ally of Konoha since its founding. Sadly, it had been destroyed a few years before the Third Great Shinobi War started, scattering or killing the Uzumaki it had been known for.
She only remembered bits and pieces of it, as it had been a challenging lesson even for her.
"Fūinjutsu," Iruka-sensei had said, "is a very delicate and extremely dangerous art. Few masters of this art still exist. The only known masters are Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin and Konoha's Uzumaki Kushina. It is a difficult art to learn and most shinobi in Konoha don't know how to make the most basic of seals, instead relying on mediocre sealing scrolls and tags any shinobi can buy in a store."
And—
"Typically, while preforming or creating more complex fūinjutsu, blood is used to either open a scroll or even when summoning animals and signing their contracts. Some fūinjutsu can only be activated by the blood of a specific person or a specific clan, so be careful not to let any spill on a trap designated for you."
It wouldn't hurt to try. Inner took a metaphorical step back and hid behind some rocks. Go ahead, Partner.
Coward. She shot back half-heartedly before grabbing a kunai from her pouch – she was still in her clothes from before the morning. She was told people should bite their finger but Sakura honestly didn't know how other shinobi did it. She always had to pull back because it hurt to much.
She carefully sliced her finger, wincing at the sharp but small stab of paint that greeted her. Slightly nervous, she glanced at the box before taking in a deep breath and squaring her shoulders.
Well, here goes nothing! She swiped at the lock and quickly scooted backwards. If it exploded or some kind of ungodly creature of great destruction appeared and killed her, she was haunting Watanuki-san's Gift Shop for life.
Nothing of that sort happened. A sound that was definitely a lock unlocking pierced the uncomforting silence of her room.
Both Sakuras sighed in relief.
Sakura gathered up her remaining courage and approached the chest, took the lock off, and opened it. There were a lot of books – much more than she thought capable of fitting in a chest that size. Some were in an entirely different language she didn't recognise. There was also an odd-looking necklace, a few old robes and what she suspected was a kimono and finally, a bright pink book with an almost childlike quality to it. For some reason the book was what drew her attention the most.
The book was bright pink and there seemed to be symbols – a star, a sun, a moon – made out of gold on the front It had a clasp at the side that reminded her of a wing. But what really caught her attention was the name engraved at the top. Her heart skipped a beat. There, at the top in romaji, was her name.
'SAKURA'
But… something in her told her that she wasn't that Sakura, the one the book belonged to. Was that Sakura the 'she' the twins and Watanuki-san were referring to?
Go on, open it. Inner seemed eager and almost childishly happy.
She complied and was surprised to find that it didn't have pages despite its appearance. Instead, there was a small space carved into it. And it was definitely not empty. There was a stack of bright pink – was this a jab at her hair? – cards in it and, curious, she flipped the first one over.
Painted on the card was an elegant, almost fae-like woman with closed eyes and expression serene. Pink eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to pronounce the word written on the card. It was definitely foreign, written in romaji, so there was a possibility it was one of the languages of the Far East.
"Win-Winu…dee?" Oblivious to the slight breeze that was playing with her hair, Sakura turned her full attention to the card. "Winu…dy? WINDY?"
And really, the Academy should've taught their students to never read aloud mysterious words unless they wanted to kick-start the apocalypse years too early.
An elaborate seal appeared beneath her person and Sakura startled, nearly dropping the card. Then, the card and the seal started to glow and everything else faded to dull greys and blacks. A huge gust of wind appeared throwing her whole room into disarray. Her bedcovers, small knickknacks and other such things were flung into the wall – later she would swear to never leave kunai lying around again – and the window was flung open.
The cards, which for some reason she could almost feel (excited, angry, confused, scared, whereisshewhyisshenothere?), were scattered – carried by the wind and disappearing into the mid-afternoon sky.
Once it died down, the only things not affected were the now card-free book and the chest.
Panting, Sakura stared at the card in a mixture of horror, awe and incredulousness. Was it some sort of seal to have so much power? What the hell did that damned shop keeper give her?
That was unexpected.
"You don't say." Her voice might've sounded a tad hysteric.
Then the book started to glow – because why not? – and a flying stuffed lion slowly rose from the cover. Sakura wondered if she was in some sort of horror-comedy novel, because that was simply ridiculous. And terrifying.
His small eyes popped open and he – it? – grinned.
"it's sure has been a while, Sakura!" What. "Man, am I glad to see you. We thought you were dead when neither Yue or me could find you via magic, so I'm glad you finally—eh?"
The stuffed animal – Sakura felt like laughing hysterically, because what? – paused and started to stare. She, of course, stared back at it. Unconsciously, her hand drifted over to the discarded kunai. Just in case.
"You're not Sakura." He appeared to be dumbfounded.
"No, I am." She found herself saying. "That's my name, Haruno Sakura. How do you know it?"
The creature's breath hitched. He floated closer causing her to edge away and lift the kunai so he could see it. He paused, staring at the knife as if he couldn't believe it existed.
"Hey, kid—"
"Sakura." She was eleven, thank you very much. She was nearly an adult (via shinobi standards) and she would not accept being called a kid!
"When and where is this?" Odd question.
"Konohagakure no Sato, in the Land of Fire. Sixty-one years after Konoha's founding." She blurted out, still in a slight daze.
"What."
Sakura wondered if he was unfamiliar with Konoha's age, so she continued to further pinpoint the timeline for the creature. "Approximately nine hundred years after the Sage of Six Path's time. About thirteen years since the Third Great Shinobi World War ended."
"Wait a second, the last I checked there were only two world wars!" He squeaked. "Don't tell me Germany started another conflict."
"What's Germany?" Her tongue rolled awkwardly as she tried to pronounce the name.
The thing paused. Then, as if he just realised, he pointed at her and said: "Your hair is pink. You mentioned some place called Konoha-something-something, and some sort of Sage, and ninjas. And you have a knife."
"It's a kunai actually."
He didn't seem to hear her because suddenly he swayed and gently floated down to her bed. Something in his expression made her wince. It looked as if he just realised something… heart-breaking. And for some reason, that expression made her want to hug him. Even if he was some sort of strange alien.
"Oh," his quiet and gentle tone made alarm bells ring in her head. "So that's why you… Sakura, just how long ago did you leave? Why?" He asked, just barely above a whisper but it was clear the question was not for her to answer.
"Um, I don't know what you're talking about, but who the hell are you? No wait, what are you? You better talk, you—you crazy ball of plush or I'll make a normal stuffed toy out of you!" Alright, so maybe her insult and threat weren't the best, but semantics.
The creature snorted but eyed her kunai warily. Then he puffed out his chest and told her proudly: "I am Keroberus, the Guardian Beast of the Seal! I'm the one who guards the book, trains the new Cardcaptor—" something in his expression stuttered, but his cheery smile was back before she could question it, "and I also make sure the Sakura Cards are right where they're supposed to be. Speaking of," his eyes shifted towards the card held loosely in her hand. Sakura's heart stopped; last time she checked they certainly were not where they're supposed to be. "What card is that?"
Not trusting herself to speak, she flipped it over so he could see. His smile froze and Sakura, fearing the worst, hurried to explain. "I didn't mean to, honest! But I was curious and the word was foreign and I wanted to try my hand at pronouncing it because, y'know, not many books in romaji in these parts—how was I supposed to know it was some elaborate seal that generated wind? You didn't exactly put a warning sign up, so if anything, it's your fault!"
He sputtered, "My fault? You're the kid dumb enough to read words from a magic tome!"
Her cheeked reddened. He wasn't wrong. "Still, you're supposed to be the Guardian of them, right? You should've at least put a gentler sealing card at the top instead of one that scatters the other cards to who knows where! Idiot!" She tacked on the last word as a last thought.
He stared at her. "Well, you're not wrong. But you're an idiot too, idiot." Before she could fire back something in her defence, he told her in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Congratulations, by scattering the Sakura Cards you just volunteered to be the Cardcaptor."
"Wait, what?" Her eyes widened. "I can't be the Cardcaptor, whatever that is! I'm going to be a kunoichi of Konoha by this time next year so I need to focus of my training." She told him firmly.
Keroberus's nose twitched. "I'm going to assume that being a ninja doesn't just mean being a killer for hire. Because if it does, I doubt you'd make a good successor for the former Mistress of the Cards."
Was the former mistress also called Sakura? Inner wondered.
"Of course it doesn't mean being a killer for hire!" Her voice was fierce and it took everything she had in her to not hurl the kunai at him. Being a shinobi meant much more than that. "When someone graduates the Academy and becomes a shinobi of their village, they become its protectors. Shinobi protect the civilians from other villages, shinobi, bandits and things like that. Shinobi take on lots of types of missions; from assassination to acting as a guard for a merchant caravan. Some shinobi can even become medics by moulding their chakra into medical chakra. Shinobi aren't just killers, y'know!"
He looked a bit surprised at her outburst but also much more relaxed. "Well that's a relief." A pause, "Wait, what's chakra?"
"Chakra is something that all living creatures have. It's essentially a sort of life energy that's a combination of spiritual and physical energy. Shinobi can do all sorts of things with chakra like create illusions, heal people, make seals, and stuff like that. Most civilians don't know how to mould their chakra, only shinobi and some Academy and clan kids do."
"So… it's like magic?" He mused.
Sakura shrugged. "I don't know much about magic, except that you can take memories, grant wishes and make plush toys talk with it. And that magic can be sealed into cards, I guess. But chakra and magic are a bit similar."
Keroberus's head shot up, "Taking memories?!" He was clearly alarmed.
Blinking in bemusement, she gave him a half smile. "Yeah, don't you know? I made a deal with Watanuki-san. He'd give me a way to get stronger in exchange for some of my memories. I got a chest from it. And you and the cards, I guess."
"Watanuki? Well, that certainly confirms my other world theory." Sakura gasped. "What chest did he give you, kid?"
She absentmindedly gestured to the chest across from her while pondering his words. He was clearly familiar with Watanuki-san, and mentioned something about other worlds. Did that mean he was from another world? Well, it would make sense considering his magic and general alien-ness. Did that mean Watanuki-san was also an alien?
"Well, isn't this interesting." Keroberus whistled impressed. "Here, come take a look kid. There's a bunch of cool stuff in this chest."
I'm a bit curious, let's go and check it out partner! Inner suggested eagerly. Sakura saw no harm in it so scooted forward and peered at the things the Guardian Beast took out.
There were certainly a lot of books. Some were on medicinal herbs and plants in general, some on medicine, others she noticed were story books. A thick brown book bound in a leather strap caught her eye. She picked it up out of curiosity and read the title – Ninshū and Chakra. She's never heard of the first one so it seemed like an interesting read. Her eyes scanned the page until it fell on some faded green romaji letters. The surname could've been Hyūga or Himura for all her eyes could tell, and the author's name Sayuri or Satoshi. She sighed in disappointment and placed it back down.
She eyes the other things in the same amount of curiosity. Like she had seen before there was a kimono – a very pretty mint green one with sakura petals and long, long sleeves. Sakura could see herself wearing it during the next festival. There were also some white robes, a dark cloak that she could see one of those fortune tellers wearing, a green ribbon that looked taller than Iruka-sensei, and a necklace. It was simple; black string and on it was a single tomoe made out of what seemed like jade.
She heard a gasp from behind her and turned, spotting her new acquaintance holding something in his hands—paws. She squinted at it. It might've been another necklace.
"Hey, kid. What was your name again?" He cradled the necklace to his tiny stuffed chest. She bit her lip but told him anyway. Keroberus snickered a bit at hearing it and told her; "The former Card Mistress's name was Sakura too. Kinomoto Sakura actually. It's kind of creepy now that I think of it. You both have the same eyes, the same name, and the same responsibility now too. In fact, she scattered the cards too!" He laughed looking far happier than she had seen him.
Then, she noticed what he said and puffed up like an irritated cat. "I already told you, I'm not going to be the Cardcaptor. Screw responsibility. You're the Guardian of the sealing cards of whatever they are, so the responsibility is yours!"
Keroberus smiled and held up the necklace. Sakura decided she did not like that smile. It was too cheerful so it had to be fake. Or he was planning to do something mysterious. She's seen that very same smile on her blond classmate's face many times before. Usually right before he pulled a prank that made even the Hokage shudder.
Not a second later she found out she was right. That smile had meant trouble for her.
A magic circle filled with what she assumed were the magical sort of seals appeared under their feet and everything except the two of them and the necklace went dark and foggy. Her heart filled with dread and Inner swore to her that something odd was going on with her chakra.
"Key of the seal…" a soft glow that almost looked like chakra surrounded the necklace and made it float towards her. "There is someone whishing for a contract with you. A girl. Her name is Haruno Sakura. Oh key, bestow your power onto her. Release!" He commanded.
The necklace glowed and grew right before her bewildered eyes. It changed into a shakujō made out of lightly coloured wood. In the metal circle at the top was a small green five-pointed star made out of a jewel she didn't know the name of. There were four rings on the shakujō and when she shook them a sound that reminded her of wind chimes was emitted. The staff was about half her size.
"Kid, grab the staff! And be quick about it!" Worried that something bad would happen if she didn't, her hand shot out to snatch it out of the air. It glowed for a few moments as she felt something pass through her body and envelop her in its hold. It was warm, accepting, and her eyes fell shut at the sensation. It was as if it were greeting a long-lost friend…
"Voila, a Cardcaptor is born!" Keroberus cheered.
Her smile fell. She tried to say something but her words sounded like the dying screech of a chicken.
That—that…
Keroberus grinned at her, not in the least bit regretful. "Congratulations, kid!"
Sakura raised the shakujō above her head and brought it down on him with a shriek of rage. He, being the sensible Guardian Beast he was, floated out of the reach of her angry swing. For a moment he thought that tricking her into being the Cardcaptor was not the wisest decidion he ever made, but then he shrugged and decided that the girl would get over it. She had to, or it the world would be in trouble.
"You—you utter bastard! You tricked me!" Her hands turned white from the death grip she had on her new—wand, was it? She was too angry to work out the specifics of that. There were more important things in the world right now, like dealing with that conniving plush toy.
"Yup," he appeared to be at ease and that did not sit right with her.
"I'm still not going to be this Cardcaptor." She told him with a stubborn set to her jaw. "I'm going to be a kunoichi of Konoha, got that?"
"Well, if you don't become the Cardcaptor there won't be a Konoha." He told her slyly.
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "W—what do you mean by that?" Her voice shook.
Keroberus sighed and floated back to sit on the bed. He patted the place next to him and, after a moment of contemplation, she sat down.
"The Sakura Cards, the ones you scattered… Originally, they were created in my world by a great sorcerer named Clow Reed and called the Clow cards. After his death they were sealed away along with me and the other Guardian, Yue. A few hundred years after that, they were unsealed by a girl, Kinomoto Sakura, from a different world who eventually became their Mistress and changed them into Sakura Cards." He explained.
Sakura nodded along. So Keroberus was from another world, along with the other Sakura… "Wait, the other Guardian – Yue, was it? Where's he?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "He probably got sent into this world a lot sooner than I did and got put into a false form. Which means he looks like a human right now, and lets his human counterpart take the lead. You might know them actually. It's all a bit confusing, so I'll explain later. Our main priority right now are the Sakura Cards." He turned serious. "When the seal on them is broken and they have no master to keep them in line, a catastrophe will befall this world…"
"A catastrophe?" Sakura paled. That didn't sound the good, even if his serious face was a teeny tiny bit hilarious.
"Each card is alive and possesses incredible power. The cards have their own personalities. Some are peaceful and usually give themselves up easily when you approach them but others like WATERY are pretty aggressive. And I'm assuming after being sealed up for so long they're either really cranky or really curious about this world so went to explore."
"Wait, you mean they're not in the village anymore?" She bit her lip. Did that mean she'd have to track them down while on out-of-the-village missions? Not that she was going to go along with this farce, she was just… curious.
Keroberus nodded. "Some might, others might not be. Either way, you need to track them down before they cause havoc and accidentally kill people. Shinobi might be able to hold them off but since no one is familiar with magic I doubt they'd be able to seal them away or defeat them. That's where you come it," He looked her in the eyes she winced. "The only way you could've unsealed them was if you were the successor the former Mistress chose and if you had magic along with this chakra. So, you are going to help me capture the Cards before people start to panic."
"How can I be the chosen successor? I'm pretty sure I've never met Kinomoto-san, especially since she came from another world. Where is she, anyway?"
Keroberus's tail dropped. She felt bad about causing that sadness, but she really needed to know.
"We don't know. A year before we were sealed away, Sakura disappeared on us and no one was able to find her; not Yue, not me, not even the Cards. She just vanished into thin air. Then I went to sleep one day and I woke up here."
How sad, murmured Inner. Sakura felt inclined to agree. It must've hurt to have your mistress and friend disappear on you and you didn't know if she was dead or not.
"Oh…" She hurried to change the subject. "So how many cards are there? It looked like a lot."
The Guardian shook his head and sent her a smile. "Well, there's the original Clow Cards and then the ones Sakura created… So maybe around fifty-five cards in total. It could be more since my memory is a bit hazy."
Her jaw dropped. "F—fifty-five?!" She squeaked not at all comforted at the amount. It'd take months for her to collect all of them, if not years. Particularly if there are more. Would she even have the time, with being a kunoichi and taking missions?
"Yeah," the Guardian nodded. "It'll take us a while to collect them. The weaker cards gather power quickly so I'm sure we'll encounter one soon enough. The stronger cards need a little bit more power to activate so I'm sure it'll be at least a year until they do something. Especially since this is a whole new world." He looked at her and gave her a smile. "So, you got time to train and capture the weaker cards before you go up against the big guns."
Sakura stared. Then, after a remorseful sigh, "Fine. I'll help you collect the cards. But you'll help me train as a kunoichi too."
She barely got through the sentence before the plush toy was launching himself into her with a loud cheer. Sakura fell back onto her bed as Keroberus babbled on about friendship, sweets, something called video games, and promises of training. She already regretted everything. She should've just hunted down Watanuki-san as soon as the book started to glow.
But, as she looked at the relieved and elated Guardian Beast, she couldn't help the smile curling at the corner of her lips. For him to be so enthusiastic just because of her agreement… he must've been incredibly lonely in the book, she thought.
Who knows how long he was in there. Could've been centuries. Inner agreed.
Maybe we'll find out after reading the books. She said, referring to the ones from the chest. Considering that the chest was almost definitely from Kinomoto Sakura, she had a feeling she'd find clues in there.
Inner made a vague sound of agreement before fleeing to the deepest parts of her mind, muttering something about headaches.
Sakura wished she could join, but conceded to the part of her that felt bad about leaving the plush toy alone. The plush toy who will be her teacher in both the magical and shinobi arts. Though she doubted he knew anything about the latter, but figured he'd be able to give her some Other World exercises.
Keroberus jerked out of her hold.
"Wha—"
"Aw man," he muttered, staring at something behind her. Sakura's heart decided to fall into her stomach. She turned her head around slowly, almost not breathing. She feared a shinobi had seen her hug the animate plush toy, but her fears for that were needless.
After all, it was much worse. Much, much worse.
She gaped, staring out of her window dumbly. For a minute she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She tried blinking away the image, tried rubbing her eyes, and even tried pinching herself in hopes of making the image disappear. After a though she held her hands up and formed a hand seal and muttered 'kai', hoping it was a genjutsu.
No such luck.
A pause.
She lurched forward and gripped the window sill, staring down at the streets of Konoha wide-eyed. This shouldn't have been possible, under normal circumstances. But the circumstances weren't normal, with sentient sealing cards running around, a talking plush toy, and wish Grating shops.
But still. She didn't expect flowers.
"Huh, she's in a bad mood," Keroberus said from beside her but she paid him to mind.
Because it was raining flowers, and the streets of Konoha were filled with panicked and confused civilians and shinobi who were practically swimming in brightly coloured petunias.
"That isn't normal," Sakura pointed out a tad bit hysterically. Flowers were damn near impossible to create without Mokuton and seeing as the last person who had it was long dead, the sight of the flowers was almost enough to have her faint. What caused this?
"Gotta agree with you there, kid. FLOWER usually ain't so aggressive." Keroberus nodded along in agreement. He crossed his arms and looked thoughtful. "She's probably upset at being sealed away for so long, but once we go explain the situation she should calm down. It's surprising she gathered enough power so quickly. Must be a lot of natural chakra in this place." He looked up and noticed Sakura staring at him with a blank expression. "What?"
"This… is the work of a Card?" Keroberus blinked and nodded slowly. "Yeah, THE FLOWER. She's usually calmer than this though."
Sakura stared at him, pale and wide-eyed. Her village was drowning and flowers and this was just a nice Card? Flowers were more dangerous than some people might think, and she knew that some can cause death if someone was stupid or stubborn enough. And then there was this Card, who the Guardian claimed was peaceful, who was capable of killing people just by drowning them in flowers…
She shuddered to think what a not-nice card was capable of.
"Kid, we gotta interfere before the flowers do actually drown someone. And before people start to—" an alarm started to blare, "think there's an… attack…" Keroberus paused. "That's not good is it."
Sakura, face already draining of what colour she had left, mutely shook her head. Though 'not good' might've been a bit of an understatement. That was the alarm that signalled for civilians to remain indoors, genin to evacuate the civilians that were stuck outside, the Uchiha Police to protect the civilians and keep them calm, chūnin to guard the important buildings like the Hokage tower, the Academy and the Hospital, and for the jōnin to gather and prepare a counter-attack. The last time she heard that alarm was when The Weasel Incident occurred.
The alarm meant that the jōnin would probably attack the Card if the saw her, it, them, whatever. And from what Keroberus told her, it wouldn't do any good. They might agitate THEFLOWER and that would be even worse.
"Sakura, we need to go and capture her. I think she's probably somewhere with a lot of flowers and trees, so can you think of any place that it could be?" He asked her hurriedly.
Sakura grabbed the wand she had dropped earlier, THE WINDY and a kunai pouch just in case, and was this close to laughing. Lots of flowers and trees? Of course she could name a few places like that. A few hundred! Konoha wasn't know as Konoha just for fun and games after all!
She sent him a withering look which he floated away from. "She liked peaceful places with a lot of sunshine and plants and trees and laughter! Don't look at me like that!" He flailed.
She felt a bit bad so she tried to think of a few places that sounded like that as she zipped up her standard blue shinobi sandals. The Guardian cast a curious look at them but turned his focus back onto her when she spoke, "Konoha is literally called that because it is covered in plants, you know." She told him. "But I guess the Yamanaka clan compound and the Senju Park sound like the places you described."
She finished making herself look presentable and stood up. She opened the window and glanced out, curious of the situation. Many civilians were being pulled out from the now neck-high rivers of flower and much to her shock, the police members, the chūnin and the genin were literally standing on the flowers.
Keroberus exclaimed a sound of shock and awe. "Holy shit, is that chakra?"
"What?" She blinked and squinted at her numerous senpai as they helped out. Her eyes scanned their bodies and narrowed in on the faint blue glows at their feet. She stared, eyes slowly widening in realisation. They were using chakra to stand on the flowers and not sink in!
"Wow," she breathed. "That's awesome. And yes, that blue glow is chakra. I think they're manipulating their chakra to give them some sort of layer between their feet and the flowers. So they don't fall in, I think."
"Manipulating their chakra?" He looked contemplatively down at the shinobi who were oblivious of their observances. "You think that can help us get to whatever place FLOWER is at faster?"
Sakura shrugged and hopped onto the windowsill. "I can try roof jumping, though there's a possibility I'll break something." She grabbed his tail and ignored his startled shriek. "Either way, we need to get going – so let's go!"
Sakura breathed in deeply and focused. She concentrated on her measly chakra reserves – Sage, having so little was horrifying – and tried to force some down into her feet. Her first attempt failed, and so did the second; both which caused an unpleasant tingle to go through her toes.
She growled, narrowing her eyes. She ignored Keroberus urging her to hurry up because the flowers are rising and tried again. She imagined her chakra; small, warm and blue, and gently urged it in the direction of her feet. There was another tingle, but much more pleasant this time.
She peaked down at her feet and sure enough, they were glowing a faint blue.
Shannaro, take that! She smiled victoriously.
"Good job kid!" She blushed at the praise. "Now let's get going."
Now serious, Sakura focussed on her chakra and launched herself onto the roof across. She heard some shouts coming from before but didn't pay attention to them. Her grip on Keroberus tightened and he wriggled around, but there were no voiced complaints.
"So!" He shouted over the wind when they were a good deal away from her house. He seemed to be in awe of the village, especially the Hokage Mountain. Not that she could blame him. "Which one, the clan thing or the park?"
"I think the park is more likely!" She told him. They passed over the flower-covered streets and shocked looking chūnin and genin. Sakura suspected it wasn't everyday they saw a pink-haired pre-genin roof hopping. Something warm unfurled in her chest at the thought. "If it was the compound, I'm pretty sure the Yamanaka would've noticed her by now!"
"Park it is!" Keroberus nodded, determined.
Sakura angled her body so she could launch herself to the roof on the left; it was in the direction of the Senju Park. She breathed in, held her breath, and jumped—
Only to let out a startled squeak when someone grabbed the collar of the shirt she had on. On instinct, she shoved a frozen Keroberus into her kunai pouch and hoped to the Sage he would come out in one piece. She didn't want to learn what sentient plush toys bleed, thank you very much.
Her wide green eyes landed on a bemused charcoal eye. The first thing that came to mind was 'weird', the second that he was a jōnin according to his flak jacket. He was holding her at arm's length, like she was a kitten that might lash out.
A bead of sweat slid down the side of her face as they stared at each other. His eyes flicked down to her shakujō.
"Uh," she stammered.
He chucked and his eye crinkled into what she hoped was a smile. "Now, what's a little Academy student doing hopping around the roofs with a stick? All civilians, including Academy students, are supposed to stay indoors."
She cringed. What should she say? That she was chasing a sentient seal because of magical interference, so if you would excuse me and not lock me up in the psych ward or T&I bye? She barely withheld the snort. That would go down quite well with him, she thinks.
Sakura was brought back into reality when the jōnin gave her a little shake.
"Oh, um, I, uh, someone, uh, yeah! I'm looking for someone! A… friend… thing… of mine. So if you could let me go—?" She giggled nervously.
The jōnin smiled at her again. "No."
She wilted.
"You are going to go inside this restaurant you're standing on—" and so are you, she wanted to say but bit her tongue, "and wait in there until everything settles. I'm sure that by now whoever you're looking for has been rescued and relocated to a safe location."
Or has been attacked, she sweated, well aware of the extra squirming weight in her pouch.
"Fine," she grumbled as she was placed down into the roof in a surprisingly gentle manner. The jōnin patted her on the head, "Good. Now go on, I'm not leaving until you're inside."
She sighed and climbed down and angled her body so she could toss herself through the only open window. She shot the smiling, grey-haired jōnin an agitated stare. Then, she was inside.
The few civilians that were inside gave startled gasps as she landed on the floor. She gave an awkward wave.
There was a click.
Sakura froze.
Sakura turned.
The window was shut, most probably locked, and the jōnin waved at her before popping away.
She had the sudden urge to punch something. Preferably something grey. And male.
"Um, sweetie, all you alright?" The concerned voice from a waitress made her jump and whirl around. "Your face is all red and you're shaking."
"Uh, I'm… fine." She breathed in through her nose and tried to smile. But the concern on the woman's face only deepened, so it must not have been a good attempt.
She scanned the room and there were only a handful of people here. The concerned waitress, a waiter who seemed more interested in the glass door from which only flowers could be seen, a couple with a small child huddled in the corner, and a woman with green hair and pale eyes and a man with bright red hair and a shakujō of his own leaning against the table. The last two people she observed were calmly drinking tea and conversing, as if Konoha wasn't being drowned by a cranky flower seal.
She admired their composure and the air of tranquillity around them.
Another scan of the room revealed that there was no other window that she could exit from, seeing as if she opened them the room would be filled with flowers.
Sakura hurried over to a secluded corner, carefully placing a menu up to hide Keroberus, who shot out of her pouch as soon as he managed to open it. She hunched over him hoping no one saw him.
The good news was that there was no plush-blood.
Bad news? He didn't look all too happy with her.
"Seriously?" He glared at her, voice almost a hiss.
"I panicked!" She confessed in a furious whisper. He huffed, then poked his head over the menu and scanned the room. Panicked, she tugged on his tail. He yelped, attracting the attention of the worried and serene-in-the-case-of-two patrons. She gave them an awkward smile, "Sorry, I just, uh, poked my… eye. Yeah, poked my eye. Go back to worrying." They had no reason to not believe her so they shrugged and went back to whatever they were doing.
She turned her attention back to the pouting Guardian. "I could've gotten stabbed," he grouched. "And then you would have to deal with a bleeding magical entity—"
"What do you bleed anyway? Plush?"
"I—" he faltered. Then he shook his head almost violently and placed a paw on her cheek, looking her in the eye. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we're stuck in her while Flower is out there—" he jerked his head toward the flower-covered glass door, "—and causing trouble."
"I feel the same way, Keroberus. But I don't know how to get out. Every exit I can see is covered in flowers and the window I entered from was locked by the jōnin."
"You could break it," he suggested but she was already shaking her head.
"I'll get too much attention by doing that. Besides, I don't have the money to pay for damages."
Keroberus groaned, palming his face. He was clearly agitated, if his swishing tail was anything to go by. He seemed to be thinking about something, eyes trailing to a corner where Sakura could spot stairs and a sign that said 'Employees Only'. There was no way the flowers had risen up to cover the second floor, right? But how to get up there without the people stopping her…
Keroberus seemed to have the same idea because he was staring rather intently at the staircase.
The answer came to them in the form of a green-haired Hyūga with a smile that could melt even the most stoic Uchiha.
"Excuse me, may I please have the directions to the bathroom?" her voice was as soft and sweet as the smile she shot the waiter. He flushed, ignoring the irritated redhead sitting across from the woman.
"Oh, um, of course miss!" He stammered and gestured towards a hallway near the staircase. He was promptly slapped upside the head by his fellow employee who looked agitated.
"I'm sorry miss, but the window to the bathroom were open when all that—" she pointed to the flowers, "—started." The waitress truly did sound apologetic.
"Oh," the Hyūga girl said quietly, "is there no other bathroom here? I'm afraid I had a bit too much tea to drink so I really need to… ah, relieve myself." A delicate blush graced her cheeks as she looked at the waiters from beneath her eyelashes. They both flushed, but it was the waitress who answered seeing as the waiter was too busy trying to form a coherent thought.
"Oh, well, I could show you the employee bathrooms. I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind, considering the situation." She smiled shyly at the Hyūga whose face lit up hearing the news.
"Really? Thank you, miss!" She grabbed a hold of the waitress's hands and smiled up at her. Said waitress looked starstruck. Sakura couldn't blame her; the Hyūga were the second prettiest clan right after the Uchiha after all.
The redhead with the Hyūga snickered loudly and totally ignored the utterly sweet smile his companion threw at him.
The Hyūga turned back to the waitress who led her over to the staircase with a blush.
Keroberus pinched Sakura's cheek, making her jump and send him an unamused glower. He didn't seem to care as he just flailed his hands wildly in the direction of the two women. He stared at her impatiently.
It took her a moment to realise the implication.
When she did, Sakura hurriedly shoved Keroberus into her pocket – since he didn't like her pouch all too much – not minding his protests. She hurried after the two, "Wait, I need to go too!"
The waitress didn't look all that happy but the Hyūga gave her a small smile and beckoned her over. She did so with a blush, wondering why everyone in Konoha had to be so pretty.
"Hello," she greeted the two of them politely as they ascended.
"Hello, Sakura-chan," the Hyūga returned her greeting. She was rather pretty; with atypical green hair – she'd only seen browns and blacks and blues in that clan until now – and the pale eyes that marked her as a Hyūga. She was wearing a beautifully sown purple kimono with dark pink sakura petals sown onto the bottom and a Konoha headband wrapped around her forehead.
Sakura startled. She hadn't noticed that the pretty lady was a kunoichi until now.
Then, she noticed she hadn't told her her name either. So, she asked how the woman knew it.
"It's rather obvious," well, Sakura supposed it was with her hair.
"Oh."
"Um, we're here!" The waitress cut in, pointing to a door. "Only one at a time, though. Sorry."
"You can go first, Sakura-chan. After all, you probably need it more than me." Something in her eyes twinkled. Sakura nodded shyly and entered, quietly closing it behind her. And lo and behold, there was a window that wasn't covered in flowers.
"Keroberus, we can get out!" She whispered to the Guardian. He poked his head out and nodded.
"I see. We need to hurry up, so go!" He whispered back enthusiastically.
She nodded and opened the window. The flowers were almost as high at the window, which was definitely a cause for concern. She climbed out, making sure she had a good grip on her shakujō, and jumped at a roof. Sakura looked around for a moment and launched herself into the direction of the Senju Park.
She arrived in minutes. This time, there were no pushy jōnin to stop her or any other shinobi. They were probably busy with calming down the civilians.
The park almost overflowing with petunias, except in one place.
"We're here," Keroberus immediately shot out of her pocket, gasping for air. He looked around wildly and pointed towards the direction of the Great Tree which was surrounded by a pond. "That's her! That's THE FLOWER!"
THE FLOWER wasn't what Sakura expected. Now, she did expect her – just… she didn't expect her to look so odd. But then again, with magic everything was odd.
THE FLOWER was sitting on one of the many branches of the Great Tree. Her skin was pale, almost pink, and she wore a large, fluffy pink dress. There was a floral symbol on her forehead and chest; the latter having a star in the middle of it. Flowers hung from her ears, and her blonde hair was done up in corkscrews. Her green eyes, while under normal circumstances would be kind and cheerful, were swirling with confusion, anger, and resentment.
The card's eyes drifted from the excited and oblivious Keroberus to Sakura. Instantly, her eyes softened for a fraction of a moment before widening. Then, she glared and to Sakura, it looked like she was seconds away from feeding her a poisonous flower.
"FLOWER!" Keroberus was still oblivious to her anger, "Wow, it sure has been a while. Hasn't it? You can stop the flower rain now, everything's alright now."
In Keroberus's defence, he didn't expect her to throw a stick at him. It was only Sakura's quick thinking that saved him from being nailed in the head.
Gaping, he asked her in a befuddled tone. "FLOWER? What are you…" He trailed off.
The flower spirit was shaking her head violently. She pointed at Sakura and made an 'x' with two of her fingers.
Keroberus spluttered, "Well of curse she's not Sakura! She's her successor!"
That reveal didn't make THEFLOWER look any happier. If anything, she looked sullener and once again shook her head, this time while pointing to the shakujō.
"You don't want to be sealed?" This time, he gaped. "But—But you're always the nicest when it comes to getting sealed!"
THE FLOWER once again shook her head, crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Soon after, she gained a mischievous gleam in her eyes. There was a small flash of pink light, causing the pair of Cardcaptor-and-Guardian to close their eyes.
When they opened them, THEFLOWER was floating away and in her place was a single yellow carnation.
Keroberus and Sakura stared.
Finally, Sakura spoke, "Peaceful card, you said."
"Shut up," he pouted and looked into the direction the Card was going. "I hope you like tag, because it seems like it's time to play."
She hoped it would be easy.
It was not easy.
THE FLOWER, as it turns out, was an expert at the game. She was always a step ahead of Sakura, twirling and twisting out of the way of her wand and giving her that smug little smile, as if mocking her. Not to mention THEFLOWERappeared to be in a bad mood, seeing as the flower rain had grown stronger in the short amount of time she had spent chasing the Card. If Sakura didn't hurry up, Konoha would be buried in flowers all the way up to the outer gates.
Coupled with her violent avoidance of the shinobi jumping around – she had thrown herself into the sea of petunias once, when she spotted that head of silver hair – her now almost-empty reserves of chakra and the sheer size of Konoha…
It was more than not easy.
"Ugh! Why. Can't. She. Just. Stop already?! We've been at this for almost half an hour by now. And she doesn't even look the least bit winded!" She whined pitifully to her companion who looked like he wanted to cry.
"Well, she is using magic to run around unlike you." He told her in the same pitiful tone of voice. "And I seriously doubt we can catch her without magic."
If only I knew some, Sakura despaired.
Currently, they were chasing THEFLOWER through the forests near the Konoha walls. She thought they might've been near a training ground, but with flowers covering everything she wasn't all that certain.
You're an idiot, Inner grouched.
Sakura nearly missed a tree branch at the suddenness of it. Inner!
"Sakura, watch the trees, watch the trees!" Keroberus shrieked from her shoulder. Everything must've been a blur to him with the speed they were going. It certainly was to her.
A real idiot. Inner sighed. Though I'm impressed you figured out the roof hopping exercise. Some genin aren't even aware of it.
Thanks. Then the first part of what she said registered. Hey! What do you mean by that?
Inner sighed. You said you don't know magic.
Because I don't.
Then why did WINDY react when you called its name?
…
Sage, Sakura. Use your head. And the card. Before we die of exhaustion, preferably. Inner sighed and fell silent.
Sakura stopped so abruptly she almost dislodged Keroberus from her shoulder. She panted slightly as she stared at THE FLOWER'Sback. The Card in question had stopped, peaking at her curiously. The weight of the shakujō in her hands and THE WINDYin her pocket was a slap in the face.
"I am an idiot." She mournfully told the Guardian.
"Uh," he stared.
"How do I use THE WINDY?"
Keroberus stared. And stared. And stared a little more. Then he whined. It was a most pitiful sound. "Oh Clow, we really are idiots." He moaned, but told her what to do nonetheless.
THE FLOWER, when she saw Sakura raise the shakujō and the only card in her possession, panicked and tried to flee.
"Wind, become a binding chain… WINDY!" She threw the Card up and tapped it with her shakujō. Much to her delight, visible wind burst forward along with a woman. The wind shot forward and encircled the struggling Sakura Card in unbreakable chains. WINDY brought THE FLOWER over to where Sakura and Keroberus stood.
"Alright, kid. Remember what I said while we were chasing her? Do that, and she should be sealed easy-peasy." Keroberus looked at her expectantly.
Sakura sighed but nodded, holding up her shakujō. She hesitated.
THE FLOWER looked seconds away from bursting into loud, angry sobs, and it honestly hurt her heart to see something that represented flowers look so sad and angry.
"Um, hey, FLOWER?" She looked at her, "Can I ask… why do you not want to be sealed? Was it something I did? If so, I'm sorry. I just don't want you to keep harming my village."
Looking surprised, THE FLOWER made some wild gestures with her hands that Sakura didn't understand. Keroberus, however, did and made a sad noise.
"She's upset and angry." He said softly. "At Sakura mainly, for disappearing and sealing them up so suddenly. You look and feel a lot like her, so she panicked a bit. And she's afraid that if you seal her now, she won't see this new world again."
Okay, so maybe her heart twinge a little at hearing that. Sakura looked at the Card and lowered her shakujō slightly. She worried her lip, trying to think of something. Finally, an idea popped into her head.
"My name is Haruno Sakura, and I'm going to be a kunoichi one day." Sakura drew herself to her full height. She knew she didn't look impressive, with her hair and height and childish body, but no one could stop her from trying. "I'm not strong, or fast, I don't even have a lot of stamina yet. But I'm going to become stronger and faster, so I can proudly wear the Konoha symbol. I was thinking of going into medicine and poisons and stealth a few years ago, because let's face it, even if I do get stronger other people will still beat me when it comes to pure strength. I'll need to rely on other things, like speed and poison to deal with my opponents quicker before they overpower me. And someone like you, who can make any flower grow and appear on a whim, will be a huge asset. You could help protect my village, and help protect me." She paused.
"I won't keep you sealed away at the bottom of my pouch. I'll use you, and I'll help you learn about this world. I'll even show you around the forests here in Konoha; some of them are breathtakingly beautiful. So, can I seal you with your consent? Because sealing you without your consent seems a lot rude and uncomfortable."
She looked at Keroberus, WINDY, and TH—no, just FLOWER with a hopeful expression.
Keroberus seemed shocked, like he didn't expect to hear that from her. Which was honestly a bit disappointing. She asked for permission like a polite lady, especially if it concerned other people.
His expression softened and he smiled at her, something in his eyes that she didn't recognise, but she thought it might be approval.
WINDY looked content and happy and proud. The spirit sent Sakura an approving nod, and the kunoichi-in-training knew that WINDY would help her.
Finally, she turned to FLOWER. She was staring at her with wide eyes, but now that anger and resentment was gone. Her eyes softened and she gave Sakura a shaky smile. The flower spirit took in a deep breath and gathered some magic into her hands. Seeing as WINDY didn't do anything, Sakura doubted it would do her any harm.
The glow faded and revealed a hydrangea. FLOWER smiled and handed it over to her. Sakura felt she was missing something, but she smiled at the spirit anyway and tucked the flower into the collar of her shirt.
Sakura raised the shakujō and started to chant. "Return to the form you originally came from… SAKURA CARD!"
A light show later, and she was holding both the WINDY and FLOWER cards. Sakura smiled as the flowers, all but the one gifted to her, vanished as if they had never even existed. Her shakujō shrunk until it was a small key with just the circle, hoops, and the star.
Then she promptly kneeled over, Keroberus following.
And that's how Sakura went from normal girl to magical Cardcaptor in the span of an hour.
She, much to her surprise, doesn't regret it.
She rolled over and held up the cards thoughtfully. The two spirits both looked peaceful on them, at that she was glad.
"You know, you handled yourself excellently back there." Keroberus commented, patting her cheek. "I'm glad you befriended FLOWER. She really needs that right now. We all do, I guess." He sighed softly.
"Even you?"
A pause. He slumped. "Yeah, definitely."
Sakura gave him a half-smile. "So, friends?" She held out a finger for him to shake. He looked at it and smiled.
"Friends!" He grinned. "And teacher and student, too."
She shot up at that, not caring for the ache in her muscles. Wide eyes stared at him. "R—really? You'll help me train to be a kunoichi?"
"I don't like killing, but this world is different than my own. Shinobi aren't just assassins here, they're protectors too." He smiled at her. "You're well on your way to become one."
She didn't no what to say. She gathered him into her arms and held on tight. "Thank you so much—" nickname, nickname, aha! "—Kero-chan!"
He tensed for a moment but relaxed into her hug. "No problem, Sakura."
Then there was silence.
"Okay, but I'm not gonna go easy on you. And you better buy me cake and some video games."
"What are video games?"
God, I'm bad at writing descriptions. And explaining. But I'm happy at least some people like this!
And the part where Kero chanted the spell to release the staff was taken from the anime, so not mine.
Twenty pages… holy—
And as a side note, the Hyūga and the redhead were not OCs, thank you very much. The Hyūga appeared in the anime and was given a name, and as for the redhead… well, spoilers. Let's just say he exists in the Naruto 'verse.
Flowers are really dangerous. There's this one plant, castor oil plant, which is listed at the most poisonous plant and can kill an adult from just a single milligram of it. This plant is really useful for a shinobi, especially a poison specialist, and I sorta hate that The Flower card is basically just for prettiness. The Flower can make any flower grow and appear, so endless poison supply. Very useful for budding kunoichi. And poison specialists.
PETUNIA - Resentment, Anger, Your Presence Sooths Me
YELLOW CARNATION - Disdain, Disappointment, Rejection
HYDRANGEA - Thank You for Understanding