REHEARSALS
Sakura POV
When I awoke, I was tucked in a bed with more than one surprise visitor. It seemed like every one of my friends were in this room not to mention family and my two guardians. Only they were all asleep. I had seen them yesterday; why are they all in here? I tried to get up but something heavy was lying across my chest. I looked down to see Syaoran was lying across me, hand in mine like I was dying. Just then Tomoyo came in to bring food for everyone when she saw me. I smiled and she shrieked with joy. I had to cover my ears to block out most of the noise. Everyone around me had woken up from Tomoyo's shriek as she jumped over to hug me.
Syaoran bolts up from my lap and tries to pry Tomoyo off. Everyone was so relieved that I was awake but why. I look over at Syaoran and asked 'Why is everyone so happy to see me? We saw each other yesterday, right?' Syaoran shakes his head and says, "Sakura you've been asleep for a week and while you were sleeping you were screaming about a 'Scythe' trying to get you. We were all dead worried about you."
I looked at everyone and they were all crying for me. Rika said she was afraid about how I was screaming weird stuff in my sleep. "Everyone, I think we should let Sakura-chan get some rest. We can all talk later, come on." Outside I heard Syaoran say that he was glad to see me awake.
Syaoran POV
I woke up at five in the morning aggravated at not getting enough sleep. Tomoyo meets me in the dining hall for breakfast and we talk about how to arrange rehearsals so everyone can get here in time.
"I think it's easiest to do it afterschool since almost no one has anything to do afterschool." I say and gather my bags for school. "I'll wake Sakura; she'll be frightened if someone doesn't go to school with her." Walking in Sakura's room, I go sit next to her.
She is just sleeping there but she seems upset about something. Well that isn't just sleeping there but she seems upset about something. Well that isn't too hard to understand, but she knows that she has reliable allies all around her just waiting to help her out.
Sakura moves on the bed and she startles me slightly. She positioned her arms in a defensive way as if she was holding onto her staff. Then she shouts out the Jump card and instinctively I grab her book with the cards and put a barrier around them so she doesn't involve any of the more dangerous cards like the Phantom. I try to shake Sakura but she wouldn't wake up no matter what.
What the heck is going on! Why won't Sakura wake up. Guess there's no choice, I'll just call some water then wind to wake her up.
Tomoyo walks in and sees me with an ofuda and Sakura dripping wet and yell at me. "LI-kun, how could you soak Sakura like that? You have no right to- " All of a sudden Sakura screams and we run next to her trying to wake her up from the nightmare.
"Now do you see why I used my magic. No matter how much I shook her, she wouldn't even flinch. She is trapped within that dream like it or not." I say trying to dry her off a little with some magic.
"Yeah, but what do you think is causing this problem?"
"I have no idea but, Tomoyo, I think it would be best if I stay here. Go to school and tell the rest of the group what's going on and that we need a meeting soon." I say trying to keep myself calm enough to not blow anything up.
"Okay, Li-kun. But what are you going to do about this? Are you just going to stay by Sakura's side the entire day?" Tomoyo asks and I nod.
"Just go to school and I guarantee that nothing will go on here other than me protecting Sakura." I sit on the chair and start reading a book. "Just come back as soon as you can, okay."
"Sure." Tomoyo leaves and I sigh. I end up falling asleep while watching Sakura.
Tomoyo at school
"Tomoyo-chan, where's Sakura-chan and Li-kun?" Chiharu asks and Tomoyo sweat drops.
"Sakura-chan is sick but I don't know about Li-kun. Sorry I can't be of much help." Tomoyo says and the others just shrug.
I hope Sakura-chan wakes up. I'm really worried about her and just hate not being there. Li-kun is extremely protective of Sakura-chan and he can be trusted more than anyone else, but I want to be sure by being by her side.
"Guys we need to talk at lunch." Tomoyo says and everyone looks extremely confused.
"Is it about Sakura-san and Li-kun?" Eriol asks and Tomoyo nods.
"Sakura is sort of in a coma state at the moment and Li-kun is guarding her at my place right now. Told me to tell you all and that we need an emergency meeting later today."
"We'll be there but I don't see the point since the meeting is about Sakura." Erika says.
"Homeroom is starting."Our teacher says and the school day begins slowly. It seemed like forever until the lunch bell sounded.
"So how are we going to get Sakura to wake up? It's not like any of us can enter Sakura's mind and convince her to wake up." Erika says and Tomoyo, Eriol, Kai, and Eron look away. "Did I miss something that everyone else knows!?" Erika demanded.
"Li-kun can talk to Sakura-chan telepathically." Tomoyo says and Erika shrieks.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this? I mean come on, something that important should be known almost immediately by the entire gang!" Erika yells and everyone looks over at us warily once again.
"Shut up Erika. No one in this room should know about magic." Eron hisses while keeping everyone away from listening to our conversation.
"Well sorry, Eron. But not everyone is so friendly with Sakura as you are." Erika shoots back.
"There was a reason and that was Toya. Now can we get back at the topic at hand." Kai says diplomatically and everyone calms down.
"Will that work though, I mean can Syaoran really get Sakura to wake up through her dreams?" Miho asks for the first time.
"We don't know. But it's our best shot at waking Sakura up. I say we do it or else we might face the wrath of Toya." Tomoyo says as lunch ends.
"So we meet up at your house as soon as school's over." Eron says as Miho and Kai leave for their classrooms.
Tomoyo's House
"Glad you're all here." I say as they enter Sakura's room. "Does anyone have any ideas on how to bring Sakura to awaken?"
Eriol steps forward and nods. "It was Erika's idea and I think it will work. Use telepathy to get in Sakura's head and convince her to wake up. At this point, it's the only thing you can do to wake her up. Only you can use telepathy with Sakura but in the end, you will also be in a temporary sleep state after a few hours."
"And you're sure that it might work?" I ask worried about the repercussions.
"Somewhat. But this is the only chance we've got at saving her. Like when you used the Time card to save Sakura-chan from the Return." Tomoyo says and I look down.
"Fine, I'll try it out. See you in awhile." I go into a trance trying to find Sakura in her mind.
Sakura's Mind
Woah, so this is what Sakura's dream is? It seems so different from what I'd've imagined. It's completely medieval like in that script Tomoyo had written.
I walk around what seemed to be a shopping area looking around for Sakura when someone crashed into me. I grab hold of that person keeping her steady, only to find that it was Sakura.
"Sakura! I'm so glad I found you, how are you doing?" I say looking at her terror-stricken face.
"I'm really sorry sir; but do I know you?" Sakura says and I realize what this is about.
She thinks we're in the play so that means she's being chased by Meilin and Miho. This is going to be troublesome.
"No you don't. But you looked like my friend and her name was Sakura. It was just a lucky guess that I got your name right." I say grinding my teeth.
A scream came from down the street and I grabbed Sakura's hand. "Come this way." I shout as we weave through the crowd. I see an alley out of the corner of my eye and push Sakura into it.
Panting Sakura shakes her hand out of mine. "T-thanks. I-I-I don't know what I'd do if you didn't save me. I'll b-b-be going now." Sakura stumbles and collapses right then and there. Sighing I pick Sakura up and carry her to an abandoned hut.
How can this get any worse than right now? I just hope the others are having better luck in reality.
Back at Tomoyo's House
"Bring out a cot. There will be an extra person sleeping in here." Tomoyo says as she starts to arrange rooms for the group.
"It's been three hours already. How do we know he's even in her mind?" Erika says looking at Syaoran over top of Sakura's lap.
"We don't, Erika. But we have to trust in Syaoran and Sakura's bond right now." Eron says through his teeth.
"Please, let's try to be civil; I'm almost certain that they are in Sakura's dream. We must have faith in those two. They can certainly make a miracle happen so please be patient." Eriol says sipping some tea in the corner.
I just hope Sakura's brother doesn't figure out that Sakura-chan is in a coma right now. He would throw a fit about everything. Tomoyo thought just when Toya came into the room with Yue.
"What has happened to my mistress?" Yue asks as he sees Sakura and me on the bed.
"Yue, Toya-san, don't get mad but Sakura-san is in a coma and Syaoran is currently in her mind trying to get her to awaken." Eriol says and Toya collapses.
"Does Kerberous know about this?" Yue asks and Eriol nods his head. "Then the only thing left to do is to wait for them to awaken." Yue says and stands by his mistress and me.
Sakura's Dream
I stare at Sakura for awhile and get thirsty. I walk to the well outside of the house and fill up two cups thinking Sakura might be thirsty when she wakes up.
Meanwhile, Sakura was in the house just staring at the wall confused. I walk in and she jumps away frightened. "Who are you? Where am I? Did you kidnap me?" I double over barely catching the two cups.
"Calm down. My name is," I shouldn't give her my real name. What did Kai always call me … Syao-kun? It'll have to do. "Syao. Chang Syao. We- you are in an abandoned house because you collapsed after all that running earlier. And I saved you, not kidnap. Here's some water." She reaches for the cup slowly probably thinking I poisoned it.
Taking a sip she says, "W-W-Well then, thank you, Chang-san." I cringe at the sound of that. "Just call me Syao-kun. Please, Chang-san is too formal for me." Sakura looks warily at me then nods. "Okay, then thanks Syao-kun." I nod and she laughs at me. "Sorry it's just that it's first time anyone has looked at me so kindly. It's almost as if I am your girlfriend or something but that can't be right, I'm unfortunately engaged." I look up surprised and drop my cup spilling water all over the floor.
"I'll clean that up. Sorry, just a little surprised. Do you like your fiancé?" I say through my teeth while looking for a mop.
"I don't love him. He's been my best friend since we were five years old. I want to find love, not marry my best friend and have to live with him." Sakura says and I look up to see her crying.
What am I going to do now? Why did Tomoyo have to write the dumb play in the first place?! And how did she come up with these plots? How am I supposed to console Sakura? I can't just rub her back and say it's all right can I? I officially HATE Tomoyo right now!
"You can tell me what the matter is, y'know. I'll listen and try to help as much as I can." I say cleaning the water from the already disgusting floor.
"You really are too kind, Syao-kun. It all started about eleven years ago when the two of us were five. Our parents had arranged for us to play almost every single summer. After three or four years we became best friends, able to talk about everything in the whole world." Sakura stopped talking and looked out the window. For a moment I thought she wasn't going to continue but I don't push Sakura to continue. "That was the best. Even if I couldn't tell him, he always knew when I had a problem. He was like a miraculous guy. Many girls wanted to have his hand but he always turned them
down saying he had someone he liked. Until last year, I didn't realize that the person he liked was me. I never did pick up on those kinds of things like normal people did. When he told me, I was totally confused and I ran. Exactly one year later, today on my 16th birthday, our parents announced our engagement and I ran away from home. I couldn't handle the news; I couldn't love my best friend." I hear Sakura start crying again and I instinctively hugged her.
"It's okay, Sakura. Anyone in your position would have done the same thing." I say as she cries. "Now, now. Calm down. I'm not going to judge you at all. Continue if you want."
"Thank you. I don't think I could ever marry Eron-kun. He may be my best friend but I could never put myself in that kind of torture. I don't know how he feels about this but I couldn't even start to imagine myself as his bride." I laugh making Sakura glare at me. "What is so funny, Syao-kun?" I heard some malice in her voice and immediately thought of the excuse I could use.
"I'm sorry, Sakura. It's just that you sound just like my friend. You really are just like her copy." I said and chuckle to myself.
She really is the same even when she is in her dream. But then again, she has her own set of rules and does everything in her power to follow that code. I guess I'm lucky for her as a girlfriend, but trying to keep her safe is so much harder.
"It's okay. How long are you going to be in town for?" Sakura asks and I sigh.
"I'm not sure but how about we meet here every day so we get to know each other." I offered and Sakura nods her head in agreement. "Great, now you should probably go home or I might end up being tried for kidnapping." I say with as much authority could manage.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" Sakura asks unconvinced.
"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow. Now go home and get some rest." I order and she leaves.
Now the hardest part. To convince Sakura that this is a dream and she to wake up. Might as well get some sleep. I'm going to need it for tomorrow.
Tomoyo's House
Yue had taken Toya to one of the many spare rooms and came back. Miho who was startled by the group and the position of me and Sakura made her hyperventilate.
"If we don't come up with something believable to tell the school, Chiharu's group is going to come over. We all know what would happen if they saw Sakura and Li right now." Eron said.
Tomoyo just looked at us with worried looks and Kero came in. Looking at his mistress, Yue, and Tomoyo; Kero was the most panicked of us all when he realized what had happened.
"Tomoyo do you know what could happen to the Brat if Sakura awakens before he has?" Everyone shakes their heads. "He could go into a permanent state of a coma and would die. Yue, you knew that this could happen also didn't you?"
Everyone turned to look at Yue and he just shrugs his shoulders.
"I knew it as a possibility but I came over with Toya long after he entered our mistress' mind. There was nothing I could do to prevent it."
A maid came in to announce that it was dinner time, and was shocked beyond all words by the expressions that they had on.
"Just bring the food in here please. We are in a very serious meeting and don't want to be disturbed." Tomoyo says and the maid nods.
"Eriol, did you know that this could happen?" Erika asks and our attention turns to him. Eriol shakes his head.
"I didn't know that Li's life was in danger. If I did, I wouldn't've suggested it to him. He is my descendant after all I wouldn't be able to kill off one of my relatives."
The food came in and we all ate the gourmet dinner in silence. As we headed to bed we hear Sakura say two words, "Thank you."
Sakura's Dream
Over the next few days, I realized that Sakura has had a tough time here. The only time she didn't have any social gatherings were during the summers she spent with Eron. I was waiting in front of the well when someone pushed me in.
"What were you trying to do, Sakura?" I asked pulling myself up.
There in a plain white dress and hair braided, was not Sakura but Meilin with her hands on her hips.
"Prince Syaoran! Do you have ANY clue how hard we've been looking for you?" Meilin grabs my hand and leads/drags me away from the hut. Trying got me nowhere but I wanted to warn Sakura of my departure. So at least she wouldn't forget everything and search the whole world for me. "SAKURAAA!" I shouted with the last of my energy right before Meilin knocked me out. I woke up around eleven at night and stared at the blank white walls and I was completely trapped.
Meanwhile, Sakura was at the usual meeting place concerned at the unusual absence of my presence. She was sitting down thinking, Where is Syao-kun? Did he really bored with me? Sakura stood and went back to the palace, Sakura packed disappointed not seeing me.
Inside the palace, Sakura packed just enough to get her through her journey to see me once again. Leaving a note behind, Sakura left her home for her quest to find me. Looking for a week, talking
to any and every person she could. She was in terrible shape, clothes just pitiful rags now after the storms and constantly falling. She comes in front of a large palace and before ringing the bell, she collapses and hears me running up to her.
I lift Sakura off the ground as careful as I could.
"Sakura? Sakura are you okay?" I say as I head back into the castle. Placing her in my bed, I sigh. "Guess I'm not imagining you this time. For a week, I thought I'd go crazy not seeing you and now here you are." I mumbled to myself as I watch Sakura sleep.
Getting up, I go and order some food to be brought up from one of my many attendants. Around a half an hour later the two dishes came up and I ate my portion. Looking at how Sakura kept muttering something that I couldn't understand and shouted about a 'Scythe'. Shivers went down my spine when I realize that she was recalling her battle with The Scythe even in her dreams. I get nervous and try to calm myself down before she awakens. Only one with a murderous intent would send that against us. If only we had a legitimate clue on our enemy so we could get a head start on finding their identities.
Sitting down next to Sakura, I stroke her cheek with my finger and start thinking of how heartless I'd been to her when I first met her. How I ever became her boyfriend and the one she loved most, I'll never know. I have to convince her that this place is a horrible dream and make her wake up to our reality.
"Syao-kun what's the matter?" I look up and see Sakura looking at me placing her hand on mine. I bolt up and pull my hand back from hers.
"There's nothing wrong with me. How are you feeling?" I ask pretending that no one would notice.
"I'm fine. A little hungry but otherwise perfectly fine." Sakura answers blushing. Chuckling I tell the maid to get another meal sent up here for Sakura to eat. "Where am I anyway?"
"In my castle/palace. Whatever you want to call it. You collapsed so I brought you in here so you could recuperate. Better than sitting out there dying or getting trampled over." I answer leaning on the wall now.
"So you're a prince? Why were you so courteous to me in the market place? You could have let me get caught by those whom were chasing me."
"Didn't I say that I liked being with you. Also, I wouldn't leave anyone who was in danger." I say sighing at the girl I loved. She stared at me with the same eyes she did in the real world. Just then there was a knock on the door, breaking my trance. Placing the food on the bed, I tell her to eat.
Sakura just stared at the food in front of her and shakes her head. "Is something wrong with the food? I could get you something else to eat if you prefer." I say and Sakura shakes her head once again.
"It isn't a problem with the food. I want to know why you suddenly left without saying goodbye. I was horribly crushed to see that you didn't care enough to tell me you were leaving."
Looking down to the ground now I shudder. Of course she thought I'd abandoned her without a care in the world. Looking in her eyes I say, "Sakura, I know you won't believe me but, I was kidnapped by a servant of my own. I tried but she bound my hands and feet and knocked me out. Next thing I know I'm here and I've been thinking of you ever since."
Sakura says nothing and starts to eat the food that was in front of her. "I guess I'll leave you be for now, Sakura. Call for me if you want or need me." I say and there's no response. I leave the room and sigh. "Sakura definitely hates me now." I say when I notice a carriage riding up. As the carriage stops, Eron comes out and barges into my palace.
"Where is Sakura-chan?!" Eron shouts as I greet him at the front door.
"She is resting right now. May I ask who you are after barging into my home." I say with malice as I gaze into the eyes of my personal enemy.
"My name is Eron Kuro. I am the Prince of the land of Darkness. You have my fiancé here and I have come to bring her home." Eron says with as much malice and hatred I do.
"Now I don't want to ask again. Where is Sakura-chan? Tell me the truth or else." I turn around and start to walk away. "Where the heck do you think you going?"
"I told you that Sakura is resting and I meant it. Now will you patiently wait for her. I'm going to the backyard for some fresh air; you're welcomed to join me if you want." I say as I open the door to the court.
"My pleasure." Eron spat following me. He looks at the swords that I use for fencing. "Wanna have a contest? See whom is better at fencing?" I turn around and smile.
This will be fun. Not only do I have the upper hand in fencing, I get to face off against my enemy. This is going to be the best match of my life. You are going to regret that, Eron, you are so going to pay for all the tears you have caused Sakura.
"Sure. It'll be my pleasure to have a fencing match with you, Eron-sama." I say with a wicked smile on my face.
I grab my sword and face him in the usual fencing stance. Eron mimics me and smiles as if he's been fencing for all his life. He makes the first move, aiming at my face and I block it easily. Then I retreat, move past him, and gain a point from the back of his head. "Do you want to give up?" I ask giving him some mercy.
"I don't need any mercy from you, your highness." He spats and I shrug.
"Just offering." Geez,he's the same pompous arrogant bastard here as he is in reality.
As I block another easy move, I hear Sakura's voice. I look over at Eron and say that I must retreat for the moment. I sprint into the palace as fast as I can. Opening my door, I see Sakura crying once again, this time on the bed.
"Sakura, what's the matter? Why are you crying this time?" I ask sitting on the edge of my bed. Sakura looks up and suddenly kisses me and I zone out.
I kiss her back and she pulls away. "Sorry, Syao-kun." Sakura blushes and looks away from me. "I didn't mean to kiss you so suddenly. I don't know what came over me."
"It's okay. But may I ask why you kissed me so suddenly?" I ask slightly embarrassed myself. Sakura shakes her head and then someone barged in the room. I turn around to see Eron standing in the doorway and I am outraged. "What are you doing in here, Eron?" I growl while Sakura starts crying yet again.
"What do you mean 'What are you doing in here?' I'm here because I got suspicious of the way you suddenly took off earlier and wanted an explanation. But here's a better question, why is my fiancé crying on the bed?" Eron yells at me.
"She was resting, as I said. She was the one who called me up here, maybe wanting to talk about something. I found her unconscious outside my palace, so I brought her inside." I growl trying to calm Sakura down at the same time.
"She can talk to me. I'm her fiancé after all, she can tell me anything." Eron grabs Sakura's arm and leads her out of my palace.
"Please, let me stay. Let me stay with Syao-kun. Help me stay here, Syao-kun." Sakura says making Eron stop in his tracks.
"So you seriously want to stay here with the prince of Clow than to return with me, your own fiancé?" Eron asks and I stop next to Sakura as to give her my support if needed.
"Yes. I'd rather stay with Syao-kun than with you, Eron-kun. Only because I can never talk to you with much freedom and you always criticize everything I say. Syao-kun just listens to my problems and tries to help out when he can." Sakura says with a little more confidence. I smile as I watch Sakura stick up for herself, probably for the first time in her life.
Eron stares at me and starts to get really mad. "Why YOU! You made Sakura-chan fall in love with you. How DARE YOU!" Eron storms out of the palace leaving Sakura with me.
Turning towards Sakura I ask, "Fell in love with me?" Raising an eyebrow I start to smirk. Blushing Sakura looks away and mumbles to herself. "Is this one of those 'no matter how awkward, he knows what's going on' things you said before?" I ask more seriously.
"Yeah. He knows me extremely well but I don't love you. I just like hanging out with you, so what. Doesn't mean that I'm in love with you, not that at all." Now I'm almost positive that she is in love with me but say nothing.
"Then why did you kiss me?" I ask softly setting my hand on her shoulder.
"I don't know. I just did without thinking. My body moved on its own when you said my name."
"Sigh, okay let me tell you one thing though." I say and Sakura stays crying. "I am in love with you, Sakura. Doesn't matter if you don't love me back, just saying it." Sakura turns around and looks at me as if I was lying to her.
"You… love me? Syao-kun?" Sakura zones out completely and keeps repeating those two questions.
"Yes, I love you Sakura. But for the record, Syao-kun is my nickname, my full name is Syaoran." I say causing Sakura to come out of her trance.
"I love you too, Syao-kun. But can I not call you Syaoran? It's too hard after getting used to your nickname." Sakura asks and I laugh.
"That's perfectly fine, Sakura." This time I leaned over and kissed her while my hand way supporting her from falling over. When we stopped kissing, Sakura hugged me tight and made me promise not to leave her ever. "Why would I leave the girl I love?"
"This is no joke. I want you to promise you'll always stay with me." Sakura pouted and went over to the bed. "Fine. I, Syaoran, promise to be with you, Sakura, always. Is that good enough for you?" I ask raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. That's all I needed. Just to hear it from your voice to guarantee me. I'm worried about what Eron-kun will do now that he knows I'm in love with you."
"I smile at Sakura and hug her while she calms down for now.
Tomoyo's House
It's been four days since we have been in a coma and Chiharu is worried.
Tomoyo is talking to Eriol about how long this could take when interrupted by Chiharu and Rika. "Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun, where's Sakura-chan and Li-kun? It's been four days and we're very worried. Either you tell us or we'll run straight to their homes and find out what's going on." Tomoyo glances at Eriol nervously and he nods.
"Mihara-san, Sasaki-san, please don't be concerned. They have been really ill the past couple of days and cannot have any visitors. We barely see the two and we are their closest friends." Eriol states as usual and Rika glares at him.
"Well we are GOING to make an effort to visit them. By the sound of it, they are at your place Tomoyo-chan, WE will see how sick Li-kun and Sakura-chan really are." Rika announced and Tomoyo groans loudly.
"Shall I call a meeting with everyone, or is it not needed?"
"Get Yue and Toya over there NOW! Make sure the two of them are in separate rooms and no one is to be surprised." Tomoyo hisses and Eriol leaves in an instant.
Kai was next to Tomoyo almost immediately after Eriol left and asked if she needed any help.
"Kai, can you get classes to stop?" Tomoyo asks with much more stress than necessary.
"How do you want class to end?" Kai replies pullign out his computer.
"Doesn't matter."
"Blackout in twenty minutes. Is that plenty of time?"
"We have fifteen minutes till Yue can get there. We need to stall the group for as long as possible. How long can you get it to stall or get the lights to flicker before they cancel?" Eriol asks, returning to his seat.
"Probably about fifteen to twenty minutes if I'm really concentrating. But that's only an estimate."
"We have to keep that group away until we can –" The lights went out and everyone shrieked. "Kai, I thought you said twenty minutes not twenty seconds. What is going on?" Tomoyo says as the three go to see Miho.
"I don't know. I know I had it set for… WHAT! WHO MESSED WITH MY COMPUTER!?" Kai shouted and every single person in our group and Rika's group rushed over to see what's happened.
"Kai, WHAT are YOU screaming about? Do you realize that ALL of school heard you just now!" Eron hisses as Eriol ushers us into an empty classroom and puts uup a barrier.
"Someone hacked into my computer and locked me out after I set the blackout timer. I tried everything I could to get back in but I couldn't. Sorry guys." Kai headed for the window but Eron and Eriol grabbed onto him before he could make his grand escape.
"Rika's group just left; Kai, Eron, and Eriol will race towards my house to stall; Erika, Miho, and I will try to distract them as long as possible. If they ever find out about the dream-coma thing they will freak and send them and all of us to a mental hospital." Tomoyo says and the gang moves out, via window since Kai already pried it open.
Tomoyo caught up to Rika's group by taking a short cut and wasn't very helpful at trying to stall for time. They barged into Sakura's room as Kai and Eron were lifting me off of Sakura.
"Crap." Kai muttered under his breath as Eron drops my head.
"What's going on here?" Chihara screamed and they all sigh almost getting away with it.
"Tomoyo-chan, tell us the truth. Why haven't Sakura-chan and Li-kun been in school the last four days?" Rika asked as calm as possible.
"Wait, Tomoyo, don't tell them anything. Think about how Sakura and Li will react for innocent people knowing about our Business." Kai says. Tomoyo flinches and Eriol just stares into space.
"What am I supposed to do then? We can't have them telling the school. Ms. Mizuki might get fired. We can't allow that to happen!" Tomoyo replies.
"Mihara-san, the deal is Li-kun and Sakura-san are in a state of a coma. We don't know when they'll come out of it and we can't let anyone else know about it." Eriol says putting the entire matter to rest. All four of Rika's group just stare at Eriol and then us and finally Tomoyo.
"What do you mean? They were fine a while ago. How can they be in a state of a coma in a couple of days?" Yamazaki asked and Eriol looked at Tomoyo who nodded.
"Well, Sakura was in a fight (battle really) and left her traumatized. When she didn't wake up, Syaoran stayed with her for a day but he also collapsed and we don't know when they may awaken." Miho said walking in behind everyone else.
Everyone turned around, Rika's group shocked and no one knew how she got there. "Kai-sempai, thanks for the ride." Eron groaned.
"So that's what you were doing when you disappeared almost right after we split up." Eron growled under his breath and Kai pouted.
"Why won't you call me 'onii-chan' like you used to?" Kai asked slightly depressed. Miho glared at him and he hid behind Tomoyo.
"Don't even start that Kai-sempai. You ran away and lied to me for one YEAR!! You DON'T have the RIGHT to call yourself MY BROTHER!" Miho screamed and Eriol protectively led Miho out of the room.
"Kai, did you have to bring that up now?" Eron asked calming Kai down from his depression."Because I thought she might be grateful and call me 'nii-chan once." Kai whimpered.
"Okay so back to the main purpose of why we're all here; Sakura-san and Li-san are in a sleep state and we can't let the school know. Can you keep the secret please?" Eriol said coming back into the room.
"Well if it will protect those two then I'll keep the secret. But on one condition, I want to keep an eye on how those two are progressing." Chiharu stated with Rika nodding in agreement.
"Chiharu-chan, Rika-chan, you know that I would love to allow you watching over Sakura-chan and Li-kun but I can't allow that." Tomoyo states almost crying.
"Actually they should be allowed to come over. I'll talk to them when they awaken. So please give them permission Tomoyo-san." Eriol says putting his hand on Tomoyo's shoulder. Tomoyo looks at him with a blank face and Eriol nods. A huge smile came over her face and she was basically jumping for joy.
"Then you guys are welcome to keep watch on them but you can't tell anyone about what's going on." Tomoyo cheers and Eron glares at Takashi.
"You better NOT joke about this Yamazaki. You even try to play around with this information, you will regret it." Eron growls.
"No threats Eron. These are people that can be trusted with a secret. Oh and one more thing, you CAN NOT tell those two about knowing. You tell them and we are all doomed." Eriol says with a smile.
"No Problem!" They all yelled and cheered.
Sakura's Dream
The entire ordeal is over now. Wait, the stupid war hasn't begun yet. Someone shoots me and kills me. Knowing Tomoyo, it will either be Eriol, Eron, or Kai. Damn it, she is never going to let me have any peace. I slam my fist into a wall and I hear a gasp.
"Prince Syaoran, what are you doing? Why did you punch a hole in the marble walls?" Meilin asked behind me.
I turn around and shrugged. "Just relieving stress. Got angry at one of my acquaintances and forgot where I was." More like got angry because where I was and pissed at a friend's writing.
"Then go and do something productive. Hang out with that friend that's staying here or fence a little with your teachers. Don't take it out on the house or furniture." I stalk off to the fencing area and see Sakura in a fencing outfit.
I see her start fencing with a coach and easily defeat him. I stifle a laugh as I approach, when I blocked an attack from behind with ease to see it's my instructor from the age of four. "Gotten better I see."
"Easy enough to block that attack by now. Do you think I'll be attacked with that move anymore?" Sakura turns to look at me and I told my instructor that I won't be training with him. "I want to train with Sakura. May I, sensei?"
"Sure. She's at your level so I can't see any problems with sparring against her."
"Thanks. If I lose you will have to instruct me today. If I win, please don't interfere with my lesson." Sakura waved at me with a large smile and I got my fencing sword. She looked slightly confused at first but then knew that I was going to be her next opponent.
"Don't go easy on me Syao-kun. That will tell me that I'm not even worthy to face you." Sakura yells and I nod.
"Wouldn't even consider going easy on you. I'm testing your skills so I wouldn't dare think of going easy on you." I yell back and chuckle. Now I'll be able to see how much she's grown in the last few years. After all, she is the owner of the Sword card and we have been on the same playing ground for a couple of years. In P.E. I can tell that she's holding back so she doesn't hurt anyone. Then again, so do I since I've been using a sword since I was seven.
There was a huge audience just watching us in great anticipation of the match. It was rare that I faced real opponents. Even rarer that I don't have any handicaps for them. I got into my Chinese swordsman position and she paused for a second. Why did she pause just now? Maybe she recognized the form from our reality. Considering she only saw me in this position almost every day, she would probably remember it here.
The referee started the match and we stared each other down. No one talked as we circled each other. Neither of us wanted to be the first one to attack and leave openings in their defense. I notice Sakura changed her weight slightly more forward and I shift into a defense position as she lunged forward at me. Her speed was so fast that if I didn't notice the change in her movements she would have definitely gotten me in one attack. I did a back flip across the area and shift into my attacking position.
Carefully I mask my movements and starting to attack Sakura with my sword. She managed to block my attacks almost as easily as I blocked hers. She used more energy blocking my attacks because I used more power in my attacks than she had. But as I was about to use my finishing attack, she disappeared and got me in the side.
"You let your guard down. You should never let your guard down against anyone at all. Even if you were going to make the finishing move, that could make the difference of life and death. Want to take a break?" I look at her, sweat beading down my face and she looks like might collapse at any moment.
"A break sounds nice. You are a wonderful fencer. There's no way I can go easy on you and expect to win." I say with a grin on my face.
"Considering you're a swordsman form the Li clan I couldn't hold back." Sakura says and she shakes her head not knowing why she said that. "Sorry. It was a bizarre dream I just had last night. We were capturing cards together. Quite a ridiculous dream if you ask me."
"It's alright. I understand what you mean completely." I had the maid make some tea and serve it to us in about ten minutes.
I can't believe that she actually remembers reality through her dreams. Well I guess that's what happens when you have prophetic dreams all the time. Never thought that it would be beneficial to em here and now.
"So, Syao-kun, How do you know how to fence so well. It's like you've been fencing since you were seven. Wait why did I just say seven, I think you've been fencing since were three or four." I laugh at how much she recalls from reality.
"Well truth be told, I have been fencing since I was seven. I'm really shocked that you got the exact age right on your first guess. Congrats. But what about you, you're a terrific swordsman. When did you start?" I ask knowing it was around ten years old.
"I started out late, when I was around ten years old and was forbidden to let anyone ever know. Heck, I wasn't even allowed to face anyone other than my family. You're the first real opponent in a very long time. Thanks for everything Syao-kun." Sakura grabs a cup of tea.
I slipped my tea and wonder how she can be so normal, and remember so much from reality. Sakura was stretching a bit and then said, "Are you ready for round two?" I nod and grab my sword. Just then, my servant came in.
"Syaoran, the land of Darkness is raging war at us because we are sheltering Lady Sakura. What are we going to do?"
"Sigh, Well first we need to gather our armies. Make sure every civilian is protected and get my armor ready. I'm going to be leading the army."
Military forces have been coming in and out of the palace to discuss different tactics to win this war. Sakura waited patiently in her 'room' next to mine. Never has Sakura felt such fear of what would happen in the future.
I've always had weird dreams and it creeped me out so much. But why do I feel like I'm about to lose my entire life if we lose this war? It's not like everything around me is a horrible dream.
I walk towards Sakura's room and knock on the door. There was no response so I get really nervous. I open the door to find that it was completely empty.
Where the heck did Sakura go? She couldn't have left in the middle of a war could she? I look on the desk to find a note. I lift it up and see it's addressed to me.
Dear Syao-kun,
When you get this note, I will have left the castle and be on my way to my own country. Thank you so much for what you've done to help me and everything. I'm so sorry that I put you and your country in danger and you have to be strong. This has been a wonderful few weeks but I have a duty to honor. Syao-kun just stay happy and safe. Sorry for not saying goodbye to your face, but I believe you would try to stop me.
Thanks for everything,
Sakura
That little idiot. Crumpling the note in my hand, I run out of the castle. How far can one girl get in a few hours? Gosh, why couldn't she just stay with me and wait this war out. She's only risking her life along with everyone else's.
"Your highness, where are you going? It's too dangerous to go out at this time." Meilin says as I run through a village and I just ignore her.
"Where is she? Where could she go? Of course she would do this to me. Disappearing when I need her, she's been doing this to me ever since we were capturing the Clow Cards." I mutter under my breathe and scream out of frustration, "SAKURAAAA!! WHERE ARE YOOUUU??"
Everyone looks at me as if I was crazy and I really didn't care what others thought. My mind was set on what Sakura was doing to herself. Why can't that girl just stay out of trouble for one minute? I sink to my knees gasping for air when I heard someone behind me.
"Why are you going so far for one girl? Then again, that girl was pretty cute. Need any help finding her?" I turn around to find Kai behind me.
"Who are you and why are you asking?" Wondering which name he would be going under and why he would be offering help.
"Tanaka Mikai. Just offering help since you seemed intent on finding her. Might be easier with two people instead of one too find a girl."
"Thanks for the offer, Mikai, but I think it would be better if I look for Sakura on my own." Kai shrugs and leaves me too run blindly for a couple of hours.
Around the time when the sun was setting, I found Sakura, collapsed on the ground. "Sakura!" Running up to her I found that she was extremely hot and most likely very dehydrated from all the walking she did in the course of that one day. Getting my water bottle, I poured some into Sakura's mouth.
Not moving, Sakura's pulse gets slower. Picking Sakura up, I run to the closest shade in the area. Setting her down, I realize this is the same spot I brought her to when she first collapsed. Strange, why did I choose here of all places. Well I hope there's still water in the well. I have to get Sakura water or she'll die of dehydration. I got a jug of water from the well and get nervous.
Why is her fever getting worse? I need to find a way to wake her up or break her fever, or she might die. If only I could use the Heal card. I could cure her fever and wake her up. She created that card to heal me because of the Whip. Sakura may die and if she dies then I'll feel responsible for not protecting her from everything that has happened.
I find blankets to cover Sakura with and carefully lifted her head to pour some more water in her mouth. I check her pulse and breathe easier. Sakura had broken her fever and her pulse was getting stronger by the minute. I quickly go to the market and buy some fruit so Sakura can eat something when she wakes up. I walk into the hut and go check on how she's doing. I put my hand to her forehead to make sure she wasn't too sick when she woke up suddenly.
"Syaoran, I'm sorry about everything that's happened with the cards. I'm so sorry." She must be still sleeping if she's talking about the Clow Cards. "Syao-kun, where are we?" I look down at the 'fully-awake' Sakura and pat her head. She stared at me quizzically and I laugh.
"We are in the same hut I brought you to when we first met after you collapsed. You were unconscious and had a fever so I've been taking care of you. For most of the day, making sure you had fluids and everything. Have some water, I bet it will make you feel better. You must be thirsty after traveling in the heat yesterday." Sakura takes the cup of water and gulps it down in one shot. I refill the cup as many times I felt I had to until Sakura said she was done drinking water. "You were really thirsty. I had to refill the jug for once. That jug could provide twenty refills of water so you must feel almost bloated from drinking around your weight in water."
"How long was I out for?" Sakura asks and I shrug.
"'Bout a day or day and a half. Depends on how long you were out before I found you. Not to mention you were very dehydrated when I found you, sweating bullets and no water in your bottle. I did what I could to keep you from getting worse." I say as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Thank you." Sakura mumbles before falling asleep again.
Poor Sakura, she must be completely exhausted. She always finds a way to push herself way to hard.
Getting up, I walk outside to get some fresh air. The sun was setting and there was almost a rainbow color in the horizon. The temperature was nice and cool, while there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The perfect day has finished and will come back in a few weeks. I just hope we don't spend too much longer here. I see someone on the horizon and get nervous. I step inside of the hut to make sure Sakura was still safe, but she was trying to get out of bed staggering along the way.
"What the heck are you doing, Sakura? You need to stay in bed or you will only get sicker." I push her back into the bed and tuck her in, though Sakura was fighting the entire time.
"Why must I stay in a bed for so long? I feel fine, so let me out of here already!" I sit on the bed and look at her seriously.
"I'll see how you are in the morning. If you are well enough, then you may get up and move around. But right not, you are way too sick to move no matter how much you are trying to deny it and overwork yourself. Right now you should just rest and relax, don't push yourself too hard." I sit on the chair and fall asleep.
In the morning, Sakura's fever was gone so she was allowed to move around. We went out to the market for some more food when we saw it completely deserted of all people. I hear some screams and gunshots in the distance and know what was going on. The war has started and the citizens were horrible victims. Eron, that no good person! I don't care what he does to me but doesn't he realize that he's only hurting Sakura by doing this? I sense something off around here and look to the direction it came from. Mikai had a crossbow in his hands aiming at Sakura. Trying to get Sakura to duck, Kai shot the arrow and I only had time to block Sakura, taking the arrow myself. I see Sakura crying and shaking her head. I wipe the tears in her eyes with my finger and say with the last bit of strength, "Don't cry Sakura. Just wake up from this dream. Please, wake up for me, from… this… awful… dream." I see Eron in the distance with a smug look on his face and then everything goes black.
"Sakura, what's the matter?" Eron says coming towards her. Kai shot the bow again this time aiming for Eron and Eron drops to his knees and Sakura begins to cry even harder.
Tomoyo's House
Chiharu was watching t.v in the room when I suddenly wake up and frantically search for Eron or Tomoyo. "You're awake, Li-kun." I don't answer and find Tomoyo in the dressing room. Slamming the door shut, I seal the door so no one interrupts.
"You're finally up, Li-kun. How's Sakura-chan doing? Is she okay?" I glare at Tomoyo and she puts her costume down. "May I ask why you are glaring at me, Li-kun?" Sighing I sit down and count to ten to try and calm down.
"Sakura she's," I began and stop for a minute, recalling Sakura's crying face. "She was upset by my death. Don't ever make her cry from your writing EVER again! Why did Kai have to kill me though? I wanted–" Tomoyo cuts me off and I just stare.
"Li-kun, you've been in a coma for five days. We are happy to know you actually survived the wound that Kai gave you. But it was necessary for the play to be how I wanted. Any way if it isn't Kai, you would die a painful death; at least Kai can aim so it won't be painful." I sigh and then ask where Eron was. "Eron is in school. The entire group can't be absent from school or else they will find it way too suspicious. The only ones here are Eriol, Rika, Chiharu, and myself. The rest will be here in six hours; you can go to school, I have a note for you and a spare uniform. Here you go." I step into the changing room and get into my uniform. "Thanks" I run to school in time to miss first period.
"Sorry for being late, Sensei." Handing him the note that Tomoyo had given me and go to my seat. Eron and Kai look at me as if they've just seen a ghost and I shrug it off. Getting through the next few periods without Sakura in front of me, I feel stupid of coming when I should have known I would be this worried.
As soon as lunch came, every single person from Sakura's group of friends (and I mean every one of them) and asked how I was. I looked at Eron and Kai and they look away almost too quickly and I
get very suspicious of my two friends. "Do you all know what happened? The complete truth about Sakura and I?" They all nod and I glare at Kai and Eron for letting this happen.
"Syoa-kun, have mercy on us. They found out on their own and promised to keep it secret for as long as we need it to be kept secret. Not to mention, Sakura will be happy that she doesn't have to keep it a secret anymore. So just stay quiet and calm down." Kai says trying to find a place to hide so he wouldn't be my first victim.
"Have any complaints, take it to Hiiragizawa. He let Tomoyo unveil everything to the rest of the Sakura's friends." Eron says not moving a step from his spot.
"Okay. I'm fine. Eron was a pain and Kai killed me, but other than that I'm fine. Eron be warned, you are on my hate list right now. But Sakura should wake up soon." With that I leave, leaving everyone very confused at what I meant.
Sakura's Dream
After burying Eron and myself, Sakura was in shambles. She locked herself in her room and tried to keep positive thoughts. Eriol had told Sakura that she should live on to keep our memories alive, but she found that if she left her house she would get upset. She would replay my last words to her over and over. Just wake up. Just wake up. Sakura was dressed in all black and left her room, for her friends' ceremonies.
Sakura was the only one who wasn't crying at the gravesite. Kai came up behind Sakura. When Sakura looked behind her, Kai hypnotized Sakura with the words "Wake to reality. This is a dream so wake up to reality." Sakura collapses and Kai catches her in time, so she wouldn't hit the ground. Putting two fingers to Sakura's wrist he sighed, accomplishing in killing his main target. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. Just a job I had to take on." Kai says as he buries Sakura next to Eron and myself.
Tomoyo's House (Sakura's POV)
I look around at all of my friends then to Syaoran, whom was as always, right next to me. Then she realizes that Rika's group was there and suddenly freezes up.
"Sakura-san, what's the matter?" Eriol asks. I can't respond, I can't even move.
"Sakura, can you hear us?" This time it was Eron who was talking. I just can't respond in any way, shape, or form.
"Syaoran, can you get into Sakura's head and find out what's wrong?" Meilin asks and he nods.
Sakura, can you hear me? Can you please respond to me.
Syaoran, why are Rika and the others here? I manage to think.
Well… Apparently Eriol said it was okay to let them know. Can you move your body? Syaoran waves an arm in front of my face. Try to touch my hand.
Okay. I try to move my body but in vain. I can't move anything. I can hear what everyone is saying but I can't respond. My mouth won't even move.
That's okay Sakura. To everyone else, Syaoran says, "Well, Sakura can't move her body at all. I just asked her to touch my hand but she couldn't. Sakura can understand everything we're saying but she can't respond. Maybe a dark force got to her." Tomoyo starts crying and I try to shake my head but can't.
Syaoran, take my key, release it and seal the dark force around me. I don't want to have Tomoyo to be sad.
"Okay. Let me get the key off of you and try to unseal it once again. Key that hides the power of the Stars, show your true self before me, I, Syaoran command you (in Sakura's name) Release!" My magic symbol showed underneath Syaoran and a green version of my staff appeared. Now what am I supposed to trap something that paralyzes you?
Well, you need to give me enough energy to move with the Power or the Strength.
"Are you crazy? That'll only make the Paralysis stronger!" I try to glare at him but I just hurt myself.
Then what about the Obedience. I have to follow the Obedience's orders no matter what. It will allow me to break through the Paralysis' control on me! I stare at Syaoran with pleading eyes and he sighs.
"No! I'm NOT going to put you under the Obedience's influence ever. So don't even start." Syaoran sits down on the chair and Eron comes near Syaoran.
"Li, I hate to say it. I really hate to say it, but it's either that or the Phantom. We don't want the Phantom to take control of Sakura or else all the world will be plunged into darkness." Syaoran glares at Eron and I try to decipher what Syaoran is thinking.
"Fine." Sorry Sakura. "Obedience, take control of Sakura and force her to move from the confines of the Paralysis." A dark orb that only Syaoran, Eron, Eriol, Erika, and Kai could see, engulfed me in darkness.
With the Obedience's help, I feel myself being able to move slightly. The Paralysis is trying to keep me bound but is overpowered by the Obedience's hold on me making me move. With everything that has been unleashed on me, I will myself to make a step and after what felt like an hour, I finally do it. The Paralysis has revealed itself to me something like a harness, Syaoran hands over my staff.
"Well spirit of Darkness, I, Sakura command you to form a contract, Sakura Card." With a fierce battle of power, the Paralysis finally floats into my hands as a light pink card. "Thanks Syaoran. I'm so glad that I can move again. So a week has past so we only have three weeks until the play or is it five?"
Everyone doubles over and I can't help but wonder why. "It's three weeks. And we begin practice tomorrow! Everyone is to be at the school at five to eight in the morning and evening." Tomoyo says and we all groan together.