Author's Notes: I know I know I know, It's been a really long space of time since I last updated, however, school started and it's hard to find time between classes and homework. So fair warning now, I won't be updating quite as often as I did during the summer, but I will try my hardest to keep the distances between chapters as short as I can. I thank you for your continuous show of patience. I really appreciate it. Without further ado, Chapter 9! Enjoy! Constructive Critisism is always welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't have the rights to CardCaptor Sakura or her characters, but I claim the rights to my own characters and story plot.

Chapter Nine: Under Heaven, Earth, and Hell

'The last four days have been so...different from each other. I'm not sure I even want to imagine how today is going to go,' Sakura thought as she stared at the ceiling above her head. It was her fifth day as a Guardian, and she was already certain of a few things in the short amount of time. 'I don't want to work under Heaven anymore. It's too boring, too peaceful, too close to a lie.' Sakura reflected back on her week and everything she had done.

'My first day I was under Heaven I; guard tower duty...'

Sakura finished climbing the tall, sturdy wooden ladder that led to the northeast tower where she would be spending her day. The view from the top was breath-taking. She had a panoramic view of the forest laid out before her. The rich greens of the trees contrasted with the dazzling, early-morning blue sky in a way that can only be seen in the fresh start of a new day. Sakura relieved the night-watcher who left with a yawn and a farewell full of graditude, and settled herself in for the long day ahead of her. She was quickly bored within a couple of hours however, as looking at the same scenery with nothing else to do, can and will do.

Sakura wasn't sure what to do with herself. She was on the look-out, but for what? For whom? The nearest village was several days distance away and it had been abandonded years ago. No one else lived near enough, and they didn't have enemies. The people who visited regularly knew of their customs and only sent females. For those who stumbled upon Haru village by mistake were treated with respect. 'Well, the females are treated just fine. Males are, well, I suppose they're not given much of a choice are they? But with so many more girls being born into our village then boys...it's a matter of survival, right? I'm actually astounded at how big the barracks are. Aya said that each one can hold 240 males, and that Midday is nearly full, Afternoon has around 120, and Nightfall contains about 180. We can't have that many males. To give birth to a male is so rare here, and the last male to stumble into our village was Syaoran. And that was about nine years ago.' Sakura sighed and continued to watch the horizon in search of something to distract her, but with only an occasional bird flying by to entertain her Sakura was immensly grateful when dusk fell and she was relieved of her duties.

'Ugh. I never want to work up there again. I think I would go out of my mind.' She smiled in a bemused way to herself, 'Although, I guess I got my fill of activity the following day when I had to work under Earth IV, in the kitchen. That was nothing but a flurry of movement. The constant preparing of meals was tiring, but satisfying. Chiharu's training really came in handy. That day certainly left me drained. In a way it was a good thing to be under Heaven II on wall duty the next day. I didn't have to do anything except walk back and forth, and watch out for our non-existent enemies again. That got tiring pretty quickly, but at least there was more to see...'

Sakura was stationed ontop of the North wall. The immense expanse of the forest lay on one side and just below the wall on the opposite side was the Midday roof. From where she stood she could view nearly everything inside the Encampment, and out, but her eyes kept wandering to the roof in front of here and it's look-alikes against the eastern and southern walls. 'The Afternoon barrack is on the east wall; Syaoran's in there along with Tomoyo's, Meiling's, and everyone elses partners.' Her gaze shifted to the furthermost wall. 'The Nightfall barrack is where the missing half of my family is; my father and brother. Sometimes I wonder if I really don't remember them.' She wrinkled her nose in confusion. 'Those dreams are becoming more vivid, but I can't recall them when I wake-up. They slip through my memory like water.' Sakura dropped her line of sight to the rough, wooden roof in front of her again. 'The day after tomorrow I'll be inside there. I hope it's not as bad inside as it looks from out here. It looks like a good gust of wind will blow the roof right off, and the stone walls are so dirty. When was the last time anyone fixed it up? It doesn't matter if males live there, doesn't anyone have any pride in our village?' She suddenly recalled Aya's entrance speech. 'Oh...right. I guess making the outside look at least acceptable wouldn't be very high on anyone's to do list. Especially as most of the women here don't even like to go near the doors. According to Aya, most of them skip-out on their Time duty. I wonder how often?'

"Hey! You! New girl! Stop staring off into space and get a move on!" An irritated voice came from Sakura's supervisor, jolting her our of her musings.

"Right! Sorry!" Sakura called back as she pushed her thoughts aside, and continued her walking.

'It was nice to get that break, but it falls along the same lines as being a look-out in the tower, it gets old really fast. I'll have to inform Aya that I don't want to work under Heaven anymore.' She sighed. 'Well, that's one entire department down, and two more to choose from. And Earth and Hell certainly have enough positions to keep me busy for a long time to come.' She shifted uncomfortably under her covers to look at the wooden wall on her left. 'And I'm not so sure I like being a Protector either. It was just too...surreal...'

Sakura had awoken early as usual that morning to practice alone, behind the sleeping quarters. She didn't see any point in stopping her training just because Meiling and Tomoyo weren't there with her. Plus, it was a good way to drive all other thoughts out of her head as she forced herself to concentrate on her exact movements. Trimming away all extra movement, wasting no more energy then was needed. When she was satisfied that she had done enough, washed up, and had eaten breakfast, she joined Aya just outside the Main enterance doors.

Aya looked as impassive as always as she watched a slightly out-of-breath Sakura run up to her. "You needn't have run, you had plenty of time left to get here. Are you ready?"

Sakura nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Aya nodded in response and turned to walk down the path indicating for Sakura to follow her. When they were out of sight range from the Encampment, Aya pulled out a slip of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Sakura. "I will be your partner for the day, as all the other Protectors are busy today. I will be showing and instructing you on a Protector's duties. What I just gave to you is a map of all the pathways surrounding the Encampment. Each Protector has one and is required to memorize it. You must never show it to anyone else and keep it with you at all times."

Sakura looked at the tiny slip of paper and was shocked at the intracacies of the pathways. "No wonder I was always lost!" There were only thirteen cabins spread out along the map, but the number of pathways was astonishing. Each path connected someway, somehow, several times until it became a virtual maze unless you had the key. Sakura frowned in puzzlement. "But what's the little dashed lines for?"

"Those are the pathways that are used by the Defenders, to take males to and from the cabins. As you can see, their path lines are very direct, but well hidden and rarely, if ever, cross-over with the main pathways. This is to prevent...interaction and discomfort for anyone in the village. The main pathways were designed to be confusing for everyone's protection."

'Protection?' Sakura was a little confused by Aya's explanation, but decided against questioning her on the last point. Instead she gave the map one last look, and tucked it into her sash as they continued on to the bridge to meet their first person of the day. As they approached the bridge, Sakura found herself looking at a young girl with her back to them. The girl had her hair into braided pig-tails that looked startling familiar.

"Chiharu!" Sakura called out with astonishment.

The girl turned around surprised, but began to race over toward them when she recognized Sakura's voice. "Sakura! It's so good to see you! How's everything going?"

Sakura threw her arms around Chiharu in a hug. "It's been crazy! I know it's only been four days, but I miss all of you so much. How's everyone doing? Has anything new happened? I haven't had a chance to leave and go home yet."

Chiharu stepped back from Sakura and grinned secretively. "Well, you could say something big has happened..."

"What! What happened?"

Chiharu's smile grew wider as she burst out, "Rika's pregnant!"

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. "Sh-she's what?"

"Rika's going to have a baby! We found out the day you left! She's actually three months along already."

Sakura felt her jaw drop. "But how- no one noticed until now? This far along?"

Chiharu laughed. "You know Rika. She's so shy and modest that she had to work up the courage for weeks before she told anyone. And her stomach is still so small that you can't even tell yet! Your mother says that Rika will be due sometime in early winter. Can you beileve it?"

"...wow...," Sakura breathed out. "It's just...so hard to get my head around that thought. One of us? Already?"

"It has been over a year since she had her first meeting."

"I know, but still..."

Chiharu's smile faded slightly, "...I know..."

Aya cleared her throat from behind the two girls, startling them both back to the present. "I'm sorry for intrudding upon your good news, but we need to be moving along. We're beginning to run late."

"Oh! That's right. Sorry, Aya I was caught up in the moment," Sakura apologized.

Aya's reserved expression didn't change as she nodded the apology in acknowledgement and began to walk up the pathway, Sakura and Chiharu following and chatting away, slightly behind.

Sakura was describing her time in the kitchen when, half-joking, she suggested that Chiharu come join the kitchen staff what with everything being to hectic. To her surprise Chiharu answered back with, "Actually, I'll be there by the end of the week."

"Really!"

"Uh-huh, I was scouted out by one of the chef's there. She had heard you explaining how I had taught you how to cook, and sought me out."

Sakura's face flushed slightly,"I'm sorry about that."

Chiharu laughed. "Don't be! I'm glad that I can put my skills to good use. Especially with how many people are living in there, right?"

Sakura laughed along with her. "Yeah! They're going to be so happy!"

"We've arrived," Aya said quietly as she slowed her pace when the cabin came into view directly ahead of them.

"Oh. Right," Chiharu responded as she caught sight of the small, wooden cabin. The air between the two friends grew akward as they both watched the cabin before them. "Well...I guess I'll see you later, then."

"Oh. Right," Sakura echoed her friend as Chiharu entered the cabin and shut the door quietly, but firmly behind her.

"Come, we have more to do," Aya said to catch Sakura's attention as she began to walk away.

Sakura hurried to catch up. 'That was...weird. I know we all have to go, but to have to lead your friend there, knowing what's supposed to happen-'

"-It's a bit disconcerting-" Sakura looked sharply at Aya. "-isn't it?"

Sakura dropped her gaze to the ground in front of her. "A bit," she admitted.

"It's best not to let yourself think about it. Put it all to the back of your mind and only concentrate on going through the motions."

"Right."

The rest of their day was filled with leading other girls and a few women to and from their designated cabins, as well as tidying up a few of them when they were done.The latter all boiled down to simply checking the supplies inside and replacing what was needed. Every now and then certain things needed to be cleaned off, and Sakura tried her hardest not to think about how much the dark flecks looked like dried blood.

With the day done and every girl, including Chiharu, had been led back to the drawbridge, Sakura settled down for a quick meal and retired to bed early, trying not to dream about what the next day held in store...

Sakura let out a deep breath. 'Well, I can't avoid it for much longer. I need to get up and get ready, otherwise the day's going to start without me.' She quietly rolled out of bed and went about her usual routine. After checking her schedule (Sakura had Time duty starting at noon), she wandered over into the kitchens to lend a hand to kill some time.

At noon, Aya found Sakura scrubbing the last remenents of flour from her face at the kitchen sink. "I'll be finished in just a few seconds," Sakura's muffled voice came out from behind a towel. Aya awaited stocially by the door. "Ready!" Sakura called out as she followed Aya out into the bright sunlight. As they approached Midday, Sakura felt her heartbeat begin to speed up. 'What am I so nervous about? It's just a building. It's just like any other building, with wood, and stone, and doors, and windows, and people inside. Sure they're all male, but I live in a village with all females. How much different could it be?'

Aya stopped in front of a shed that rested alongside the left of the door. "This holds anything that you will need from extra candles and lanterns to buckets and rags. It contains much of the same items that the cabins do, minus a thing or two." She opened up the door to point out a few of the items. "And this container holds basic medicinal supplies. If anything more advanced is needed, please contact me to solve the problem. Also, " she pointed to the left of the shed, "there is a well just beyond the corner if you have a need of it. Each of the buildings is the same with the same layout. If you ever can't find anything or something is running low, again please inform me of the situation.

"Now, Time duty is fairly simple. All that you are required to do is anything you beileve needs to be done. You don't have to worry about feeding today. Their meals are at the same time as ours, so their next meal is the responsibility of the next shift. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to ask, I will be at my desk writing up next week's schedule. Otherwise, the key any and all locks of and inside the building is hanging from a nail to the right of the door and I shall take my leave."

"Umm...I think I'll be okay."

"Then I shall see you later."

"Okay, see you then."

With Aya gone, Sakura turned to the heavy wooden door in front of her, her heart pounding. 'It's alright. I'm fine. Everything's going to be just fine.' She approached the door and took down the key. 'It's just like any other building with a lock...and key.' She inserted the key into the lock and marvelled at how easy it turned. 'But what did Aya mean by "any and all locks?" Are there more then just this one?' The memory of her first visit with Syaoran popped into her mind, and she quickly shook her head to rid herself of the image. 'No. It's that bad, it's not that bad-' She pushed open the door and stepped inside. '-oh my-'

The sight before her threw her off-guard, as much as her mind had expected it. At first she couldn't see much because of the dimness inside, that seemed to stretch on without end. The air was thick and suffocating with the smell of unclean bodies, dirt, and terror. As much as every instinct shouted out to her to turn and run away, Sakura forced herself forward, leaving the door open to let in as much light and fresh air as she could manage. She stepped forward as if she was trying to walk-through water, wide-eyed and horrified at what she saw when she looked from side-to-side.

On both sides were cells, from end-to-end, each cell contained five, large, heavy metal rings in the wall. Each ring had four thick chains, each chain had a person on the end, attached to the wrists. Light came from torches set into the iron-grating dividers between the cells and the windows inside each cell, if you could call them windows that is, as each one was barred up and covered with a tarp from the outside.

As her eyes adjusted to the lack of sufficient lighting, Sakura began to make out those behind the bars. The ages varied greatly, from little children barely able to walk, to males her own age, to a few full-grown men. All were covered in dirt and grime, some in what looked disturbingly like dried blood. 'How in the world have they survived like this? They're all so thin! It looks like they've had a meal a day, if that! But, so did he...'

Stupified she reached the end of the building, and opened the door to let in a cross-breeze. She stumbled outside into the -now too bright- sunlight and took great gulps of fresh air, as a tear rolled down her cheek. She jammed her fist into her mouth and bit down hard to keep everything inside and get herself together. After several moments of slow and steady breathing, her determination and instincts kicked in. She quickly walked back down the aisle and out to the door to the shed. She threw open the door and grabbed as many clean rags and pieces of cloth as she could manage and set them inside. Then she headed back out, grabbed a bucket and filled it with water from the well. On her her third and final trip to the shed she grabbed a lantern, lit it, and grabbed the key off the peg as she walked back inside. 'There's twelve cells, six on each side, with nearly twenty males in each. Where do I start?' She sighed. 'At the beginning I guess.'

Sakura hesitantly walked toward the first cell on her right and inserted the key into the lock, turning it smoothly until she heard the click. She pulled the door open wide, brought in the lantern, bucket, a few rags, and cautiously approached a child who looked to be around five years old, against the nearest wall. She was acutely aware that everyone was staring at her, and the oppressive silence was filled with wariness, hatred, and fear as a couple hundred pairs of eyes bored into her back. She bit her lip nervously, but kneeled down in front of the child, his eyes wide. She reached out a hand to him, the tension in the air rising. The boy began to cry and braced himself for what he felt was the inevitable, but she simply, gently stroked the hair on his head.

The next several moments were tense, but she didn't falter or change her pace. Slowly the boy opened his eyes and looked at her terrified, tears still streaming down his dirt-streaked face. Sakura smiled softly and spoke quietly, "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Sakura, and I've been assigned to work here today for the next three hours. What's your name?" The boy shook his head fearfully. "That's alright. You don't have to tell me, but I need you to trust me a little okay?" He didn't respond, but nevertheless she rose to her feet and grabbed the lantern, a rag, and set the bucket next to the boy. She dipped the rag in, squeezed it out and turned to the boy again.

She reached out the him, but when he flinched away she drew back and studied him. ''He's afraid of my touch, just like when I first met...' A sudden inspiration hit her. She began talking again. "Listen, I'm just going to give you a cleaning, okay? I know you don't trust me, and you have every right not to, but I'm asking you to do so now. Because I'm going to trust that you won't try and hurt me. Does that sound fair?" As she spoke, she looked him right in the eyes, and wide-eyed he slowly nodded his head, the idea of he being able to hurt her incredible. She smiled back. "Alright then."

Sakura reached out and carefully began to scrub off the layers of filth from his arms, being mindful of the tenderness from the manacles around his wrists. As she started, she continued, "If you're uncomfortable at any point, let me know and I won't go any further, okay?" He nodded again, his eyes never leaving her face. Sakura continued to talk as she worked, stopping her cleaning whenever he showed any signs of discomfort, and always asking permission to continue. In this way, it took her awhile to get him all cleaned up, but to her surprise and delight, she finished quicker then she had expected to, and he seemed to trust her more and more rather quickly as well.

She was distinctly aware that any one who could was watching and listening to her intently, but pretended to be oblivious and continued with her work undisturbed. When she finally sat back, she felt satisfied. "There! All done! Thank you for trusting me. It was a big help. We got doe pretty fast because of it. Now, I'll be right back, I need to get new water." She gathered up her rag and the bucket, and began to stand when she heard a small voice say, "Minoru."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat as she stopped and looked down at the small boy in front of her. This time is was her turn for her eyes to widen in shock as the little boy looked at a male several years older than her, connected on the same chain-loop as him. The male nodded silently, slightly surprised himself, and the little boy turned to her again. He spoke to her quietly, "My name is Minoru. And this is my twin brother, Ryou," he indicated to the a little boy sitting next to him, "and that's my daddy." Sakura stared in amazement at the three for a moment, too stunned to speak.

Once she found her tongue, she smiled and said, "Minoru and Ryou. Those are very nice names. You must love your brother a lot, huh?"

Minoru nodded rapidly, "Uh-huh. And I love daddy a lot too. Do you have a brother and a daddy?"

Sakura's heart missed a beat for the second time that day, and she gingerly kneeled back down. "Yes. I do. I have both an older brother and a daddy."

"Where are they?"

She bit her lip before answering. "I'm not entirely sure. I haven't found them yet."

"What are their names?"

"My brother's name is Touya Kinomoto, and my father's is Fujitaka Kinomoto."

"Oh...Are you from heaven?"

Sakura started at the strange question. "No. Why?"

" 'cause you're really pretty and nice like an angel. Everyone says that angels are pretty and nice to everyone, even boys like me, Ryou, and daddy. And you have wings on your back."

Puzzled, Sakura looked behind her and smiled in understanding. "I don't have wings. It's my favorite white sash tied into a bow."

"Why is it your favorite?" Minoru asked slightly disappointed, but curious.

"One of my best friends made it for me when I turned fifteen; it gives me strength. Although she went a little overboard and made it a bit too long, so I have to tie it into a bow so that it won't drag too far on the ground."

"Oh," he replied not fully understanding, but accepting the answer nevertheless.

"And don't worry, I'm not an angel. I'm as real as you are." She tapped him on the nose playfully, and stood up. "And I need to get some fresh water for your brother. It's his turn for a cleaning." As she walked out of the cell, she heard the two boys conversing.

"The white angel's going to clean me too?"

"Uh-huh."

Sakura felt her heart squeeze in pain and guilt.

"Does it hurt?"

"Nope! She's really nice and careful-"

Sakura made it outside before the tears started. As she emptied the dirty water behind the building and as she refilled the bucket, the tears continued to fall. 'How! How could anyone-? They're just children, and yet they're treated like animals! They all are; chained and packed in together like that. I didn't the children...it's terrible. I knew it was bad. I always knew. But I just didn't want see- didn't want to believe- he must think I'm such an idiot. "Tell him my side of the story." "The blunt truth" I said. I'm such an idiot! I was exactly the kind of person my person Mother said the rest of the village was. Oblivious. Blissfully unaware...a complete fool. How can I ever look him in eye again? Any of them...'

She took in a shuddery breath and dried her face off on her sleeve, and kept her eyes trained to the ground as she walked back inside. As set about cleaning up Ryou, she listened to the twins chatter, her mind focused on what she was doing.

"You'll break...if you keep blaming yourself like that..."

Sakura started at the sound of a new voice on her left. She looked up to find the twins' father studying her. "What?"

"You'll break. We've all felt it ourselves before. We've all seen it. Every once in a great while an open-minded girl like you will come in, but after her abrupt face to reality...well, sooner or later they break; they're delusions gone. They either can't handle it all together and leave, or they don't feel anything, they shut out everything."

"But-"

"-Don't worry. We don't blame you for putting us in here. You're hardly olher than a kid yourself; you must have just turned fifteen."

Sakura flushed at the "kid" remark and replied quietly, studying the ground again, "Yes. It will be two months tomorrow."

He nodded. "I have a request, Miss Angel."

She looked at him embarassed, her cheeks burning. "My name is Sakura. Sakura Amamiya."

He smiled. "I know, but, Miss White Angel, I still have a request."

She closed her eyes in a vain attempt to surpress her reddening cheeks, knowing that he was teasing her. "Yes?" She gave in.

"Please try not to break."

She opened her eyes to find him looking at her in complete seriousness. She managed a small smile. "I'll try...I promise."

She heard the clink of chains moving, and something tugging her sleeve. She looked over to find Ryou tugging on her, and both twins looking at her with identical serious looks on their faces. "Yes?" Sakura asked a little taken-back.

"Miss Angel? You haven't finished me yet."

Sakura broke out into a full smile for the first time that day and chuckled. "You're right. How about I do that now?"

As Sakura made her way around the entire building the tension in the air slowly began to disapperate. The father's and their children began to quietly and hesitantly talk amongst themselves in whispered conversations. By the time her three hours were up, she had just managed to make it around to all the children, their father's insisting that they could wait. It took her by surprise they accepted her help and trusted her so readily, but as Taro, the twin's father, told her all the men in there had a child to look after. Any help, no matter how small was taken in full-gratitude, no matter who gave it.

She left Midday when her time was up, but not before receiving a hug from both Minoru and Ryou. She promised them that she would return as soon as she could. As she walked out the door, after sure that everything was left as she had found it, she stopped and looked at the other two barracks. Directly in front of her was the oldest barrack. 'Nightfall, the place where the men who've had a child do nothing, but wait. My father and brother are there. And..' her gaze shifted to the left as she focused on the last barrack, 'the Afternoon, where he's being held...Syaoran...' An image of her kissing him gently on the cheek flooded her mind, as she felt the now-familiar blush rise on her cheeks.

A small breeze blew past her and into the open doorwaybehind her, rustling her hair and clothes slightly. The breeze was strong enough to pick-up the light fabric of her sash and bow, and trail it out behind her like a pair of graceful wings. As she gently shut and locked the door behind her, the nickname "White Angel" became eternally engraved upon the bright, emerald-eyed girl named Sakura.

Author's Footnote: I hoped you enjoyed the extra-long chapter. I have the rest of the story mapped out, but if anyone has any ideas to add, I'd be glad look at them. Until next chapter! MidnightRosebud