Chapter 21: Sakura Unconscious!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

It was the Age of Gold…it was the Time of Darkness…

Syaoran sat quietly in a chair, hands between his knees to prevent them from shaking. A nurse's voice blasted over the hospital intercom in an attempt to page yet another doctor.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Syaoran saw some small pools of blood materialize on the crisp, white floor. Where had they come from? How long had they been there? Seconds later, a mop passed over them and they were gone; only a sickeningly clean smell remained. The janitor opened a caution sign on the spot and moved on.

Syaoran turned his eyes upward. Opposite him in the waiting room sat Yukito who had Kero poised in his shirt pocket like a stuffed animal and next to him was Tomoyo. Faintly, he could hear Sakura's voice coming out of the camcorder she held. Yukito glanced at the screen every now and then. Fujitaka, who had just returned some paperwork to a nurse at the reception desk, sat down next to Syaoran. He tried to give Syaoran a reassuring smile but it did not reach his eyes.

"Did you call Touya-san?" Fujitaka asked Yukito.

"Hai. He'll be here soon."

No one mentioned that it was the third time Sakura's father had asked that question and that the answer had been the same each time.

Syaoran checked his watch. It was seven minutes past four. Where were the doctors to tell him that Sakura was fine? Did they even know what was wrong with her? Maybe he should call his mother and have her send over one of his cousins who was a doctor. He sank low in his seat and tapped his fingers on the chair leg.

Fujitaka watched him.

"Sakura-san will be alright," he told Syaoran. "Don't worry."

Syaoran nodded.

"I know."It's like she says, 'Everything will surely be alright.' But it's taking a little long to be alright."

"I agree."

"Kinomoto Fujitaka?"

The small group turned to the doctor in front of them. She was the kind of doctor you would want - sharp with a look of experience and control.

"Hai," said Fujitaka standing up. Syaoran followed his lead and stood up too. The doctor looked at him and hesitated.

"You can speak," said Fujitaka. "It's fine."

The woman nodded.

"I'm Sato-sensei. Your daughter had an intracerebral haemorrhage."

Syaoran's heart gave a particularly hard beat. He may not know doctors' lingo but he knew cerebral meant brain and he knew haemorrhage meant blood, lots of blood. Syaoran tried to focus on everything else the doctor was saying but his imagination was running out of control. He caught words like, "high blood pressure," "IV" and "Intubation." How was it Fujitaka seemed to be absorbing it all?

"Fortunately, she's not going to need surgery," continued the doctor. "She's out of ICU and we'll allow you to visit her soon."

"So she's going to be fine?" asked Syaoran.

"Judging from her age, medical history and location of the haemorrhage I expect she'll make a full recovery but we'll monitor her closely in case any complications arrive. Also, we found some discolouration on her left hand so we took a sample of her skin for a biopsy. I'll inform you on the results later."

Sato-sensei checked her pager.

"I have to go now," she told them. "If you have any more questions, the nurses are here."

With that, she was off to her next patient. Syaoran grabbed his hair with his hands and blew out loudly. His eyes burned. He turned around to find tears flowing down Tomoyo's face. She was silent but her shoulders rose and fell rapidly. Yukito was smiling at Fujitaka with a look of relief. Fujitaka took a seat beside Tomoyo and handed her a handkerchief.

She dabbed at her eyes daintily.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," she said. "I was really worried. Sakura-chan's never been in the hospital before."

"She'll be out soon," said Yukito.

"Kinomoto Fujitaka?" called a nurse, two hours later. "You can see your daughter now."

He, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Yukito followed the nurse to room 235. The nurse was giving them instructions on how to proceed into the room and what not to do once inside when Touya came pelting around the corridor huffing and puffing. He paused and stared at the small group.

"Where is she?" he asked walking up to them. "Do you know anything?"

"The nurse was just explaining the rules before we go in," Fujitaka answered.

"I see."

With that, Touya barged into Sakura's hospital room.

"You can't-" said the nurse but Touya promptly closed the door in her face. Fujitaka smiled apologetically at her.

"He's my son," he explained and entered the room.

The nurse was peeved but understood and left the others in the hallway to wait their turn. After what seemed like an eternity to Syaoran, Fujitaka and Touya came out of the room. Tomoyo quickly slipped into it. Yukito glanced at Syaoran then at the room's door.

"Yukito-san, you can go in," said Fujitaka.

Syaoran's shoulders slumped slightly but he knew that Yukito was like a second son to Fujitaka. Touya leaned against a wall weakly. Syaoran caught his gaze and they studied each other for some time. Normally, Syaoran could tell what Touya was thinking about him but right now he was lost. In the end, Touya walked down the hallway and slipped some money into the vending machine. He collected two sodas and shoved one into Syaoran's hand. Syaoran was momentarily confused but popped the can open and took a long drink.

"Li-san?"

Fujitaka was smiling at him.

"Your turn."

Syaoran swallowed. His palms felt sweaty all of a sudden. He threw the remainder of his soda in a thrash can and opened the door to Sakura's room. He noticed no one followed behind. They had to enter in two's and since everyone had gone...

"By myself?" asked Syaoran.

Fujitaka nodded. Syaoran closed the door quietly behind him and went to wash his hands with antibacterial soap as the nurse instructed. Slowly, he edged nearer and nearer to Sakura's bed. There was an IV in her wrist and an intubation in her mouth. He had only seen those things on television shows - a long tube that went down your throat. He interlaced her fingers with his and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I hate that you're stronger than me," he murmured in the stillness. "I can't do anything to help you. I never could. I tried to become stronger but I still can't protect you, can I?"

He exhaled.

"I'm sorry."

The corners of his mouth trembled and though he tried to push down the feeling reverberating through him he felt tears building in his eyes. He turned his face to the ceiling which stopped them flowing down his face. He smiled and looked down at Sakura. He leaned close to her ear and rubbed his face against her cheek.

"Please don't scare me like this again," he whispered. He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

The next day, thanks to the work of Tomoyo, Sakura had many visitors. Naoko and Rika brought flowers for her. Chiharu and Yamazaki brought stuffed animals and animal balloons - Yamazaki took full credit for the balloons. Some of the girls from the cheer leading squad came to visit as well.

"Oi gaki! Give me your apartment keys," said Touya after some of their classmates left that afternoon.

"Why?" asked Syaoran.

He followed Touya's eyes and looked at his clothes. He was still in his pajamas from last night. When he had felt Sakura's magic so strongly he just burst out his bedroom window.

"I don't have them," he said.

Touya sighed loudly.

"Fine. But just to be clear, I'm breaking into your apartment."

Syaoran nodded. Was Touya doing something nice for him?

"Don't think too much about it," said the older man. "This isn't exactly a typical day."

He, Tomoyo and Yukito left to get things to keep them until Sakura awakened. Eriol and Nakuru showed up but as soon as Nakuru heard Touya was not there, she decided to go find him and help him do whatever it was he was doing - that was before she tried to give Sakura a bear hug, of course.

"How are you?" Eriol asked Syaoran, taking a seat next to his descendent.

"Fine."

"That mark on her arm, the one the doctors don't understand," said Eriol. "It's the Poison's."

"I figured."

"Don't be hard on yourself," said Eriol. "No one saw this coming."

"Really?" asked Syaoran. "She's been passing out since elementary school, whenever things got too much for her body. This was only a matter of time. This we should have seen coming."

"As I've said before, Sakura-san is more powerful then Clow. She'll-"

"Not now Hiiragizawa," said Syaoran holding up his hand. "Right now, let's just pretend she's a normal girl. I don't want to hear or think about magic. I just want her to wake up. I want her to pretend she's okay even though we all know she isn't. I want -"

Syaoran dropped his head into his hands. He heard Eriol get up. Syaoran felt he had more self-control because he did not mention that some of Sakura's fainting spells were due to said man. Then Syaoran remembered something. He needed to call Meilin.

"Sakura-san's in the hospital," said Toshi, putting the house phone back on the base. He returned to the dining room table.

"Card Mistress, right?" asked Keiji shovelling food into his mouth.

"Yes. Apparently she's been there a few days now."

"Well you'll excuse me if I don't cry," said Hiroko. "My world is still spinning. Yours seem to have crashed though."

"I hope you're not thinking about visiting," said Akira, more like a command than a question.

"I am," admitted Toshi.

"Don't."

"It will be strange if I don't visit," said Toshi, in a pathetic attempt to sway Akira. "We are good friends."

Akira stopped eating to focus all his attention on Toshi.

"Have you forgotten what happened yesterday when I released the last force?"

"I remember."

Keiji and Hiroko exchanged furtive glances.

"What happened?" asked Akira like he was talking to a sensitive child.

"It entered me," replied Toshi.

"The Memory entered you Hitoshi. It's only a matter of time before you start to feel its effects. You know how dangerous you'll be when that happens. Only when the Card Mistress is well would it be safe to visit her. I don't need her dead before I need her dead."

"Just send her flowers or something," said Keiji. He shrugged. "Girls like that."

"May I be excused?" asked Toshi, his tone bordering on cold.

Akira held his gaze for a moment but then he nodded. Immediately, Toshi was gone from the table. He headed up the stairs to his bedroom. He flung himself on the bed and pulled a pillow towards him. Burying his head in it, he screamed again and again. When he was done, he threw the pillow in a corner, breathing deeply.

He sat there for a long time, his heart beating fast, his lungs fighting to take in air. Was this what a panic attack felt like? The bedroom door swung open and Akira came in. Wordlessly, he made his way over to Toshi and sat next to him. His hand snaked around Toshi's chest and came to rest on his shoulder. Toshi leaned back against Akira who rest his chin between Toshi's neck and shoulder.

"Are you angry with me, brother?"

"No."

"If you go near the Card Mistress it's possible you could hurt her. She's too weak to fight."

"I understand," said Toshi.

He clutched Akira's forearm that ran across his chest.

"That demon was meant for me more than anyone else," said Toshi. "I should have known that it would seek me out."

He clenched his jaw.

"I don't want to remember," he bit out. "I remember enough as it is, I don't want to remember every bad thing I've done Akira. It's too much."

Akira pulled Toshi closer and wrapped his other arm around him.

"The Card Mistress will capture this force like she has all the others. Then we will regain our magic and I'll make you forget your own name if that's what you want."

"Akira," said Toshi softly. "I don't want to be all-powerful any more. I don't want to be a god."

He felt Akira's body go rigid.

"You taught me how to be a god," said Akira. "Are you saying you don't want to be with me any longer? Are you going to leave us?"

Toshi tried to pry Akira's hands from him but the man held on tight.

"Answer me Hitoshi." Akira pushed him down on the bed and pinned him. "We've been best friends for hundreds of years. Remember when we would go to that magic peach tree together, talk for hours? Now, because our enemy is a pretty little girl instead of well-trained male warriors, your world view has changed? Your loyalty is shifting?"

"People don't need us any more," said Toshi. "They've gotten on well without us. All we are to them now is a legend; fictional characters for poetry and movies. They don't know who we are."

"Are you serious?" asked Akira. "We are enlightened. We know what is best. The people in this world are destroying themselves, Hitoshi. When we reigned, everyone was happy, there was peace, honour, discipline and beauty everywhere."

"Until we destroyed it all."

Akira scoffed. He leapt away from Toshi.

"That's not going to happen this time."

Toshi sat up. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I've stopped drinking Hitoshi! My temper is no longer a problem!"

"Akira-"

Akira was shouting now and his aura filled the room like a waterfall pounding into a dam.

"If those damn warriors and magicians did not interfere, we would have righted our wrongs! We would have restored balance. Who's desire to help others was stronger that my own, brother? Even you, with all your power did not care as much as I did!"

He huffed.

"You're right," said Toshi. He sighed. "It's not our ethics I fear but our methods. If we forget our history, we'll make the same mistakes."

"You keep repeating the same things to me!"

Akira exhaled slowly. He caressed Toshi's cheeks with his hands, tenderly. Toshi placed his own hands over Akira's and closed his eyes. It did not matter how intelligent he was, Akira would always be able to lead Toshi whenever Akira wished. Toshi was ashamed to admit that this power his brother had over him had less to do with Akira's charisma and more with his cowardice.

Eriol and Fujitaka ate together in the hospital cafeteria. Eriol observed him intently. Fujitaka was not making small talk as was his nature. Eriol understood why but Sakura's hospital stay did not explain why the man was hunched over his tray and held his body so rigidly, it seemed he was willing himself to disappear.

"This place makes you uncomfortable," said Eriol. "Not simply because Sakura-san is here, is it?"

Fujitaka stared at his rice.

"My wife took her last breath here. Room 198. It was a different room years ago. This hospital has been renovated, I've realized. It's both a relief and disappointment."

"How so?"

"It's a relief that it has changed, but a disappointment that it is changed."

Eriol smiled slightly. Was this how he sounded to people? Fujitaka had answered nothing.

"It hurts me to see Sakura-san so vulnerable," he said, changing the subject. "Do you remember the first time Clow saw her, when she visited him through magic? He could not believe that he could create such a beautiful person."

"I remember," said Fujitaka in wonder. "I do."

"I fear for her as if she were my own," said Eriol. "I don't like where we all stand, always reacting to everything. We need to be more aggressive. I have been dreaming of certain symbols for some time."

Eriol pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Fujitaka.

"I've written down all I remember. I'm certain they can give us insight into the people who are threatening us."

Fujitaka looked over the symbols with great interest. Ancient things were of course his speciality.

"I'll do my best in discovering their origins," said Fujitaka. "Meanwhile, you should have your side looked at."

Eriol stared. Then he grinned.

"There's nothing anyone can do right now," he said, running his hand over his injured side.

"Sakura-san has a similar injury."

"Don't worry," Eriol said. "It's not as serious."

"I'll see what I can do for you," said Fujitaka.

Eriol finished his drink. "Don't you get tired?"

"Of what?"

"Everything? I suppose someone with a good family like you wouldn't."

"Is that why you haven't told anyone you're injured?" asked Fujitaka. "You're tired? You want this to be the end?"

Eriol said nothing. Fujitaka was not incorrect.

"I'm sorry you gained most of Clow's misery, Eriol-san. You even had to relive your childhood for Sakura-san. It would be too much for anyone. But there are people who care for you, whose lives would change without you in it."

"People have a way of moving on. Even Mizuki-san will move on. Only you and Yue could love so long."

Fujitaka looked at Eriol with pity.

"I do get tired, Eriol-san. All the time. Even before my magic, I felt the weight of many years on my back. I felt out of control of my life. Studying archaeology, becoming a teacher, moving to Tomoeda, meeting Nadeshiko, none of it was a coincidence. Sometimes I wonder if I really loved her or if that too was made so by Clow. And if that were true, what does all this mean?"

Fujitaka shook his head.

"I've come to accept my life though. The good and the bad. It can feel like you're drowning but hold on Eriol-san."

Eriol nodded.

"Have you told Sakura-san, yet?"

Fujitaka was confused.

"About what you left behind when you came to Tomoeda. She wanted to know about her family."

"I haven't told her. I'm afraid."

"She would understand."

"Maybe."

"She would."

They spotted Syaoran being dragged by Touya to get food. The reincarnations of Clow Reed exchanged amused glances.

"He's a good one, that Li," said Eriol. "Though he has too much pride sometimes."

"Glad to know, Otou-san," said Fujitaka.

Eriol laughed.

"You should have seen how jealous he was when he saw me as a rival."

"I'm sure you did nothing to suggest your feelings for Sakura-san were platonic."

"Of course not." Eriol looked fondly at Syaoran. "He's more entertaining when he's jealous."

Eriol shook his head.

"I lie," he told Fujitaka. "He's more entertaining when he's trying to confess his love."

"Eriol-san..."

"It's true!" Eriol laughed again. "He's there trying to get the words out and all the time his face is getting redder and redder. Sakura-san's watching him all concerned like he has a fever!"

Fujitaka could not help it and laughed as well.

"Telling someone how you feel can be very intimidating."

"Poor kid. I had to help him out now and then." Eriol rest his chin in his hand. "But I'm glad for them, especially him. He had been lonely for too long."

"You know, Clow was not completely wrong about Yukito-san and Sakura-san," said Fujitaka. "Yue cares deeply for her now."

Eriol sighed.

"He'll get over it."

A/N:

Thank you for reviewing Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius, HappyHam, imonz, Tsita and Cute Little Cherry-Blossom! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed the chapter even though it's not a very happy one. Read and Review everyone! Until next time, Ja ne!