Fallen Neo
Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo
Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.
Pre-fiction…
Well, you will all be happy to know that I've risen from my grave and hired a hitman in order to take out my writer's block. Now, with that out of the way, I finally sat down and just hammered out this next chapter. Hopefully, it's to the standard of my usual writings. Although, it's short (again), but I promise longer chapters in the future!
This chapter won't have so much of Sakura and Tomoyo, but will instead focus on our two members of the Li clan. Once again, thank you all so very much for being patient with my erratic updates!
If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.
Italicized words are thoughts. Bold words are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.
o()o Others o()o
Syaoran stumbled sideways, narrowly avoiding a two story fall by clutching onto the railing. For a moment, he stood there speechless, watching her fade into the distance. He wasn't sure why he could only stay rooted into place. It was like she had attached superglue to the bottom of his shoes.
"Sakura," he finally cried out, "wait!" Of course, she was far to gone for his words to reach her ears. And in this case, it was not just a physical situation. She had barreled through shoppers and even dashed past her own friends in her desperate attempt to remove herself from her situation.
O o o o o O
She had sprinted what she assumed to be a safe distance before ducking into an empty changing room. Nearly yanking the chain from around her neck, she focused her energy into the small token.
"Release…"
O o o o o O
He did the only thing he could think of: he took off after her.
"Sakura!" he shouted frantically.
Nothing would prevent him from reaching her; at least, he imagined that would be the case. He shoved past shopper after shopper, tracking her presence as she fled through the mall. Sensing her very distinct aura was nearly second nature to him. After spending so many years getting to know Sakura the person, her aura was as easy to find as his own hand. It was not very far ahead, and for some reason, was no longer moving.
But then, the unexpected happened. He felt her aura flicker, similar to when she disappeared for those long months. And then, it split. It didn't divide in half, but instead into three distinct presences. Each one was heading in a different direction. Each was moving with increasing speed away from him.
He knew it was the work of the cards, but the fact she had assigned her own aura to two of them caught him off guard. Each of these new presences felt exactly like Sakura. It was eerie and decidedly unnerving. He caught himself wondering if the same Sakura that had been coming to school was instead one of the cards. Certainly, this evidence would support that theory.
His phone chose that moment to announce its presence in his pocket. Fumbling for it, he flipped the plastic cover up, narrowing missing a cluster of females as he ran past them.
Eriol's concerned voice immediately reached his ears. "Did you sense that?"
"How could I not?" Syaoran replied.
"She knew you were coming after her, so she split her aura and distributed it amongst the cards."
"Or something similar."
"Right," Eriol responded. "I suspect Mirror and Illusion." Eriol paused and only the background buzz of evening shoppers transmitted over the receiver. "There is a possibility she's using Small or even Twin as well." He sighed. "You realize that you might not even be chasing Sakura."
"I know that, but at the moment, all I can do is run after her." He could feel her moving father and farther away with each passing moment. Even as he sped up, she seemed to move away from him that much faster. "Have you considered Dash?"
"Yes, but I found it best to not inform you about that particular card." There was another short pause. "And I suspect that the multiple auras are being controlled by Create."
Syaoran stopped, trying to catch his breath. "Eriol, this is impossible! I'm never going to be able to catch her at this rate!"
"Of course, why else would she simultaneously activate at least six different cards?" He heard a feminine sigh from the other end of the line and a decidedly unfeminine string of curses. "And Tomoyo says that Sakura isn't picking up her phone." Eriol chuckled. "And Meilin seems to agree with that sentiment."
"Thus confirming that she doesn't want to be found."
"Exactly." Eriol muttered something under his breath. "Of course, who would blame her? We did sort of force her into speaking with you."
"Sort of?" Syaoran chuckled a little. "Well, had I known that you were trying to set us up, I would have certainly voted against it."
"Right, which is why we chose not to inform you. I figured it would be a little easier on the both of you if you just confronted each other."
"Stupid idea."
"I figured that out."
"So instead of talking to me, she ran. What do you propose we do now almighty reincarnation of Clow?"
Eriol growled. "Remember that I'm just as concerned for her as you are. I'm on your side here."
"Then help me find her."
"I'm trying." Tomoyo and Meilin could be heard arguing about something n the background when Eriol began speaking again. "Perhaps she is confused or even terrified of finding out what her true feelings are. Maybe you did something that reminded her of the Houses. It could just be that she saw someone from that place and felt this was the safest option." A soft thump echoed over the phone. "Even so, I wish you Godspeed in finding her."
"I need the speed of the gods in order to even catch up with her," Syaoran muttered.
"Yes, but standing still to catch the breath you've already caught won't help you to gain on her any faster. Good luck." With those words, a soft click announced Eriol had terminated the conversation.
Syaoran smacked the palm of his hand against a nearby pillar and felt the world shake around him. A few customers shot concerned glances in his direction, hurriedly rushing off to fulfill their own personal agendas. He shook his head and took off after one of the presences, hoping that good fortune would shine upon him.
O o o o o O
Meilin leaned back against a pillar as Eriol hung up the phone. "No signs of her?"
"Three, actually," he responded, slipping the plastic device into his pocket. "Though, Syaoran seems hell bent on finding her."
"Have we tried calling the plush toy?" Meilin sighed. "Although, having to resort to calling that thing doesn't speak too much for us as her friends."
"Perhaps you should look at it more along the lines of the fact that we are bothering to consult Kero instead of blindly pursuing Sakura."
Eriol looked at Tomoyo almost as a plea for help as Meilin unleashed unbridled fury.
"Consulting? That plush toy?" she cried out. "Honestly, all that needs to be done is for someone to beat that girl upside the head with her own summoning staff!" She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
"Meilin!" Tomoyo exclaimed, but the Chinese girl kept talking.
"We've practically thrown ourselves at her feet to help her get over this. Even then, she's practically ignored all of our efforts. I, for one, am getting fed up with it."
"Just because she can't shut her emotions away like you can doesn't mean she'll be over this like you are." Tomoyo glared at her. "You went through the same situation as she did. I'd expect you to understand her situation the best. She had to endure it for six whole months and with different people each day. She was helpless and alone and scared and all you can do is yell at her about it while she's not even here?"
"Because I was alone and scared and helpless, too!" Meilin set her jaw. Her expression conveyed near certainty that she was about to slug Tomoyo. Eriol took notice and accidentally shoved Tomoyo gently out of the range of Meilin's foot. "She went through it for six months with people she'll never see again. Who cares? For six years I went through the exact same torture and torment with someone I saw almost every day I did not spend barricaded in my room. And it's all because my family did not – and still doesn't – deem me important enough to pay attention to my needs." She narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I understand what she is going through, but you'd best not expect me to show sympathy for her."
Tomoyo gasped. "I'm sorry."
"You didn't know," Meilin snapped and hastily followed with a quick apology. "Not many people do, and I would appreciate it if you didn't let that fact become false."
Eriol inhaled deeply. "Okay, since you seem to know more about this situation than the rest of us, where would you go if you had magical powers and could make yourself very hard to find?"
"Well, I went to the basement and beat the bejeezus out of a punching bag." Tomoyo shot her an odd look. "My safe haven," Meilin replied in her own defense, illiciting a slight chuckle from both of the figures across from her. "For her," Meilin began, "home isn't a safe haven. She has Touya and her father, and no matter how much they care for her, she doesn't want to get involved with either of them."
"In other words, letting Syaoran take off after her probably wasn't the brightest idea on our part." Eriol said with a wince.
"Not really, but Syaoran has one thing we all lack: the ability to track Sakura." Meilin shook her head again, "But, it seems she is a few steps ahead of us all."
"Yes, but where would she go?" asked Tomoyo.
"Oh, that's easy," Meilin replied. "She's probably headed for the park right now."
O o o o o O
Syaoran placed his hand on her shoulder and the surprised girl turned around.
"Syaoran," Sakura said softly, "I'm sorry, but you have it all wrong."
"Then you're not Sakura?" He sighed. "I figured as much when I touched you."
The figure before him shook its head. "Not, not at all. She said that she was sorry to do this, but she didn't want you seeing her like this."
"She doesn't seem to want to see me at all," he muttered.
"That's not exactly true." The figure smiled. "Although, I'm sure there are a great many things you two will be discussing once you find her. As for myself, I need to get back to her and report that you've found me."
"Wait," he said, "before you go… who is it that I am talking to?"
The figure flashed for a moment, revealing a girl with long green-tinged hair adorned with a green ribbon. Syaoran didn't need to see the small circle of glass clutched in the card's hands to guess its identity. "Mirror, I should have known."
"Although it could just as easily be Twin or Create or even Illusion in my place." The spirit winked and slipped right back into her guise as Sakura.
"Yes, but you mimicked her so well, it was only an assumption." He closed his eyes. "When you do see her, can you deliver her a message… for me?"
Mirror smiled. "Of course."
"Tell her that I still remember her promise and that I'll catch up to her soon."
"I'll tell her."
"Thank you."
Mirror began to fade slightly. "Of course, the Mistress may disapprove of this, but I can tell you where she has gone."
"Now that I know she's sent cards all over the mall, she certainly is no longer here." The near-transparent figure of Sakura nodded in confirmation. "I'll be over to find her shortly."
"But you don't even know where she went."
"I would be a horrible friend if I didn't know that."
The card giggled softly before disappearing into wisps of magic.
Post-fiction…
Okay, so after a tremendously long wait, you should all expect more from me. I'm sorry that this is not the case with this chapter, but 22 is already mostly written, so you'll be getting it in a few weeks. Sorry, but exams and schoolwork comes before free writings. Summer's just begun, so I'll have ample time to pound out chapters now that my mind is not preoccupied.
See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo