Chapter 25 Cave of Truth

"Sakura? Sakura!" Came a voice. Sakura could hear him but as much as she tried to reply, she found herself unable to. What was happening? She wasn't sure herself. The longer she heard the voice, the more familiar it got. Soon, she recognized that the voice calling to her was Shaoran's.

"Sakura? Sakura!" Shaoran called out to her. She was still unconscious, unresponsive. Shaoran saw that she wasn't breathing. His heartbeats quickened. It felt like a pang in his chest. He quickly tilted her head to open her airway and started giving artificial respiration. He wasn't just going to give up on her. She treated his wounds and put up with his stubborn behavior without complains. She never gave up on Lusheng and Yamazaki when all seemed hopeless. She tried everything she could to save Jin Sun. Sakura deserved that same dedication, that opportunity to live. Also, he loved her. He hadn't even had the chance to tell her. She needed to know how he felt. She needed to know that he was there for her now that she needed him the most.

As he breathed life into her, he watched her laid on the ground, eyes closed. It pained him seeing those beautiful green eyes which are full of life closed like that. He continued giving her artificial respiration. Sakura started to cough to his relief. He elevated her head as water escaped her mouth. Sakura started to breathe on her own. Her eyes slowly opened.

"Are you alright?" She asked rather weakly.

Shaoran smiled down at her and held her in an embrace. "Will you, for once, worry about yourself…you scared me half to death…" He whispered. He then felt her weak yet gentle hand on his shoulder. He broke off, remembering that she needed a little room to breathe.

"It's easier said than done, I'm afraid, Li-san." Sakura replied weakly and gave him a smile. "I'm sorry if I scared you half to death." She then added as she tried to sit by herself.

"Don't push yourself. Take it easy." Shaoran told her as she became a little dizzy sitting up. Sakura closed her eyes to regain a sense of balance.

"Yes. Thank you." Sakura replied softly as she allowed herself some time to regain her strength.

"Are you alright, Li-san? You haven't really answered my question." Sakura said, still having her eyes closed. That was when Shaoran could start to feel the pain from his leg. He knew he had broken it during their course down the river. He had felt his leg hit sharp, big rocks. He hadn't felt the full extent of the pain because his body was full of adrenalin, desperately worrying about Sakura.

Shaoran said again, "Please, Sakura, worry about yourself for now. Don't worry about me." Sakura smiled again and answered, "Like I said, it's easier said than done." She opened her eyes and looked at him. She then smiled. "I owe you my life. Thank you." Shaoran smiled and said nothing.

Sakura knew that they were both bruised and injured. When Shaoran continued to evade her question, she knew something must have been up. She quickly scanned their surroundings and themselves. She saw that she had scrapes and bruises on her arms and legs. Surveying Shaoran's condition, he didn't fare better than her. They seemed to have the same injuries but then she saw that he had broken his leg. His femur was dislocated. She had to pull it back to its place and immobilize it. Her eyes then drifted back to Shaoran's eyes. They didn't say anything but Shaoran knew what it was that was going through her head that remained unspoken just by looking straight into her eyes.

"It's nothing. I can take it. Don't over stress yourself. You just had a close encounter with death." Shaoran said.

"Why didn't you tell me you are in pain, Li-san? We only have each other to survive here. We have to be honest." Sakura said as she gathered to strength to get up.

Shaoran held her arm, preventing her from standing. "Don't suffer on my account." He said.

Sakura smiled at him and placed a gentle hand on top of his hand which held her. "I'm alright now. It's going to be painful if I don't put it back in place and immobilize it. Yukito brought me out here to keep you alive and safe. I plan to do just that. So please…let me." She said.

Shaoran reluctantly let go of her arm. Sakura scanned their surroundings if there were any large enough, sturdy barks she could use as improvised splints. She gathered about three and went back to Shaoran's side. She then took off the cloak and ripped it to long shreds. She then looked back at Shaoran a little concerned, "Li-san, I will have to pull your leg so that the bone would slid back to its place. It's going to hurt a lot. Are you ready?" Shaoran nodded. "Ok I'm going to count to three and pull, ok?" Shaoran just nodded again. "Three." Sakura just said and pulled. Shaoran was stunned as sharp pain shot up his body and was going numb.

"I thought you were going to count to three?" Shaoran said as Sakura was placing the improvised splits around his leg.

Sakura smiled and replied, "Anticipated pain is actually more painful than actual pain. The element of surprise usually helps it become less painful than it really is."

"Right. So have you done this before?" Shaoran said as tinge of pain was prominent in his voice.

"Yeah. A couple of times, mostly my brother. Don't ask me how he managed that but he did. Because of that, it was easier to practice this skill." Sakura replied with a smile, trying to lighten up the mood. She knew how painful it must be for Shaoran. She secured the splints and immobilized his leg as best as she could to minimize the pain. She hoped that Yukito or someone would come and help soon.

"There…all done. How does that feel?" Sakura said as she sat in front of Shaoran.

"Better actually, thank you." Shaoran replied.

"Um, we have to find ourselves some shelter. We're both wet and the cool atmosphere won't really do us good. Besides, I think you'll agree that we are both not safe here in the open." Sakura said.

"Yeah, you're right." Shaoran replied.

Sakura then helped him up. "So do you know where we are? I mean, are you familiar with these parts?" Sakura said.

"Yeah. We are still in Ayleth. If memory serves, I think there's a cave nearby…over that way." Shaoran said as he pointed to their left.

"Ok. Then we head that way." Sakura said. Slow and steady they made their way there.

"You said that Yukito brought you here to keep me alive and safe." Shaoran suddenly said to break the silence.

Sakura was bearing a little of his weight to help ease the pain on his leg aside from enduring the pain from her cuts and bruises. "Yes. He said that." She replied.

"No matter what it is, I think he shouldn't have. It's very dangerous out here."

"I know the dangers in the battlefield. I know that when you go to the frontlines or the danger areas, you already have a foot on your grave. I may not be able to fight as good as you guys and I can be a big burden to you or to Yukito-san, but if it means that you or anyone for that matter would have greater chances of survival if I will be with you, then I don't mind risking my life with the rest of you."

"That's my point. You don't have to risk your life like the rest of us."

Sakura smiled and replied, "I am no longer a child. I can't expect that people will always be there to protect me. I know what I can do and what I can't do. If I don't risk my life for what I believe in, for the people I care about, then what's the point in living? It's better to have died struggling for ones beliefs than live a long life running away and turning a blind eye. If there was one lesson my brother stressed and defined with his life, that would be it."

"But going out into battle blindly is suicide. There is nothing to accomplish with death." Shaoran said.

"I believe in that too. To make a difference, you have to be alive to do it, right? I guess you just have to choose which battles are worth fighting. But then again, you can't always choose where you are heading. Fate just has its way of twisting things and places you in situations you never really thought about being in." Sakura replied.

The cave then came into view. "Li-san, is that the cave you were talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. I believe that is it. I haven't really gone here before. I only read about this part in books." Shaoran replied.

"Well it's better than nothing." Sakura replied as they made their way inside. Sakura gently helped Shaoran down. "I've got to go and get us some fire woods. We need to build a fire to keep us warm until help arrives." Sakura said.

"Hold on. I don't want you to go out there on your own."

Sakura smiled at him and said, "It seems like there isn't much of a choice. I'm not going to risk you having to develop hypothermia. If it makes you feel better, I won't go far." Sakura then made her way back outside the cave and scanned the area for wood they could use to build fire. She was wet and it wouldn't be much of help if she was going to gather woods and would just soak them. She knew she would have to gather a lot to compensate.

While Sakura was out there gathering wood, Shaoran reflected amidst the darkness. A part of him was worrying about Sakura and another was contemplating on what he should do next. He needed to tell her how he felt. He wasn't sure how she felt but rejected or not, there was no question that she had the right to know. Shaoran then became adamant that he would be telling her the truth before the sun rose the next day. What will happen, will happen.

(to be continued…)

The truth will always set you free. Hehe. Thanks guys for those who continuously supports this simple fic of mine. Thank you so much. But please I hope you still stick around to see what happens next. Thanks.

Michiko