Rewrite
By: Angel Kamiya
Chapter 28

When Tomoyo started waking up, she realized that she wasn't alone. There were several people there around. After opening her eyes Tomoyo tried getting up, but found it much more difficult then she had thought it would be. Trying to look around in the dark she noticed that they were all there, Sakura, Syaoran and Kero. At first she was too happy to say anything out loud. It felt so good knowing that they were there to take her out of that place.

As Tomoyo tried speaking she discovered that it was more difficult then she thought it would be. Tomoyo was really thirsty. It had been a couple of hours since she last had anything to drink.

"Tomoyo-chan. It's me," Sakura started, trying not to talk too loudly. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all this!"

Sakura stood there for what felt like an eternity just waiting, and watching for any kind of response. At first she didn't know if Tomoyo had heard her, or if the girl could even speak. Before any of them knew what was happening, Tomoyo was already trying to get up.

Tomoyo was having a hard time remembering how she had gotten to that place, but she didn't care now that all her friends were there now.

"Sakura-chan! I thought that I would never see you again!" Tomoyo yelled, tears in her eyes.

Sakura gave Tomoyo a quick hug just to make sure that she was really there. As Sakura helped her up she was starting to feel much better knowing that her friend was there.

"We better get out of here before he gets back," Kero muttered, not happy that they had been there for so long already.

The door suddenly slammed shut by itself. Sakura quickly got up, holding out the sword that belonged to her. It wasn't until later that she remember how unprepared she had been. Sakura transformed the sword back into the Sealing Rod while holding several Clow cards in the other hand.

"I was wondering when you would get here," the voice announced, seemingly from nowhere.

"Tomoyo-chan, stay behind me, I don't want anything happening to you," Sakura muttered, more afraid than she had been when she had to deal with her first Clow card so many months back.

Kero narrowed his eyes, wishing that there was something more that he could do. This person that had taken Tomoyo had been nothing but bad news. They needed to find out what he wanted and who he was. Looking at him Kero found himself thinking back to when they had fought for the Dream card.

"What do you mean?" Kero asked, standing guard.

"I wasn't sure if you would really come or not."

Syaoran froze, realizing that everything he had thought before they had gotten there had been true. Before getting there, he had been worried that this whole thing would turn out to be some kind of trap. It had been unusual the stranger had kidnapped a girl that couldn't even do magic, so there had to have been an ulterior motive. He wanted Sakura there.

"You took Tomoyo just so we would come and get her didn't you?" Syaoran uttered, angrily..

"That was the only way I would be sure that you would be here."

"If you wanted to talk to us then you could have asked," Sakura responded, not knowing how he might have reacted if he had done just that.

"Who said anything about you three? I wanted to talk to Keroberos alone. We didn't get the chance the last time," the man muttered, crossing his arms. "The rest of you can leave."

What she heard that, Sakura was too shocked to speak. Did she hear right? Tomoyo was here just because this person had wanted to speak with Kero all along? Not knowing what to say, she only stepped back to reassure her friend. There was no way she was just going to let Kero deal with all of this by himself.

"No way!" Sakura uttered, loudly. "You don't really think we would leave Kero-chan behind do you?"

"Sakura! Get out of here!" Kero interrupted.

"Kero-chan?"

"Take Tomoyo out of here. If he wants to talk to me then... fine. You three should get out of here while you still can."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing! Was this really what Kero wanted? It was true that they needed to get Tomoyo out of there as soon as they could, but not at the expense of leaving Kero behind! Sakura wasn't sure if she could do something like that. Kero was too important to leave behind like this.

"Kero-chan, we can't just do that," Sakura uttered, shaking her head.

"I'll be fine okay? I'll see you back home, Sakura-chan," Kero smiled, looking like he had a plan.

Sakura didn't want to go. But she looked at Tomoyo and she didn't want to think about what would happen if they stayed there any longer. Staring at Syaoran and nodding, she tried to tell him silently that it was time to get out of there. However, it looked like Syaoran was as reluctant as she was about leaving Kero there alone.

Sakura made the decision.

It didn't take long until they were outside again. After several seconds Sakura turned and decided that she should be getting back.

"Sakura! What... what are you doing?" Syaoran asked, stunned.

"I'm going to make sure nothing happens to Kero-chan!" Sakura explained, looking back

Tomoyo tried to stop her friend, but found that she didn't have the strength to do that. She was too tried. It was at times like this that she really wished that Sakura had never gotten the Clow cards. Although Tomoyo knew that they were an important part of Sakura's life now, Tomoyo sometimes wished that Sakura never became the Card Captor. Things were much simpler back then when Sakura never got herself into so many dangerous situations.

"Sakura-chan, maybe you shouldn't do this alone..." Tomoyo uttered.

Sakura knew that her friend was probably right. A part of her really wished that Kero had escaped to go back home with them. After that had happened, they could try to plan what to do next. Sakura knew that there was something important that she needed to, and that was saving Kero. But she also knew that she couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt. It had to be up to her.

"Your mom was really worried about you when you didn't get home."

Tomoyo very startled when her friend told her that piece of information. At that time she hadn't been thinking about her mother at all and knowing her mother cared made her feel a little better. She saw that Sakura wasn't going to change her mind about this.

"Are you sure about this Sakura?" Syaoran asked, concerned.

"I know you want to argue about this, but Kero is my friend. Please... please just take Tomoyo away from this place Li-kun. I need you to look after her right now.

Sakura turned and started running back. It didn't take long until she finally reached the building again and went in. There some noises coming from inside that really worried her. As she made her way around the door and inside again, she started hearing the conversation, which got louder and louder the closer she got. It was very low so she couldn't hear what they were talking about at first.

"Sakura! I thought I told you to leave!" Kero yelled, noticing her.

Kero jumped in front of Sakura, looking like he had been in some kind of fight. He was protecting her. Turning around he flew forward at the man that had been floating in the air. The man threw several flashes of light at Kero, who somehow managed to dodge them all.

"I couldn't just leave you!" Sakura managed to get out, while trying to see if there was anything she could do to help.

The man in dark held out his hand at Kero's, a black light appeared between the two of them. At first Sakura didn't understand what was going on, but she knew that it wasn't anything good. Getting out the Sealing Rod, she held it out in front of her, trying to pick the right Clow card that could help them. Sakura was scared, but she wasn't going to let the fear overcome her when Kero needed her help.

Sakura couldn't see what was happening, but she wasn't going to let it continue. Taking out the Windy card, she stopped after remembering how ineffective it had been the first time she used it against the person that Kero was facing. Attacking wouldn't be a good course of action, they just need to get out of there quickly. Sakura took out the Shadow card. Holding out the Clow card in front of her she hit it with the Sealing Rod.

"SHADOW! Get us out of here!"

The black cloaked figure appeared from the card and flew into the air as though it was a ghost. It flew forward blindly quick and wrapped itself around Kero, and before Sakura knew what was happening, it had wrapped itself around her too. It was a very strange sensation as Sakura felt herself flying in the air to a destination she didn't know about.

Several moments later Sakura found herself rolling onto the ground. Quickly getting up she tried to find when Kero could have landed. At first she couldn't find him and Sakura found herself feeling terrible. Looking around she saw that they had arrived in a deserted parking lot in the middle of the night. It wasn't until after she realized her surroundings did she finally see him. Sakura rushed over to Kero.

Sakura flew back home.

About an hour later outside of Sakura's room in the hallway, Syaoran and Tomoyo talked about all that had happened. Tomoyo told Syaoran what the man in black robes had told her during the several times that they spoken. During the conversation Syaoran didn't make a sound or ask any questions. This was something that he just wanted to listen to. When Tomoyo finally finished, Syaoran talked for the first time since Tomoyo began.

"So he isn't Yue?" Syaoran replied feeling a little relieved.

"At least we have this good news," Tomoyo muttered, rubbing her arms.

"Yeah."

What Tomoyo told him hadn't answered much and had only brought up more questions. Syaoran hated the fact that there were still so many things they haven't found out yet. If Yue really hadn't appeared then what was keeping him from appearing? Was there something that they didn't know about? They needed help. Badly.

Tomoyo looked worriedly at Syaoran. They needed help since there was now something wrong with Kero. There were so many things that they weren't sure of. What did Clow Reed have to do with all of this?

"Li-kun, I think you should talk to Sakura."

Syaoran knew that Tomoyo was right. Sakura had gotten nothing but grief for the past few days. At times like this he wished that he was better at talking to people. Sakura wasn't going to get any better by herself, not when she was alone.

Syaoran went into Sakura's room. Inside Sakura was sitting down on the ground besides the bed where Kero was sleeping. When they had gotten back Kero had barely been able to say anything and instead had collapsed. It didn't take long for Sakura to start crying. Sakura was looking at Kero as though she was trying to see if he would do anything.

"Do you have a band-aid?" Syaoran asked, as he entered Sakura's room.

"Why? Are you hurt?" Sakura replied, finally looking up.

"It's not for me. It's for you," Syaoran explained, pointing to where Sakura had gotten a small cut on her forehead above her right eye.

Sakura was a little surprised at his comment. Although she had gotten a few scrapes and cuts earlier, she hadn't thought much about it since she was so concerned about Kero. There were so many things that she was thinking about. Looking at him again, she realized that he had asked her something.

"There are some in the top drawer in my desk."

Syaoran went to the desk and quickly found what he was looking for.

"Okay, sit down Sakura."

Before she knew what was happening, Syaoran put his hands on her shoulders moved her so she was sitting on the bed. He took out the band aid and placed it on the scratch. Sakura wanted to say something, but found it to be extremely difficult for some reason. Instead she stayed still for him until he was finished what he was doing.

"There good as new," he said.

"Thanks."

"Are you going to be okay, Sakura?"

Sakura wondered what he had meant when he asked her if she would be okay. Did okay mean that there were no more problems in her life? Maybe if she went to sleep everything would be back to normal again with Kero safe and well, asking her to bring him something to eat.

"I'm just worried about Kero-chan..." Sakura whispered, feeling terrible. "It's just that-"

"I never knew you cared so much about me," interrupted Kero, sitting up on the bed.

Sakura was too shocked to say anything.

"Kero-chan!" Tomoyo cried, running over to Kero's side. "We were so worried!"

Kero was about to say something, but in an instant he felt someone had picked him up and started hugging him very tightly. At first he was just trying to catch his breath, so he didn't realize who it was at first. Kero was unprepared for what had happened. It took him a moment to realize that it was Sakura that was squeezing the life out of him.

"Ah! Sakura-chan you're suffocating me! Please let me go!"

Sakura, crying loudly, shook her head not wanting to do what he had asked. This was something she needed to do ever since she had gotten back to her room. At the time she had been so worried and afraid that they were never going to talk to each other again. After several minutes with Syaoran and Tomoyo watching the scene in silence, Sakura finally started letting go.

"What... What happened Keroberos?" Syaoran asked, glad that the guardian of the cards seemed to be fine.

"That guy took some of my magic..."

"Took some of your magic?" Tomoyo repeated, horrified.

Standing there, Syaoran wondered what Keroberos had meant. If some of his magic was gone did this mean Keroberos was now weaker? Was there anyway to get back the magic that had been taken? Looking at Keroberos, Syaoran hoped that some of his questions could be answered.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Kero quickly explained, still being held in Sakura's arms. "It just means I can't transform for a while."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Tomoyo apologized, feeling guilty. "If I had had been more careful then-"

"Don't blame yourself! I would gladly lose my power to transform for a year if that meant getting you back unharmed Tomoyo! I think he took you just so he could lure me out for some reason," Kero replied, thinking hard about what to do next. "This just means we have to be more careful from now on."

Syaoran understood what Kero was trying to tell them. Did this mean they weren't going to have Keroberos to look after them anymore? That wasn't something he liked at all. It was because of Keroberos that Sakura had been able to capture the last of the Clow cards.

Tomoyo went forward and lightly placed her hand on Kero's arm.

"I hope you get better soon," Tomoyo smiled.

"We need to find out where Yue is, and why he hasn't appeared yet even though Sakura had caught all the cards. Now is a good as time as any for some help," Kero announced, finding it hard to talk loudly.

Syaoran was a little startled hearing the name of the other guardian of the Clow cards again. There weren't many books about Yue and most of the things he had learned had been very sketchy at best. Clow Reed had been very secretive about Yue.

"Do you really think Yue can help us?" Syaoran asked, hoping that there hadn't been a bad reason for Yue's absence.

"I'm not sure," Kero responded, feeling very tired. "I think it's time I get some rest though. Let's call it a night."

After Sakura had helped Kero into his bed in the drawer of her desk, she walked back to the hallway where her two friends were waiting for her. Sakura looked at Syaoran for several moments, wondering what they were going to do now.

"Li-kun, what are you thinking about?"

That was the last thing that Syaoran had wanted to answer. Until Kero woke up they had been on their own and things were probably going to tougher. They needed to find out who the man in dark robes really was and why he was there. Was there anything they could do to make him realize what he was doing was wrong? There had to be something.

"Keroberos is right. We need to find out why Yue hasn't appeared yet. Also Tomoyo told me the person that captured her had no memory of who he is, but someone was telling him to do all this things."

"Do you really think Clow Reed is telling him to do all these terrible things?"

"I don't know Sakura. I hope not."

Sakura stood up and turned away from him to look out the window. It was very dark now and her family would start getting back very soon. Syaoran would have to get going. At times Sakura really wished that she didn't have to worry about so many things. All the responsibility was really beginning to become too much.

"I can't stand around not doing anything anymore."

"You're right Sakura. We have to find out who he is before we can figure out what to do," Syaoran suggested, taking out a Clow card. "I think it's time that we used the Clow card that can see into the past again."

"Li-kun, no please not now. I'm too tired, and I don't want to leave Kero-chan," Sakura muttered, standing up. "Can we do this tomorrow after school?"

"We will do this later if that's what you want," Syaoran answered, realizing how late it actually was. "I guess I'll go now."

It was at that moment that Sakura finally remembered something that she had forgotten to do. Sakura quickly went to her desk and picked up a small bag. Turning around Sakura held it out for him.

"Wait! Please take this."

Syaoran looked at it wondering what could have been inside.

"What is it?" Syaoran asked, curiously.

"It's some cookies I made for you," Sakura explained trying to smile. It was that moment that she decided to pretend to look happy again just so Syaoran wouldn't have to worry. "With everything that's been happening I had almost forgotten."

"Oh... um... thanks. This is great," Syaoran struggled to get out; really not sure of what he should say.

"You're welcome."

Tomoyo was watching the both of them and couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was so cute how they were acting at that time. For a moment she really regretted not having her camcorder with her.

Syaoran turned to leave, but before he got to the door, he stopped. There was something else that he wanted to ask Sakura before he left that night. While Sakura might have forgotten to do something so did he. Putting the bag of cookies onto the table by the door he tried to talk again.

"Li-kun? What's the matter?"

"I thought I would to ask you something before I leave tonight."

Syaoran was finding himself struggling just trying to speak now. This was turning out to be much more difficult then he had imagined that it would be. For a moment he wondered if this was how Sakura had felt when she had told him that she liked him. Syaoran sighed. Sakura was not making this any easier.

"Sakura, do you want to go out on a date with me tomorrow at that new place by the mall?"

"Wha what?" Sakura uttered, in complete surprise. This was the one thing in the world that she would have said yes to no matter what, but then she quickly remembered what she still needed to do. "I can't. Someone needs to look after Kero-chan until he gets better."

"I can do that," Tomoyo interrupted, glad that she had been there. "I really think that Sakura-chan needs take sometime off at least for one afternoon."

Sakura wanted to hug Tomoyo for her help.