AN: When I agreed to do this early I forgot the fact that I would be gone all day for the most part. Sigh… So here I am updating this morning while about to rush out the door. Nothing to say about this until the end. So,
Read, enjoy, and review!
Chapter Twenty-eight
Blackmail
The first thing she heard was laughter and that was enough to wake her up to see what was going on. She looked around, not quite able to find where it was coming from, so she sat up onto her knees, trying to find the source.
"It's pretty isn't it?"
Sakura jumped and then relaxed when she saw Death sitting next to her, hands in her lap.
"What?" Sakura asked.
"The meadow. It's pretty," Death said.
Sakura stopped looking for where the noise was coming from and focused on her surroundings instead. It was a beautiful meadow filled with flowers, large rock formations, and trees scattered about here and there.
"Yeah," Sakura said relaxing a little. Death would explain all this. "It is."
"My sister can be a real messed up force sometimes, but it's when I see things like this that I'm reminded that she also has the capability for extreme compassion and caring," Death said picking at the grass in front of her.
Sakura gazed at the meadow and then lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry."
Death looked at her, hair blowing lightly in the breeze. "For what?"
"What I did… I shouldn't have done thought that I could possibly conquer you and your sister."
Death smiled. "But you did in the end, which means you had the power to do it all along. No harm done. Life's damage has been undone. No casualties, no losses. In fact, most mortals don't remember a thing."
"Still," Sakura said. "I should release you. I don't want that power. I never did. The only reason I even considered it was because-"
"My sister and I will trust that you won't abuse your authority over us. In fact, I doubt you'll ever call on us again. Besides, it wouldn't be wise of you to release us. My sister holds grudges, and she may or may not make your life hell if you set us free."
"May or may not?"
Death grinned. "Between you and me, I think my sister is quite fond of you, mistress. She'll never admit it though. But she won't have to. Life has a way of saying a lot without speaking at all."
"Kind of like Yue then," Sakura said and then frowned. "Why did you bring him back? Why did you help me?"
Death shrugged. "Don't think much of it. I was doing my job. Keeping him alive worked better in the favor of humanity than having him die."
Sakura smiled. "You won't admit it either."
Death didn't reply to Sakura's declaration, but said, "Out of curiosity though, how did you know how to defeat my sister?"
"It was when you brought Yue back."
Death raised an eyebrow, and Sakura continued, "You may have done it for the sake of the big picture, but the fact was that it also meant you had no intention of letting me die so long as I was willing to fight. After that, it was only a matter of convincing Life that for that reason, I had more power than she did, because you said it yourself. Life can't decide who stays and who goes. That's your decision which meant I was immortal for that moment and immortality means beating life's game."
"So it wasn't so much her thinking you could defeat her as it was realizing she had been outwitted. It broke your stalemate," Death said. "Not many sorcerers could have come up with that."
The two sat in silence again, content to enjoy the breeze for a while before Death gently clapped her hands together and said, "By the way I have to warn you that your moon guardian is not very happy with you at the moment. Proceed to talk to him with caution," Death said seeming amused.
Sakura cringed. It was rare that Yue got truly angry with her. It was only when she did something that may have recklessly and unnecessarily put her life in danger that he directed his anger toward her… This whole ordeal made the cut and then some.
"He hasn't once left your side though. I think he'll be so relieved that you're okay he'll forget."
"You obviously don't know Yue," Sakura said dryly.
Death laughed and stood up, "Don't worry. Everything will definitely be alright."
Sakura stood next to Death to get a better view of the meadow and heard the laughter again, closer this time and finally saw what looked like children. She wasn't sure how many. They ran by so fast it had been a blur. But she did see one, lagging behind the others, black hair blowing in the wind behind her, and not appearing to want to play the others' game.
"Give it back!" she yelled.
"But this book is so boring MaMa-chan. Come play with us."
The girl groaned, turning on her heals, not appearing to see Sakura or Death. Sakura frowned upon seeing the girl's face from the side.
The girl stomped her foot in frustration before crossing her arms and scowling. Then she said, "Ugh! They get away with everything!"
Death laughed. "Kawaii! Don't you think so mistress?"
"Where are we?" Sakura asked ignoring the question. "That girl… She looks just like my mother."
Death smiled. "Not quite. Look a little closer."
Sakura slowly walked forward coming up the side of the girl. She reached out to touch her shoulder, but stopped a few inches away. The girl seemed to sense it anyway and turned to look in Sakura's direction, with a look of wonderment. Sakura's mouth fell open.
"MaMa-chan! What are you doing?" the other child from before yelled.
The girl shook her head and ran off yelling, "I'm telling Papa!" leaving Sakura to stare after her.
"That girl," Sakura said as Death came to stand beside her. "She has… Her eyes are like Yue's."
"Just a little glimpse into the future. I thought you deserved it," Death said gently and then grabbed Sakura's hand, holding it like a dear friend would. Her cross began to glow, so much so that Sakura was blinded and all she could see was the light.
"Your life won't be without hardships, for that is the nature of my sister," Death's voice said. "But you'll have a nice long happy life and when you grow tired of it, call on me, and I will take you away."
Sakura closed her eyes against the light and that was all it took for her to be pulled back to the real world. She leaned back into the pillow on her bed, humming at not just the warmth the bed provided, but also her vision with Death. MaMa-chan was what the other girls had called her. What was that short for?
"Who's that?"
Sakura opened her eyes and sat up, not aware anyone was in the room, not even aware of whose room she was in.
"What?" she asked.
"You said MaMa-chan. Who's that?"
Sakura looked over to the direction the question had come from to see Yue sitting by the window of his room. She was at home in his room.
"Oh… No one," Sakura said. There would be a time to reveal Death's vision later. Sakura started to speak again until she became very aware of the pounding in her head.
She fell back on the bed.
"Ow," she said. "My head."
Yue huffed as he stood up and made his way over to the table, where there was some warm water and a cloth. He took it out, folded it and laid it on her head before saying, "Is that better?"
Sakura nodded very aware of Yue's icy tone with her and then, remembering Death's words, sighed.
"You're mad at me aren't you?" she asked.
The subtle twitch of Yue's eyebrow said it all.
"I'm sorry," said Sakura.
Yue huffed again, crossing his arms this time. Sakura thought he would go back to the window and stay silent, and he looked like he was about to before he sighed and asked, "Sorry?"
He rolled his eyes then, and Sakura cringed. That was never a good sign. Sakura started to talk again, but Yue cut her off.
"You almost died!" he finally snapped. "By the time you finished sealing those God be damned cards you may as well have been. I could hardly feel your heartbeat. Even Eriol was doubtful that you'd come out of this alive after using that kind of magic."
"How long was I out?" Sakura asked softly, feeling like she was twelve again. But she had been expecting this kind of reaction.
"A week," Yue replied and then looked at something lying on the bedside table. Sakura followed his gaze to see the newest card, DEATH, leaning on the lamp. "I suppose she calls herself making sure you stayed alive."
Sakura smiled and then said, "I'm fine now. You can go. Thank you."
The card glowed and then disappeared, no doubt returning to the Sakura book with the rest of the cards.
"What were you thinking? Doing something as reckless as this, messing with magic as forbidden as this," Yue continued. "Really. I know you're reckless, but this…"
Yue put a hand over his eyes, the stress of this entire situation finally getting to him as he said, "Damn it Sakura."
Sakura sat back up again, slowly, and removed the cloth from her forehead. She stood up, shakily, and almost fell over until Yue caught her and sat her back on the bed, sitting stiffly next to her. She then rose up and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "But… I didn't want you to die."
"And that made you willing to either save me or die trying," Yue said curtly.
Sakura paused for a moment, closing her eyes before saying, "Yes."
Yue didn't answer, only wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, leaning his head on hers before saying, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Sounds like something you would do."
"Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" Sakura asked hopefully. "After all, I'm fine. You're fine, and LIFE and DEATH are safely sealed away."
"Still doesn't change the fact that you did all that," Yue said evenly.
Sakura pulled back to look at him, a pout on her lips. "Don't be so mean. You forgive me, right?"
Yue looked away from her. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm supposed to be mad at you."
"Stop being a sour puss!"
Yue sighed, though it was more mocking than serious, and turned his gaze back to her. "Fine. Forgiven, but not forgotten."
"I guess I'll have to settle for that then," Sakura said and pressed her lips to his.
She had only intended for it to be a chaste kiss, for her head was still pounding, but the ache in her head left or was at least instantly forgotten as soon as she pressed her lips against his. Somewhere in both their subconscious, they realized there was nothing to interrupt them. No Marie, no attacks, no council. Despite the fact that Sakura should probably be resting, that knowledge egged them on. Sakura sat up slightly, opening her mouth to let Yue taste her mouth. Yue groaned as she pressed herself against him, and in response to his tongue exploring her mouth, she let a moan pass from her lips.
Yue toppled them both over, lying her on her back, kissing her a while longer before pulling away. Sakura pouted at the loss of contact, but figured she needed to take a breath anyway. After she had gained a second wind, she tried to lean forward for more, but Yue shook his head and pulled away.
Sakura's mouth fell open and she whined more so than demanded, "Why?"
Yue smirked as he stood up and headed to the door. "Call it punishment if you want. I'm still not happy with you."
Sakura groaned and then asked, "Are you ever going to let me live this down?"
"Ask me again in a century. Besides, you're still recovering."
He didn't wait for a reply, only left the room, leaving her to herself. She crossed her arms and huffed. Now what was she supposed to do. Her headache slowly returning reminded her that she was supposed to be recovering.
"Punishment," Sakura muttered. "See how long this lasts."
If Sakura was at her full strength, she would have known that Yue had lied, at least partially. If they had continued, it wouldn't have been the first time they had gotten up to something while she was sick or supposed to be resting.
And in all honesty, Yue wasn't that angry at Sakura, just a little annoyed at her. Only she could cause this much recklessness and manage to fix it all, and over the years he had learned to expect as much from her. But messing with magic as forbidden as life and death went beyond recklessness. That was just suicidal. Sometimes he wondered if she were trying to get herself killed. Did she ever think of the consequences when she pulled such reckless stunts? And then what would he do? If she had died, and she very nearly had, her work to bring him back from the brink of death would have been in vain… So he was a little more than annoyed with her, a lot more than annoyed with her actually, but that was beside the point.
The real reason he had left the room was to deal with the woman whose presence he sensed. He was glad Sakura was too magically exhausted to sense it. She didn't need to deal with this.
Midha was waiting in the living room, having had the common decency to wait for them in the living room instead of coming upstairs. Cerberus was already down there, not looking very happy about the woman's presence.
"What do you want?" Yue asked bluntly with his arms crossed. A lot had happened while he was out of commission he had learned. Cerberus and Eriol explained the nature of the council's inaction during Sakura and Marie's feud, and he had been waiting for the chance to settle this problem himself. Sakura would never approve. But what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
"Where's your mistress?"
"Not well," Yue replied. "But alive."
"No thanks to you," Cerberus added dryly.
"I'd like it if you went and got her," Midha said.
"Now listen you-"
Yue cut Cerberus off saying, "You have some nerve."
It was truly chilling how Yue had spoken, and it surprised not only Midha, but also Cerberus. It was easy to forget that Yue wasn't always as warm a few years ago as he was now. Sakura had that effect on him, slowly but surely healing old wounds that were the result of the fiasco with Clow. It gave Cerberus a headache just thinking about it. Regardless, it could take a person off guard by how fast Yue could switch on his cold, unfeeling wall.
"You all are worse than Marie. At least everyone knew she was selfish and manipulative, but you all are a sly bunch," Yue pointed out and then added, "You know, DEATH is under my jurisdiction, and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help get rid of the group causing her mistress all of this grief."
It wasn't official yet. In fact, it was likely Sakura would keep LIFE and DEATH under lock and key, allowing not even herself to wield them. But despite that fact, DEATH still fell under Yue's sign, so it wasn't a complete lie.
Midha huffed. "You couldn't and even if you could, your mistress wouldn't allow it."
"I could, I would, and I wouldn't feel any remorse."
"But you can't. So stop playing around and get your mistress."
"No Midha. I think today, you'll play on our terms."
"What are you getting at moon guardian?"
Something flashed in Yue's eyes, a certain slyness that he was loathe to admit he had gotten from Clow's influence, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Wouldn't it be a shame if the reality of this entire mess and the role the council played in this particular fiasco based on their inaction got out to the Li Clan or even the Reeds. Better yet, don't you have ties to some of the magic families in Egypt and India? It would be such a disgrace."
Midha's expression faltered for just a moment and then was back to usual superior expression, but this time her lips were turned down in a frown. It was obvious blackmail. And whether the accusations Eriol and Cerberus had told Yue about were true or not, the fact of the matter was the Magic Council hadn't even tried to resolve the feud between Marie and Sakura. The magical community would see it as an act of cowardice, and if the resulting consequences didn't cause a complete overhaul in magical procedure and rules, it would at the very least result in the removal and trial of the current members.
Midha had no choice.
"What do you want?"
"A complete pardon. Anything and everything that Sakura might have done before now is wiped completely off your records."
"Fine," Midha grumbled looking like she was about to leave but Yue stopped her.
"That's not all. You leave her completely alone. No silly write-ups just to spite her."
"You done yet?"
"Almost," Yue said seeming to be thoroughly enjoying himself. "Sakura and I need an exception, without all the crazy hassles, hearings, and technical stuff you might say we have to go through in the name of being proper."
"Wouldn't that fall under spite?" Cerberus asked, speaking for the first time having been enjoying the exchange.
"Just in case," Yue said. "And one last thing… Under no circumstance are you to ever come and try and manipulate Sakura into using her powers for the council's own benefit."
Midha rolled her eyes then, former composure lost. "Anything else?"
"I'll let you know," Yue said.
It was Yue's way of saying without outright spelling it out that the council no longer had any control of Sakura's affairs. It was either that or the council risked losing the illusion of control they had.
Midha didn't stick around any longer. There was nothing she could say to try and manipulate the situation to her favor, so there would have been no point. When she left, Cerberus turned to Yue a grin on his face as he said, "Sakura's not going to be happy when she finds out about this."
Yue didn't say anything for a moment, eyes darting away from Cerberus and back, proving that he had already calculated that. But instead of admitting that he said, "We both know that Sakura's too forgiving to try to hold this over the council's head. But if she wants any semblance of peace, the last thing she needs to worry about is the council. They may not try to kill anyone, but they can make a person's life about as miserable as Marie could have."
"She's going to learn that you did this one day," Cerberus said dryly.
Yue shrugged. "I know that. But I bought her a lot of time to strengthen her magic to the point where I won't even need to hang that over the council's head for them to back off."
Now that Cerberus thought about it, it was a good idea. In a few decades Sakura would be not only more powerful, but a lot more knowledgeable in the ways of magic. The council wouldn't even try to approach her with their manipulative politics.
"She's still not going to like it," Cerberus said, "Even if I agree with you."
"She doesn't have to like it. Besides, what else is the point of being a guardian if I can't make so she doesn't have to deal with people like the council."
Yue went back upstairs, no doubt to check on Sakura, and Cerberus shook his head, deciding to make a detour to the kitchen. Only Yue…
AN: Wait a minute! (Puts ear plugs in to muffle sound of screaming fan girls). Okay now proceed to squeal in delight….
Done yet? Okay. First things first for anyone who may not understand how this thing with Life went. Immortality defies life and death, because the point of Life's game is to wear a person down until Death decides to take them, but if Death refuses to take them and a person refuses to die, then technically that means that Life can never win, meaning she loses.
Next thing, that scene with Death and Sakura was one of the other scenes that this story was written around. Blame it on the fan girl in me. But I conceived that girl in my head years back, before I started writing fanfiction again and kind of put her away, but this gave me the perfect chance to reveal it.
Lastly, Eriol and Syoaran were supposed to be the ones who blackmailed Midha, but having Yue do it was much more fitting, not to mention fun. Anyway, the last chapter is Monday along with a preview of another story I'm working on and figure will be up this summer or late spring. In any case, let me finish this story Monday first. Then I'll talk about that.
Hope you enjoyed! Review Please!
