Wow, a lot of you seem to be under the impression that this is the end of the story! Eep! No way! There is so much more in store for all of you! Just keep reading and I hope you enjoy what I have planned! And don't forget to review- I was totally blown away with all of your awesome reviews to my last two chapters! That was the best response ever! Keep it coming my sweet readers!
Links in a Chain
Chapter 34
Wet Glue
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It was like waking up after a long, long sleep.
Everything had been so dark before; a long, dark, cold sleep that had felt like it had lasted for eternity. There had been nothing before; no thought, no movement, no nothing. Wherever she had been before was just a big, black blank in her mind. Now there was warmth and light and a delightful feeling spreading throughout her body; an indescribable feeling of having something very important being poured back into her body; the feeling of being brought back to life. She was suddenly 'whole' again.
Warmth spread to every point in her body, she felt her fingers curled and her legs trembled with the ability to move returned to them. But as she tried to draw a breath with her desperate, oxygen-deprived lungs, she realized that something soft and warm was covering her mouth. Trying to gently work free from the obstruction it paused then drew away, allowing precious oxygen to fill her lungs. She breathed in deep and savored the cool rush of air, sweet and dizzying at the same time.
Opening her eyes, Sakura was met by the amazed amber gaze of her dear warrior, his eyes transfixed to her like he couldn't look away. Suddenly, it all clicked in her mind- he had brought her back from wherever she had been. Syaoran had somehow gave her back that precious thing that had been taken from her and breathed life back into her body. Suddenly she wanted to thank him; give him a thank you he would never forget. With a grin spread across her face, Sakura raised herself off the soft bed she was laying in, reaching out for Syaoran, whose eyes were now flowing with tears of happiness. He was reaching out for her as well.
"S-Sakura," he whispered, the name so precious on his tongue.
Sakura couldn't help herself when she cupped his face, adoring the feeling of his warm skin touching her hands. She looked up at him with wide, wet emerald eyes. This was the man who had brought her back from oblivion. "You brought me back," she whispered, her voice so awed and grateful it would've made an angel cry. "I knew you would."
With the overwhelming desire to have him closer, to want to feel his warmth and heart pressed to her after such a long stay in the darkness, Sakura pulled his face to hers and pressed her lips to his.
The taste of Syaoran on her lips was something that Sakura would never forget. He tasted of magic and sweet things; though his lips were chapped against hers, they were gentle and slightly desperate, pressing close like he thought she would disappear at any moment. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes and she raised her arms to wrap around her warrior, hoping to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere. His shoulders trembled as she brought him closer to her, his arms snaking around her body and hugging her as close as he possibly dared.
Their lips pressed to the others in a delicate dance of movement and pressure, clumsy somewhat, and ever so slightly nervous; this was their first 'real' kiss after all. They breathed through their nosed so that they didn't have to move apart. Syaoran didn't even dare to deepen the kiss any further for fear of breaking the magic that now surrounded them. Sakura smiled into their kiss and ever so slightly drew Syaoran closer to her body in a tight embrace, which he returned with a protective hug of his own, wrapping her body tight in his strong arms.
Slowly, they drew their lips apart, but not their embrace.
Syaoran searched her eyes, her beautiful emerald eyes, and saw something nameless stirring in their depths. It was powerful and warm, reflecting in her aura gently. He let out a shaking breath, raising a trembling hand to cup her flushed cheek. He opened his mouth to say something, anything really, but found that there really weren't any words to describe exactly how he was feeling at the moment.
Sakura kept her eyes on Syaoran, transfixed to his amber eyes like a moth to a flame. It had seemed like an eternity since she had seen them, everything before this moment feeling like it had always been dark and now she was staring directly at the sun, and it didn't hurt. She drank in his image, the tired but entirely amazed face, the relieved, happy smile on his lips, and most of all, his eyes, the most wonderful, gentle, caring eyes that she had ever seen were now looking back at her with something she couldn't quite name at the moment.
Completely enraptured by the moment, they failed to notice the completely awed crowd that was watching them.
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Death smiled knowingly to Life. Patting her on the head, he lifted his chains so that she could see them, disintegrated to the point of falling apart due to the exposure of the light wave. She grinned stupidly, clutching her recently taken pictures to her chest happily. With one hand, she reached out and stroked the cool gold of Death's chains.
"Almost there," she whispered wonderingly. She ran her fingers over the gold links, suddenly pensive. "I really thought that it would be this time, though. I thought we would have our freedom."
Death shrugged, satisfied with this much progress. "Humans are fickle things, Life, they may have true love staring them directly in the face and they will be all but blind to its presence."
"Humans; two eyes to see, and still so blind!" Life huffed, dropping her head in defeat. "We're doomed if this continues. I adore my dear Sakura more than anything, but we really are doomed if they continue to be this blind."
Death stroked his companion's snowy hair. "Now, now, they are not completely blind. They know that there is something stirring in the other, something that they can't quite name at the moment…" he paused, staring down at the life spirit for a moment as she hung on to his every word. "But, soon, there will come a time when they will have a word for what they have seen in each other's eyes, and for what they know is in their hearts; they cannot remain blind forever." He lowered his head so he was down on her level, offering a ghost of a smile. "All they need to do is say the words, Life, and the deal is sealed," he said, laying his forehead to Life's; there was hope shinning in his eyes.
A grin stretched her face. "And the deal is sealed," she repeated happily. Letting her black eyes drift back to Sakura and Syaoran, she took the time to admire them. They looked so very happy, oblivious to the rest of the people in the room, but happy all the same.
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Tomoyo grinned brightly as she watched her beloved Sakura be cradled in the arms of Syaoran. Everything seemed to be all right now; last thing she remembered was a big burst of energy and being thrown against the wall then everything went black… Whatever happened while she was unconscious must have worked out since everyone looked fine, albeit shaken up. Sakura and Syaoran certainly looked to be doing fine.
Tomoyo sighed quietly, realizing that when she reached for her camera, it was nowhere near her person. A scene that deserved to go down in history as the cutest thing that ever happened, and here she was without any filming equipment whatsoever! She sighed in resignation, settling for just swooning over the scene like a schoolgirl for now- perhaps at a later time she could coax the pair into reenacting the scene for her when she got her hands on her camera…
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Chiharu crawled up to Takashi's left and tugged on his shirtsleeve, looking up at him pleadingly, silently asking him if he could see what she was seeing. He gave her a brief glance and spared her a cheeky grin.
"Did you know that the ancient Sumerians revered kissing because-," he began to whisper, but was cut off quickly by a sharp punch to the forehead.
Chiharu sighed. "You just ruined the moment," she grumbled angrily. Naoko and Rika sighed in unison, too much like Sorrow and Illness would.
"Yeah, you did," they said.
At their voices, Sakura's eyes snapped open. It suddenly became very obvious to her that she was no longer in the meadow where she had blacked out- and judging by the feel of things she was no longer in the Realm of the Lost, either. The magic in the walls of the house was definitely familiar; Eriol's magic… Eriol's house… but Eriol wasn't in the room. No, there was a crowd of people in the room… watching her.
"HOE!" she screeched, leaping backwards without thinking, unintentionally dragging Syaoran across the bed with her. She bounced high on the mattress and flipped over the edge, landing in a tangled heap on the floor. Syaoran, dazed and taken by surprise, sprawled out on top of her.
After an awkward moment of silence in which Sakura got her bearings and the crowd of spirits and humans stared with a mixture of concern and amusement, the sorceress on the floor peeked up over Syaoran and the bed and cried, "What's going on? Why are all of you here?" Syaoran slid off her lap and looked up at the crowd with a severe, questioning glare, an obvious demand for an explanation.
Fujitaka raised his hands and eased himself slowly into the room so as not to startle his daughter further. "It's alright, Sakura, you're at your friend Eriol's house. You're safe." He said soothingly.
Sakura's face blushed so profusely that her face turned a shade of bloody crimson. Her father was there; her father was there and had seen her kissing Syaoran! Oh, the embarrassment! "But- you? What are all of you doing here?" she asked incredulously, staring around at her father and mundane friends with wide eyes.
"That's what I would like to know," Syaoran stated, trying to make it appeared that he was not embarrassed by the situation.
Sakura's father sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "The demons that you've been fighting have taken over Tomoeda, Rage himself has already destroyed our house. Your friends here, along with Toya and myself were brought here for our own safety." He looked over his shoulder solemnly. "Rage is here as well- from what I gather, he's been hunting you two for revenge, and now that's he's found the house he's trying to destroy it."
Sakura paused, unfamiliar with the name. "Rage? Who's that?"
Fujitaka regarded his daughter quizzically.
Nightmare jumped in to explain, "Rage is the form that Fear became after you destroyed Seduce. He is a most formidable demon-." He cut off his own explanation, his magical senses picking up on the presences outside. A smile slowly crept onto the spirit's face; he had been wondering why the battle was so quiet all of a sudden, it was because the fight was over.
"Nightmare?" Sakura prompted him to continue.
"He's gone," Nightmare whispered.
"Who?" Syaoran asked.
"Rage, he's not out there anymore!" Nightmare exclaimed. "He's gone!" The spirit's senses alighted on each of the spirits that were out on the front lawn, greeting each of them and they returned his greeting wholeheartedly, and his grin grew. "Please, Miss Sakura, Syaoran, excuse me, I have to go see them." He ran out the door in a swirl of blue and black, racing down the stairs and out the front door.
Takashi got off the floor and ran across the hall to look out the window at the front lawn. "Hey, that Nightmare guy is right! Rage isn't out there anymore! …You have to come see this!" he called.
Scrambling up from the floor, Sakura and Syaoran followed everyone to the room across the hall. From those windows, a clear view of the front lawn was given, including the large white dragon curled up on the front lawn with a scarlet haired woman cuddled into his side. At the bottom of the lawn, the Twins of Misery were doing cartwheels and somersaults, singing something that sounded like a happy, gibberish tune. There was an unfamiliar blond spirit crouched on the ground as well, not far from the dragon and woman, he appeared to be hugging shards of glass and crying.
Tomoyo's eyes were drawn downward towards the heap of black robes that she knew was her Eriol, his two unconscious guardians flanking his sides. Without a further word, she ran from the room and headed for outside, moving as fast as she could to get to her sorcerer. The flower in her hair glowed dimly in the sunlight as she leapt from the top step of the front stairs to the ground, heading straight for Eriol's prone form.
"Eriol! Eriol!" she cried, dropping to her knees when she got to his side. "Come on, open your eyes! Are you alright?"
He didn't respond at all, so with a shaking hand, Tomoyo checked his pulse, relief flooding through her when she found it was strong. His robes were in tatters and the front lawn was a mess, but there wasn't a mark on either him or Rudy Moon or Spinel Sun. Tomoyo smiled a watery smile and stroked Eriol's matted midnight hair.
"Your just asleep," she assured herself. "You're fine." She listened as the others in the house came scrambling down the stairs to see for themselves that everything was okay again.
Syaoran was the first out the door, followed quickly by Sakura, and then the rest of them came out the door in a stampede. Life and Death were mysteriously absent from the group. Slowly, Sakura and Syaoran approached the white dragon, already knowing who this grand looking spirit was. Nightmare patted the white spirit on the snout and walked up to meet his masters half way with an oddly solemn look on his face.
The mundanes tried to follow, but Sorrow and Illness would hear nothing of it. They rushed over the grass, tripping several times, Illness accidentally eating a dandy lion- Sorrow eating one on purpose, until they were close enough to humans to grab them by their shirts and drag them away to play games.
"He's mean and scary, don't play with him!" "You can have a lot more fun with us!"
"I see they're still retards," the dragon commented as he watched the yellow and lavender spirits run off around the house.
The woman leaning on his side stroked his mane of ocean green fur. "They'll never change," she laughed.
Nightmare cleared his throat as he approached with Sakura and Syaoran. The dragon tensed, then got up from the ground, shaking the grass off his fur and offering his horn to the woman to help her get up as well. The pair of spirits straightened themselves nervously then bowed low, the dragon's snout kissing the earth and the woman's hair pooling in the grass. Nightmare looked oddly formal and nervous too as he stood between his masters and his fellow spirits, his eyes darting between the two groups anxiously.
"Master Syaoran, Mistress Sakura-," he began; Sakura couldn't help but giggle a little at his formality, Syaoran growled quietly but otherwise remained silent. "Allow me to introduce you to the new Sakura Spirits, The Fear," he motioned the dragon, who quivered ever so slightly "and The Seduce," he motioned to the woman who bowed just a little lower. Nightmare shifted his feet nervously.
Because the formality of the situation seemed so important to the spirits, Sakura and Syaoran bowed in return.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fear," Sakura said. "And it's great to see you again, Seduce- alive, that is."
Seduce glanced up at her Mistress, giving a brief smile before turning her face down once more.
Nightmare cleared his throat again, glancing at Fear. "Due to the unforgivable atrocities that The Fear has committed as The Rage, he asks that you lay judgment on him now and condemn him to death as the demon he was. He will revert to his card form at your command to make his destruction easier." Nightmare said. He looked to be in pain as he spoke, looking back and forth between his masters and his old friends. Seduce shot him a look from her bowed position, urging him to go on. "And- and if you see to it that The Fear is condemned to a fate of death, The Seduce asks that she share in his fate and die as well so that they may be together in the afterlife and never separated again."
The silence that hung in the air was cold and shocked. Sakura came sputtering back to life with wide eyes and wild hand gestures.
"No-! No- we could never-! You just came back!" Sakura cried. "We can't condemn anyone!" Syaoran placed a firm hand on her shoulder and shook his head, indicating that she should quiet down. Taking the silent request, Sakura quieted and tearfully stared at the pair of spirits before her.
"If I may, Masters," Nightmare cut in, bowing quickly. "I just want to say that the Fear that I knew hundreds of years ago was a good and brave dragon, and I will vouch for his life with my own if I must."
"Don't be noble," Fear growled. "I don't need you going all wishy-washy on me and telling them who I once was- if I am fated to die, then let them remember me as a demon they knew- not as the spirit they never knew, so that they feel no guilt over my execution."
"Now who's the one being noble, you stuck up lizard?" Nightmare retorted.
"Shut-up!" Fear barked, his head still bowed.
Nightmare puffed out his chest, looking righteously indignant. "You are my oldest and greatest friend, Fear, so you asking me to present your judgment to Miss Sakura and Syaoran is completely tactless- but expecting me to go along with it without trying to save you? Have you lost your mind?"
"Nightmare, please…" Seduce tried to cut in, but Nightmare waved her off.
"I'm sorry to drag you into this, Seduce, but Fear, were you even thinking of her when you came up with request for judgment? Are you just going to let her throw her life away with yours?"
"I'm the one who wants to die with him, Nightmare, don't be mad at him," Seduce whispered.
"You hear that, Nightmare, she wants to die with me. Who am I to say no to her?"
"She was just brought back from the dead!" Nightmare howled. "You- you- arrogant, little-!"
"I have heard enough!" Syaoran shouted over the din, his voice a deadly cold tone. He raised his hands for silence. Nightmare shut his mouth and straightened, Fear and Seduce shuddered, backing down slightly. Sakura drew in a sharp breath, staring at the man next her. An odd feeling fluttered in her chest as she looked at him, and when she figured out that the cold, commanding look on his face frightened her, she immediately averted her eyes. She had seen that look many times before when Syaoran was getting serious or angry, but never before had it ever frightened her. Why was she feeling frightened now?
Syaoran turned to Fear, his eyes hard and serious. "As your Masters, Sakura and I will reserve judgment for a later time, when we see it fit to either condemn you-,"
"Syaoran!" Sakura cried, horrified.
"-Or forgive you. Until that time, you are to stay dormant in you Card form unless summoned. Do you understand?"
Fear raised his head slowly, keeping his eyes averted. "Yes, sir." He immediately glowed bright and shrunk into his card form, floating slowly into Syaoran's hand.
Nightmare and Seduce stared up at their Masters anxiously. He could easily ignore them. But Sakura's tearful stare nearly broke his heart.
"How- how could you say such a thing?" she whispered.
Syaoran cocked his eyebrow. "Did you want me to condemn him right there?" he asked, his voice unintentionally cold.
"NO!" Sakura shook her head vigorously, a few tears leaked down her cheeks. "But how could you be so mean, Syaoran?"
Syaoran dropped his serious exterior, his shoulders slumping and his expression softening. "He asked for judgment, Sakura, to just blow off the request would be to insult him, so, I had to take it seriously."
Sakura averted her eyes from the man before her, looking up to the bright blue sky that stretched out over the house. "I see…" she turned away from him.
Seduce rose from her low bow and placed her hand on Sakura's arm. "Please, Miss Sakura, Syaoran is right. Fear is a very proud beast and if you were to just throw his judgment back in his face- well, it would have seriously offended him. Excepting his request was the best thing you could do."
Sakura nodded slowly. She opened her mouth to say something but wavered, tipping to the sided a little. Nightmare caught her, holding her until she steadied.
"Miss Sakura, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
She offered him a smile. "Of course I am, Nightmare. I guess I'm still weak from being- um- asleep for so long," she said, still unsure of what had happened to her during the blackout in her memory.
"Right," the spirit let her go slowly, watching her incase she faltered again. "Perhaps you should go back to bed, rest until you feel one hundred percent better."
Syaoran watched her, noting that Sakura seemed to avoid making eye contact with him. "Nightmare is right, you should go back to bed," he suggested.
"I'll take her," Seduce offered. "You boys may want to go over and check on Lost, he doesn't look too good over there." She jerked her head in the direction of the curled up blond near by.
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Tomoyo watched the exchange between the spirits and their masters curiously; whatever was going on over there looked serious. When she saw that Sakura and the red spirit were walking in her direction she ducked her head to make it look like she was fussing over Eriol. As Sakura approached, she ran ahead of Seduce to see Tomoyo.
"Oh, Tomoyo, is Eriol alright?" Sakura called, dropping to her knees next to her friend.
"He's fine, just… asleep, I guess," she replied, arranging his robes so they weren't in such disarray.
"Maybe we should bring them in, you know, so they're not on the front lawn and all," the sorceress offered. She took Eriol's arm and tried to drag him, but he was too heavy and she ended up dragging him only a foot or two before her feet slipped on the grass and she landed on her butt.
"Perhaps I should do that," Seduce offered.
Tomoyo glanced at the beautiful woman. "Are you sure? Won't he be too heavy for you?"
Seduce laughed. "Not at all," she replied, lifting her hands in a quick, sweeping motion. From around her, bright red ribbons materialized and moved to wrap around Eriol and his guardians, lifting them gently into the air. "It helps when I'm not human," she laughed. "Just let me know where you want to put them, miss."
"Oh, Tomoyo, this is Seduce- Seduce, this is my best friend, Tomoyo." Sakura introduced quickly, following after Seduce as she maneuvered the three bodies into the house.
"Seduce?" Tomoyo tipped her head. "You mean the spirit you killed Friday night because Evil took over her body- that Seduce?"
Sakura and Seduce paused, glancing at each other.
"Um… yeah," Sakura replied. "She's the spirit Syaoran and I killed… and now she's back… I'm not quite sure how, though…"
Tomoyo stood on the stairs looking back and forth between the two; she'd seen enough strange and unexplainable magical things in her life to know when to just let things go. "It's nice to meet you, Seduce, you can put those three in the room at the end of the hall."
"Of course," the spirit smiled warmly, navigating her ribbons so they moved Eriol and his guardians single file down the hall and into Eriol's bedroom. "I'll set them down on the bed so you may care for them as you see fit."
"Thank you," Tomoyo called. "Hey, Sakura- are you feeling alright?" she asked in a quieter voice. "I was watching you when you were over with Syaoran and the other spirits and it looked like it got pretty serious."
"Oh, that? It's fine, Tomoyo, you don't have to worry about it." Sakura replied with false brightness. Tomoyo easily saw through the façade but chose not to press the subject.
"If you're sure…" she gave Sakura a careful once over, as if judging to see if she were perfectly alright. "If you ever need to talk-."
"Then I know I have you," Sakura cut in. "I know the drill, Tomoyo. Now, go to Eriol, he needs you more at the moment." She pushed her friend in the direction of Eriol's bedroom, then made her way to the room she had woken up in. Now she was able to see the details she had completely missed the first time; the room looked like it had been torn up by some sort of tornado, the window was torn out of the wall, there was a crater in the floor, and things were tossed around the floor in complete disarray.
Sakura walked around the room slowly, running her hands over the scratched walls and picking up the odd trinket from the floor and setting it out of the way. "What happened?" she asked herself quietly. Everything was one big, black void in her mind, and it seemed like she had missed a lot of very important things. "What happened to me?"
"A part of your heart was stolen from you," someone replied, making Sakura jump. She spun around to see two figures standing in the doorway of the closet, though, behind them certainly didn't look like a closet.
"Life, Death, what are you doing here?" she asked, staring at the pair as they leaned comfortably on the doorframe of the ebony door.
"Um… nothing?" Life chirped. Death rolled his eyes.
"You said a part of my heart was stolen from me- what do you mean?" Sakura pressed, her hands going up to press against her chest to feel her heartbeat.
"You may want to sit down, Miss Sakura," Seduce suggested as she came into the room. Without really thinking, Sakura backed up and sat on the rumpled bed behind her.
"What do you mean a piece of my heart was taken from me?" she asked again, staring at Life and Death pleadingly. "Tell me what happened- everything."
"Very well," Death conceded. "The night you fought Evil and he got inside your body, he was able to take a very large portion of your heart, and as it appears, he used it to form a body of his own, but without your heart you would have died-."
"But I didn't," Sakura said, stating the fact as a reassurance to herself.
"No, thanks to Lost. He took your soul to his Realm to give you more time, since it takes me longer to cross worlds to collect the dead." Death said.
"He did that, for me?" Sakura whispered, a small smile playing over her lips. "He's such a sweet little boy." She was quiet for little while afterward, and the spirits were silent to allow her to think. "Where does Rage fit into this?"
Seduce bit her lip.
Life pursed her lips. "Fear became Rage because of Evil- he took the demonic power that was offered to him as a way to destroy you and Syaoran as revenge for killing Seduce."
"So he attacked this place trying to get to Syaoran and I," Sakura said, mostly to herself.
"Yes, and he brought Evil and Pain with him. Evil didn't just want a part of your soul, Sakura, he wanted to become you; he wanted to take the rest of your soul and possess your body. If it wasn't for Syaoran coming back when he did and getting your soul back we would have lost you." Death explained.
Sakura drew her knees up her chest and hugged them tightly. "Is that why he was kissing me when I woke up?" she asked.
"Yes, he was returning your heart," Death said.
"Think of it like something from one of those old fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty and the like," Life offered, a bright grin on her face. "The prince awakening the princess with a kiss."
"I see…" Sakura bit her bottom lip. The first kiss was just returning her heart, but what about the second kiss? That meant something, right? He had felt the same thing coursing through his body that she had felt as they shared that kiss that took their breath away, or did he? Could Syaoran have just been playing along with her because she had just woken up?
To get her mind off that train of thought, she changed the subject by asking about how Rage was returned to Fear, and how Seduce was brought back to life.
"You did that, Sakura," Life chirped. "You and Syaoran may not have the knowledge or skills that Clow Reed had to create Clow Cards, but the sheer force of power your soul created in the light wave was enough to form a new body for the existing Sakura Card, Seduce."
"So I am as good as new thanks to you, Miss Sakura," Seduce said, looking at Sakura with absolute adoration.
Sakura blushed, a little flustered by Seduce. "And Fear, what about him?'
"I returned Fear to his original form by using a special mirror that belonged to Eriol, but ended up in the Realm of the Lost," Seduce said. "Although, the mirror certainly wouldn't have been enough if it hadn't been for the wave."
Sakura smiled gently, and then flopped back on the bed. "But now Fear wants us to judge him, and condemn him…" she sighed, turning her head to stare at Seduce. "If Fear really does get condemned… why did you ask to die with him, Seduce?"
"Because I love him," she replied. It was such a simple answer. "Being apart from him when I was in the Realm of the Lost was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do- aside from being a demon. If he were to be condemned to death, I- I do not think I would be able to live."
"Wow, you really do love him, don't you- even though he's a dragon." Sakura said.
Seduce ducked her head a little, a pink tinge lighting up her cheeks. "Miss Sakura, it honestly doesn't matter to me that Fear is a dragon, he could be a slug spirit for all I care and I would still love him, as long as he was still the same spirit at heart. I'd rather die again than live without him."
Sakura remained silent, first thinking of how it would work between a dragon and humanoid spirit- the ideas coming to her making her blush. Then her mind wandered to thoughts of how she would feel if Syaoran were to be gone and how he felt when she was 'gone'? Did he even miss her?
…
Of course he did! There was no mistake about that in his eyes; he missed her more than anything. Why was she even bothering to second guess herself?
She sighed and rolled onto her side, her face pillowed by Seduce's silky obi and hair. 'So Seduce is in love with Fear…' she thought, recalling the beautiful dragon she had seen. 'An odd couple.'
Fear's aura had been so… so much like Syaoran's; he had a tough guy exterior but he was a teddy bear on the inside. Could she condemn someone like that? Even knowing what he did as a demon? Sakura's mind went back to the hard expression Syaoran had when he accepted the request for judgment. He had frightened her with the iciness that was in his eyes; but why did it frighten her? She had seen him angry before but had never once backed down from him. Why now? Was there something wrong with her?
It was quiet in the room for a long time. Sakura was almost asleep cuddled up to Seduce's back when someone came shuffling into the room.
"Sakura," the person whispered. Sakura lifted her head to see who it was, only to see her brother making his way towards the bed; Kero perched on his shoulder and Yukito and Fujitaka walking in just behind him.
"Toya!" she cried out joyfully.
"Hey there," he said, opening his arms to hug her. She jumped into the embrace.
"Toya, are you alright- is everything okay?" Sakura lead her brother to the bed and made him sit down, he looked a little worn out. She glanced nervously between her brother and the sun guardian perched on his shoulder. Kero shrugged.
"I'm fine, little monster- I'm more worried about you," he replied with a smirk. Sakura puffed out her chest, turning red in the face.
"Don't call me a monster!" she yelled. Getting the desired reaction he was waiting for, Toya laughed.
"Not gonna happen, monster," he said teasingly. He glanced over his little sister's head and his eyes landed on Life and Death briefly, his laughter quieting instantly. He was about to say something when Life lifted her index finger to her mouth and made a shushing motion, Toya nodded and turned away from them, going back to teasing his sister.
"What's this I hear about you lip locking with that brat?" Toya asked, narrowing his eyes and poking Sakura lightly.
Sakura squeaked and looked to her dad pleadingly. "Daaad, you told him?" she whined, completely embarrassed.
Fujitaka shrugged with a smile. "He dragged it out of me," he replied.
"So it's true!" Toya exclaimed. "How could you trade spit with that little brat?"
"Oh- stop it!" She whined, her face as bright as a cherry. "It's not like I would have kissed him if I knew everyone was watching!"
"Oh, so you'd kiss him if you were alone?" Toya asked accusingly. "Is that it?"
"Yes! NO! I mean- what I mean to say is… TOYA!" Sakura stomped her foot after she couldn't think of a good defense. "You're horrible! Syaoran is the one who saved me, so you should just leave him alone!" Without really thinking of what she was saying, Sakura puffed out her chest and announced, "Whatever Syaoran and I choose to do together, when we are alone or in public, is completely up to us and absolutely none of your business!"
There was a long, awkward silence after her loud proclamation.
Now, this statement was indeed very mature for someone like Sakura to be saying to her older brother, and any other time would have shocked him into silence, but at this time, used in that context, it was absolutely the funniest thing that anyone in that room had heard in a long, long time.
Fujitaka was the first to crack, allowing a stifled chuckle to pass his lips, then his shoulders began to shake with mirth, and finally he his face beamed with all out laughter. It was contagious to the rest of the room, and soon everyone except Sakura and Toya were in fits of laughter. Toya managed to turn a funny shade of deep red and make it look as if he were choking in the air itself, and Sakura, to her credit, looked as if she had caught on quickly to what she had said and was now thoroughly embarrassed. Her already blushing face turned several shaded darker and she backed away from her brother until her foot got caught in the crater in the floor and she fell on her backside. The laughter in the room only increased, everyone riding on the high of the mirth, finding anything hilarious at the moment. Even as Sakura picked herself off the floor, she was feeling laughter bubbling up inside her, as well.
It felt like forever that they were all laughing, as if there was nothing wrong in the world at all.
Slowly, with small bursts of giggles and chuckles at random moments, they quieted down.
"Wow, I don't know how long it's been since I've laughed like that," Life exclaimed, wiping her eyes of the tears of mirth.
"I guess with everything that has been going on, everyone had been on edge as of late; we all needed a laugh to clear our systems," Fujitaka said, removing his glasses to wipe them on his shirt. It was amazing how normal he was acting towards the two creatures that had seemly jumped out of the closet during battle; he certainly had gotten used to the supernatural pretty quickly.
"It's good to be able to laugh again," Seduce sighed happily.
"In your case, it's good to be alive again, isn't it?" Kero asked, looking up at the spirit with a half smile.
She laughed politely, nodding. "Oh, yes, it's good to be back." She replied.
Sakura bristled as she watched her little guardian speak so freely in front of her father and brother; to her knowledge, they were still supposed to be oblivious to magic! "Kero- shh!" she hissed, reaching for the golden creature.
"It's okay, Sakura. They know," he replied, waving her off.
"They know?" she repeated in a squeaky voice. Her eyes flicked from Toya to her father and then back to Kero. "How?"
"Your guardians were escaping Rage and they came to our house," Fujitaka explained calmly, walking up to his daughter and wrapping his arms tightly around her like he had wanted to the instant he saw her awake. "They explained to us what was going on." Sakura gasped, tensing nervously. "Shh, not all of it, Sakura, just some of it. Rage attacked us again and- and…" he hugged his daughter closer to his chest.
"The house is gone." Toya sighed.
Kero growled. "That damn dragon destroyed it- he fell on it!"
"Our house!" Sakura cried. Fujitaka hugged her tighter.
"Shh, it's alright. Everyone got out alright," Fujitaka said. "I'm just glad that you're alright- when I saw you laying in that bed, I had no idea what to think. You're my one and only daughter and if anything happened to you…" the pain in his voice was so heart wrenching for Sakura to hear, she suddenly felt very bad for what she put her father through.
"But I'm okay now, dad," she whispered, reaching her arms up to return the hug at last. "I'm back and you don't have to worry anymore, everything is going to be alright."
Yukito smiled calmly, glancing over at Life and Death with a serine expression. They returned his smile and Death jerked his head to signal Yuki to look behind him. It seemed that Syaoran had arrived, along with a solemn Nightmare and a tearful, sobbing blond.
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Out in the Hall
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"I don't think I can do this, Mr Syaoran," Lost whimpered as he peered into the room. "What if Miss Sakura doesn't like the new me?"
"It's alright, Lost, she'll still like you," Syaoran reassured.
Lost gulped and tried to back away from the doorway, bumping into Nightmare. "I'll just go hide, instead." He squeaked, trying to get around Nightmare.
"Oh, no, you're going in there whether you want to or not. You're going to have to face Sakura sometime and it's best to face her now than hide from her and feel bad that you're hiding." Nightmare reasoned, grabbing Lost's robe so he couldn't escape.
"I-um- I-I!" Lost stuttered and whimpered, wiggling desperately to try and free himself.
Syaoran peered into the room once more, watching Sakura closely as she stepped away from her father, giving him a peck on the cheek. She looked so perfect standing there. She wasn't wavering at all, although she was still in a state of half dress, her upper torso and much of her arms were wrapped in bandages, and it was obvious that there were bandages underneath her borrowed pajama pants. Syaoran blushed and had to look down before he was caught staring at her like a pervert- he was already very aware of his own state of half dress, in only a pair of loose cotton pants and white gauze around his torso.
When he dared to look up again his eyes were caught by Yukito's, who smiled generously and waved them into the room. Quietly, Syaoran crept into the room with Nightmare and Lost trailing close behind him. He didn't want to interrupt the conversation between Sakura, her father, and, surprisingly, Kero.
Toya caught his entrance and instantly sent the warrior an icy glare, which Syaoran returned whole-heartedly. Lost withered behind Syaoran, terrified by the nasty look he thought he was receiving. This only made Syaoran's glare intensify as he jumped to Lost's defense. The small squeaking noises that Lost was making alerted Sakura to their presence in the room, she tensed a little when she saw the cold glare in Syaoran's eyes but relaxed when it receded.
Confused by her hesitation, Syaoran tipped his head a little and walked up to her, under the suspicion that something was wrong. She cast her eyes down nervously, and then peeked up to look around Syaoran at Nightmare and the hansom spirit with him.
"Hoe? Who might you be?" she chirped, a friendly smile spreading across her face
quickly. He looked very familiar and his aura was unmistakably of someone she had met before…
"I-uh- Miss Sakura- it's me… I'm Lost!" Lost squeaked and stuttered, his eyes wide and fearful of rejection.
Sakura's eyes got wide and round, disbelief written over her face. "Lost?" she breathed. Everyone else in the room was silent, watching the scene play out apprehensively. Sakura took a tentative step forward, around Syaoran, and gently ran her hand down Lost's face. A tingling feeling settled in her stomach and she knew instantly that this man was once the boy spirit that she had come to adore. "You're so different," she whispered, as if it was a secret.
Lost's lip quivered. He looked so torn and lost and miserable. "I know Miss Sakura- but is it okay?" he asked, his eyes searching hers desperately.
The mystified look on Sakura's face was gone in a second and replaced by a wide, welcoming smile. "Of course it's okay, Lost!" she said warmly, seeing that the little boy she knew was still there, just bigger. "You just took me by surprise, that's all!" And he took her by surprise once more, because as soon as the words left her mouth, he dropped the floor and clung to her legs in a tight hug, crying in relief like a little boy.
A breath of relief was released collectively around the room. Even those who didn't know what was going on had sensed the intensity of the moment and had been watching for Sakura's reaction to this new familiar-stranger with baited breath.
Slowly, Sakura sank down to Lost's level and embraced him.
Seduce peered up at Nightmare with a half smile. "What an adorable sight," she said through the connection they shared as Sakura Cards.
"I was almost worried that he would drown in his own tears before he faced her," Nightmare replied.
"Oh, you're simply awful, Nightmare," Seduce laughed, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
"Shut up, you two!" Kero's voice snapped, and from where he sat on the bed he glared at them. "The boy has lost both his Realm and his lantern, not to mention has lost his old form, lay off him for a while!"
The spirits jumped in surprise at the unexpected reprimand, then blushed accordingly.
With all of the squirming and crying that Lost was doing into Sakura's chest, her bandages were beginning to slip. Utterly oblivious to the situation, Lost buried his face closer into Sakura's chest, tightening his hug and breathing in deep to enjoy his Mistress's calming, sweet scent. Syaoran's face colored considerably and he stuttered over words to try and tell Sakura what was happening, but at the moment his mouth seemed to trip over the words more than a newborn foal stumbled over steps. He was saved from saying anything when Fujitaka spoke up, seemingly unaware of the slipping of the bandages and only seeing that he and his son were the odd ones out in the crowd.
"Come on, Toya, this looks like a moment between Sakura and her friends, we should leave them be," he said.
Toya grunted and rose from the bed, shooting Syaoran a dangerous glare, his sharp eyes catching the slippage of the bandages and silently warning Syaoran that if he tried anything he would be hung by his own bandages. Syaoran ignored the threat, instead choosing to focus on Sakura. Father and son left the room silently, Yukito following after them, and shut the door quietly behind them.
Life giggled a little, watching as more and more of Sakura's back was exposed without her knowing. Nightmare flushed, caught between dragging Lost off his Mistress and spinning on his heel to keep his sense of propriety. Syaoran seemed in a similar predicament.
It was Seduce who came to the rescue, using her powers of seduction to slowly coax Lost to stop crying and drift away from Sakura, and then using her red ribbons to wrap around her torso so that she was covered. It was then that Sakura became aware of her near nakedness and squealed, wrapping her arms tight over her chest.
"HOE!" Her face flushed bright crimson, and her arms covered her chest closely. "Don't look!"
"Don't worry," Seduce soothed. "I've got you covered." She was leaning over slightly, one hand gently stroking Lost's hair to keep him under her power and the other outstretched to manipulate her ribbons around Sakura's chest.
"Perhaps it would be best if you got dressed now, Sakura. It is mid-day after all." Death offered, neither offended nor embarrassed over Sakura's near exposure. "And I doubt that you would want to be going around in your current state of dress for any longer."
"Right- sure, get dressed…." Sakura kept her hands tightly over her chest as she got up off the floor. Syaoran moved to help her up, placing his hands under her arms to help lift her, but she tensed and shook his hands off. As if he had been burned, Syaoran jerked his hands back and looked down questioningly at Sakura. She gave him no explanation, instead she said, "Could you guys- um- leave, please?"
Nightmare nodded and left without a word, Seduce following after him wordlessly with an enchanted Lost at her heels- her ribbons slipped out after her, but Sakura was prepared and held her hands tightly over her chest to keep the gauze secure. Death stepped back into the Looking Room and prepared to the close door, until he saw that his companion wasn't following him. With a sigh, his golden chains reached up and wrapped around Life and dragged her in, her grunts of protest loud in the quiet of the room, and then he closed the door with a curt click- instantly the ebony door of the Looking Room was replaced by the broken closet door.
Syaoran paused before he left, trying to get a look in Sakura's eyes. She wouldn't let him, turning her head to the side and keeping her eyes away from Syaoran's so that he wouldn't she that she was shamed that she had been afraid of him, even if only for a moment.
Kero sprang up the bed and collided hard with Syaoran's head. "Oh no! No peep show for you- don't even think about staying in here while Sakura gets dressed!" he yelled, yanking Syaoran's hair until the warrior left the room.
Sakura sighed as she watched the two leave, now she felt completely and utterly alone, and the cold breeze that was coming in through the hole in the wall was not helping her any. She turned away from the doorway to search around the room for something to get dressed in, but her thoughts were thoroughly fixated on Syaoran. She had barely woken up a half hour ago and already she felt worse than when she had been unconscious.
Was something really wrong with her?
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Outside the Window
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Sorrow and Illness hung precariously from the ledge of the window as they peered in at their Mistress as she slowly striped the bandages from her body. Below them, Nightmare, Seduce, and Lost stood gathered, watching them, waiting. The mundanes, who had been playing with the Twins of Misery, ran as fast as they could for the house, trying to get away before the were caught. The last thing they wanted was to go back to their intense game of "Find the Bones", which had everyone running around the lawn looking for whatever remained of the demons that had attacked.
Minutes later, the Twins of Misery slipped from their spot and fell the two stories to the ground, landing in a painful looking tangle of arms and legs in the thorny bush that laid beneath the window, but miraculously they were unhurt. The scrambled up and shook the briars off their clothes.
"Well, can you sense what's wrong with her?" Nightmare asked anxiously as soon as the pair was standing.
"Yes…" "And no…" They replied slowly, unsurely.
Nightmare growled. "Which answer is it, yes or no?"
"It's," "Both." "She's not exactly sick," "Or sad, per say…" "It's her heart that's giving her problems," "Because it isn't all the way together yet." The Twins explained, in their own 'in sync' sort of way.
Lost piqued up from his crouched position next to Seduce. "But- But- Mr Syaoran got Miss Sakura's heart back! There's no way there's still a piece missing!"
"I don't think that's what they mean," Seduce said gently, regarding the twins with curious eyes. "We can all sense that Miss Sakura's heart is whole again, but…"
"Wet glue."
"Excuse me?" Seduce blinked.
"Wet Glue."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nightmare asked scathingly. His abrasive tone flew right over their heads as Sorrow and Illness tipped their heads all the way back to look up at the window behind them.
"It's like wet glue." "You can't touch it if it's still wet." They said."Miss Sakura's heart hasn't healed together all the way yet," "So it got hurt easier than it should have." "And now she hurts a lot," "Over whatever happened."
"The judgment…" Nightmare whispered, everything suddenly clicking for him. "Dammit! I knew we shouldn't have presented that request for judgment- especially so soon!"
"So this is our fault," Seduce sighed. "Is there anything we can do to fix this?"
Sorrow and Illness rocked back on their heels, tipping over and landing flat on their backs so that they landed back in the thorny bush.
"Don't worry about it." "Syaoran will fix her." They replied cryptically, and then without any further explanation they hopped out of the bush and ran for the mundanes, catching them before they got too far and began dragging them back for another game.
Lost watched Sorrow and Illness as they ran and jumped sporadically over the humans, the poor creatures ducking and covering their heads desperately so they weren't kicked in the head. "They're right," he breathed out quietly.
"Are you agreeing with them, pip-squeak?" Nightmare asked skeptically, cocking an eyebrow.
Lost pursed his lips and pouted. "But they are right; Mr Syaoran always finds a way to help Miss Sakura."
"Indeed, he does," Seduce agreed, nodding wisely. "Then perhaps we should leave our Masters to sort things out between themselves for now. Maybe we could go into the town and savage for supplies, I am quite sure that our efforts would be appreciated by all."
Nightmare ran his hands through his hair. "Fine, but we have to be careful, Evil and Pain flew off in that direction and they might be there right this minute."
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In Tomoeda
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Pain stumbled about the ruins of Tomoeda, his path unclear, choked by the debris of fallen houses and remains of those who had not been quick enough to get out of the town. His copper eyes darted wildly over the surroundings, not quite seeing what was there; what he saw was the horrid vision of his mirror image kissing Evil. No matter how hard Pain tried to cleanse his mind of the disgusting images, they continued to play out before his mind's eye like a horror movie set to repeat the scary part over and over again.
Laid out on a slab of pavement, cushioned by broken glass and sharp stones, Evil found himself reliving the horrid event over and over as well. The sight of that brat's lips on his, the wrench of Sakura's soul as it pulled itself free from his captive grasp. The taste of light and love in his mouth; it made him want to gag. But he couldn't gag. As a matter of fact, Evil couldn't quite do anything at the moment other than replay the stealing-back of his stolen piece of soul; all other energy had left the instant Sakura's soul left.
Shadowed by the overhang of a nearly collapsed house, Evil stared blankly at his own hand, his body losing its form and melting back into its formless dark mass. If he had any energy, he would be furious at the moment; it wasn't fair that he had to lose both the soul and body he truly desire and the one thing that was close enough to a real body that he had ever had! Dropping his hand to his side, Evil made a noise of disgust.
Drawing his eyes away from his own problems, Evil let his eyes drift to his most loyal demon. Pain paced like a caged animal along the broken streets of Tomoeda, his warrior body tense and ready for revenge; whatever paralysis he had felt in the Hiiragisawa mansion had long since dissipated. He now was giving off waves of delicious hate and frustration. It was then that an idea came to mind, a wonderfully wicked idea that would enable Evil to keep his doppelganger body just a little longer.
Pain forced his fist through the wall of a near by house, its wall crumbling easily into rubble. It did nothing to sooth his burning need to rip Syaoran's lips off his face so that he would never again have to opportunity to kiss anyone else. At the tiny sound of summoning that Evil made, Pain was at the demon's side in an instant.
"What is it you need, Evil?" he asked quietly, searching Evil's beautiful face as if shifted from solid to inky tar and back again.
"Hate more, for me," Evil whispered, his voice hoarse. He raised a delicate hand to run along Pain's hansom face. "Be angry and frustrated and hate so much that it fills your body and chokes you, let me feed off your hate and become strong again. Can you do this for me?"
Pain nodded. "I am already filled with hate, Evil. I hate the card captors and I hate the spirits that follow them- I am angry that I could do nothing to stop Syaoran from taking what had been your's and I am frustrated that there is nothing to take my anger out on now."
Evil smirked. "Then show me your hate, let it out, and give it to me," he commanded.
With a final bow of his head, Pain arose and walked to the center of the street where he stood amongst the ruins of Tomoeda and gathered his turmoil. He let his chest burn and his lungs choke with the black emotions he gathered. The dust at his feet picked up in the ethereal wind he summoned, moving higher and faster in a great tornado as more and more magic was gathered.
Evil watched silently, pleased with what he saw.
Pain tensed, taking in one great, deep breath that filled his lungs to their full capacity, and then let it all out in a roar that rocked the heavens themselves. Those dark, dark emotions that had been boiling underneath his skin suddenly burst forth from his body and became a tidal wave of power over the land. Buildings flew apart, trees were ripped from their roots and thrown away, and every inch of exposed ground and loose debris was decimated in the wake of Pain's hate, leaving little more than ash afterward. And Evil absorbed the power hungrily, his body red hot with the energy. It sealed his ghost of a body and solidified his fake flesh, enabling him to feel and move again like the fake life form that he was.
And as Pain's wail waned, no building stood standing, no plant laid living, even the distant park laid in ruins; the entire town of Tomoeda was now nothing more than a dead wasteland.