Chapter 13

Sakura was sitting by Eriol's bedside, holding his hand, while the guardians stood around them.

"It's my fault… If only I was better, faster…" Sakura sobbed slightly.

"It's not your fault, Sakura. He was protecting you. If that energy had hit you, it would have been fatal for you. The only one at fault here is that witch." Spinnel said.

"Is, is he going to be okay?" Sakura asked, tears in her voice and in her eyes.

The guardians were quiet for a moment before Yue said, "We don't know. Without knowing what kind of magic that was, there's no way to for sure."

"Sakura, it's getting late. You should go home and get some rest." Nakuru said.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving him."

"Sakura…" Yue tried to persuade her. "Touya will be home soon and he would be wondering where you are."

"Then call him and tell him I'm staying here. I'm not leaving him, Yue." Sakura said firmly. The guardians looked at each other.

Spinnel tried. "Sakura, there's nothing that we can do right now but wait. We don't know what this is, and we don't know what to do. He's the only one who would know what to do." The irony of his words was not lost to the rest of the room, but Sakura's eyes widened.

"That's it! Spinnel, you're a genius!" Sakura said. The guardians looked at her questioningly. "He's the only one who knows what to do, right? But there are two of them, him and Clow." Sakura explained. "We can't ask Eriol, but we can ask Clow."

"That's a good idea and all." Nakuru started, "But how are you going to talk to Clow?"

"The Dream card or The Return card." Sakura said. "I'm going to try The Dream card first. If it doesn't work, I'll go to the temple to use The Return. Eriol said I shouldn't use The Return card by myself, but the tree can help me." There was another way, by asking Touya's help to talk to Clow's spirit. But Sakura would use that as a last resort.

"Well, this might be the only way." Kero conceded. "Unless anyone else has a better idea." But no one did.

"I'll prepare a room for you." Nakuru said and left.

"I'll call Touya and explain the situation." Yue too left.

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Sakura got ready and sat on the bed in the room that Nakuru had prepared for her. She held her staff in one hand and The Dream in the other. "Please work…" Sakura had never done this before, and she just hoped that this would work. "Please be there, Clow…"

"Dream!" Sakura cast her card and then fell back to bed as The Dream worked.

Sakura found herself standing in the middle of a garden.

"Hello, Sakura." A gentle voice greeted her from behind. "You're looking for me?"

Sakura turned around and saw the older magician standing there, with a now familiar smile on his face. 'It works!' Sakura thought with relief. "Clow! It's Eriol. He…"

"Yes, I know what happened." Clow nodded. "Walk with me, Sakura."

They started walking. She walked quietly with him knowing that he would only start talking when he was ready. Eriol was exactly the same. At the beginning, Sakura had felt the need to talk, just to fill the silence, but now, she had learned to be patient and wait.

"You've grown." Clow commented a few minutes later.

"Ah, I'm fourteen now. But you know that." Sakura smiled.

Clow nodded. "Yes. Eriol is the same, by my design. However, what's happening between you two, I did not predict."

"He mentioned." Sakura blushed slightly as she remembered his love confession.

"What do you want to ask me, Sakura?" Clow asked her. This, too, was Eriol's style. Even if he knew why Sakura was there, he would want her to ask the questions.

From experience, Sakura knew she had to ask the right question. "How can I help Eriol?" Sakura asked after a while.

Clow's smile told her she had asked the right question. "He has taught you well, I see." Clow's smiled faltered. "Unfortunately, I cannot give you the answer because only you know the answer. This is something that I don't know."

Sakura was quiet as she thought of his words. "What is the nature of the magic that hit him?"

"Black magic. At the base of it all, the purest form of black magic is hatred. It aims to corrupt and as strong as Eriol is, he too could be corrupted." Clow said.

"Corrupted? But he won't let that happen, will he?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"He will not. He knows that if he gets corrupted, with his power, he would be destructive. Which is why he would choose death." Clow told Sakura who had stopped in her surprise.

"Death?" Her voice was above whisper.

"Yes. He would rather die than let it corrupt him. Right now, he's holding it at bay. But he won't be able to hold it off for much longer. The magic itself is not strong, but its nature is strong and corrupt." Clow said.

"So, right now Eriol is deliberately not waking up?" Sakura asked.

"That is correct." Clow nodded. "You might be the only one who can help him, Sakura."

"Me? How?" Sakura asked again.

Clow looked at her gently. "You have the Gift of the heart, Sakura. All you need to do is look into your heart and find the answer. Once you do, and if the answer is in Eriol's favor, then, and only then, you can help him and counter the black magic. Otherwise, there's nothing that any of us can do to help him. Once you've found the answer, you have to harness its power and make it your own. Now, you must go back." He waved his hand in front of her face and Sakura closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she was back in the room.

Sakura jumped out of bed in search of the guardians. She found them sitting in the living room. The guardians looked up when she entered the room.

"Did it work? Did you talk to him?" Kero asked eagerly.

Sakura nodded. "What is a Gift? Kero, you mentioned it before. You said Clow was extremely gifted and Touya has a Gift, but what exactly is a Gift?"

"A Gift is well, a Gift. It's something that someone has that makes them… special, I guess." Kero said.

"Like my magic?" Sakura asked.

"It's not the same with your magic, Sakura. You know how some people can play music and others can draw? Those are their Gifts." Kero told her. "It's like a talent, but stronger and more special. Sometimes they're magical in nature, but not always. Like Touya, he has the Gift of sight, which allows him to see spirits."

"Clow said I have the Gift of the heart, but what does it mean?" Sakura asked the guardians.

Kero and Yue looked at each other. "Well, yes. That makes sense." Kero said. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

Nakuru and Sakura looked confused. It didn't make any sense to them.

"What's that?" Nakuru asked.

"You really have to start reading and learning, Nakuru." Spinnel said.

"What exactly did Clow say?" Yue asked.

"That I have the Gift of the heart. Eriol is deliberately putting himself to sleep right now because otherwise the black magic would corrupt him. Spinnel, tell me about this Gift." Sakura turned to Spinnel.

"The Gift of the heart is a very special kind of Gift. It's one of the strongest Gifts." Spinnel stated. "As its name suggests, it's based on emotions, on the heart itself."

Sakura looked thoughtful. "Clow said that too. That I have to look into my heart to find the answer." She thought about what the other mage had told her. "He said I'm the only one who can find the answer, that not even he knows the answer."

The guardians looked confused.

"I don't understand." Nakuru said, and this time, neither did the other guardians.

Sakura was deep in thought as she thought about what Clow had told her. He had told her enough for her to find the answer, she knew that. He was Eriol after all and Eriol had told her that he wouldn't give her anything, be it a question, a situation, or a riddle, that she wouldn't know the answer to. She knew the answer, she just had to gather the information, and connect the dots.

Sakura decided to look into her heart instead of thinking about the answer. After all, that was what Clow told her, that was where she would find the answer. According to Spinnel, the Gift was based on her heart, on her feelings, so, she closed her eyes.

Inevitably, she thought of Eriol and how she felt about him. His smiles, his face, his voice, his eyes, him. Sakura took a deep breath as she just let go and let herself feel. Thoughts of him filled her head and her heart. They hadn't been together for that long, but she had had feelings for him for much longer. She thought about how much she had missed him during those weeks after their battle, how they had gotten closer, how happy they were these past months, how happy he had made her feel. She thought about how jealous she felt a few months ago, how she thought that she had messed up and how scared she was at the thought of losing him, how he had told her about his love for her afterwards. Sakura thought about their first kiss, then their promises to each other, and lastly, she thought about how she was feeling right now. Clow said he would choose death over corruption and Sakura realized she couldn't lose him. She couldn't bear losing him. And then, just like that, she knew the answer. It was right there, in front of her.

"Love." Sakura whispered.

The guardians looked at her in surprise.

"The answer, it's love." Sakura said.

"Love?" Kero asked. "What do you mean?"

"Clow said he doesn't know the answer, that only I know the answer. That's because the matter of the heart is not something that he can predict. He also said that I can only help Eriol and counter the black magic if the answer is in his favor. The black magic is based on hate and the opposite of hate is love." Sakura explained.

"Are you saying that you, uh…?" Spinnel trailed off.

Sakura suddenly realized what she had just said in front of the guardians. She had basically admitted in front of the guardians that she loved Eriol. She blushed, furiously.

Yue looked down on the floor as he realized what it meant. Nakuru smirked and Kero looked like he found something very interesting outside the window.

"Anyway," Sakura quickly said, eager to change the subject, "that's only half of the work. He said that I need to harness its power, make it my own and I don't know what he meant by that."

"You have to master it." Spinnel told her. "And to truly master it…"

"…you have to make it one of your cards." Kero finished off for him, relieved that the conversation had moved away from the other subject and excited that Sakura was going to make a card.

Sakura gaped at them. "I have to make a card?"

"Yes, that's the only way, since your magic is based on the cards." Spinnel said.

Sakura looked dejected then. "But I, I don't know how to make a card." She had found the answer, but there was nothing that she could do, and it was even worse now because now she knew that she loved him, but there was nothing that she could do to help him. She was going to lose him without even having the chance to tell him how she felt. Tears started to gather at the corners of her eyes.

"You can do this, Sakura. You might need a little help from us, but just follow your instinct." Spinnel said kindly as he noticed her sadness. Spinnel didn't like people, but as he got to know Sakura, he found himself growing fonder of her.

"It's within you. Just let your magic guide you." Kero added.

Sakura looked at the four guardians and they looked at her encouragingly. Sakura wiped her tears and then nodded with determination. "Tell me what to do."

Fifteen minutes later, they were back in the living room. Eriol was lying on the floor and they had moved some of the furniture away to give room for Sakura to work. Sakura stood by him and the guardians stood around them in their true forms.

"Okay, remember Sakura, just do what you did when you found the answer and then just let yourself feel. Then let your magic guide you." Spinnel said.

Sakura nodded.

"Key that hides the power of the star, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. Release!" Sakura summoned her staff. A few seconds later, she stood there, holding her staff in her hand.

"Whenever you're ready, Sakura." Yue said then he closed his eyes. The other guardians followed suit.

"Guardians created by Clow Reed, lend me your power. I command you as the Cardmistress!" Sakura said and then the guardians were surrounded by bright light and they were absorbed into her staff, just like what happened a few years ago during her battle with Eriol.

Sakura could feel their power flowing within her from the staff. Sakura closed her eyes and let herself feel. She let her newfound love for Eriol flow within her, filling her mind and her heart. She remembered their time together, even from before they became a couple. As her love for him flowed within her, she let her magic take control. It moved from her heart, to her hands, and to her staff.

"Love!" Sakura cried and a pink spirit burst out of the tip of her staff. Sakura opened her eyes and found herself transfixed. It had taken a form of a little girl, pure and innocent. Sakura could feel her gentle nature as she flowed down to Eriol's still form and surrounded him with her magic, Sakura's magic.

A few seconds later, The Love floated up to Sakura, smiled gently, and then turned into her card form, landing in Sakura's outstretched hand. At the same time, the tip of Sakura's staff glowed, and the guardians were brought back.

"You did it!" Kero cried as he saw Sakura holding her new card.

Sakura stared at her new card. This was her own card, the one card that she had created herself. A smile appeared on her face and she held the card close to her heart. She couldn't believe it! She had created a new card! She looked at the guardians and they were all smiling at her.

"Ungh…" They heard a voice from the floor and looked down to see Eriol started waking up.

"We, ah, we should go." Spinnel said as he turned and started to make his way out of the room to give the couple some privacy. Kero followed suit, but Ruby just stood there, until Yue grabbed her arm and dragged her out. They closed the door behind them as Sakura got down on the floor.

"Eriol?" She called his name softly, putting her staff and her new card to the side.

His eyes fluttered open and saw her. "Sakura…?" Eriol slowly sat up. He looked at her, then saw her staff and her new card beside them. Surprise flashed across his face, followed by realization. He looked back at her and asked, "Is that…?"

Sakura blushed brightly and nodded shyly.

A smile appeared on his face. "Thank you. For saving me." He told her sincerely.

Then Sakura remembered what he did. "Why did you do that?!" She said angrily.

Eriol was taken aback by her sudden change of mood and said, "I couldn't let that hit you. It would've been fatal for you. I cannot lose you, Saku."

If anything, Sakura looked angrier. "And you think I can lose you?!" She scolded him, and then she hugged him tightly. "I thought I've lost you. I was so scared…" Her voice muffled by his shirt. She started crying softly.

"I'm sorry." He told her as his arms went around her, holding her, rocking her gently. "It's okay now. We're okay now."

After a while, Sakura pulled away from him and looked at his face. "You're an idiot, you know that? But you're my idiot." And then she kissed him.

"I love you too." He told her after they pulled apart. She might have not said it, but it was there; her smile told him so. A wide smile spread across his face and he wouldn't be able to wipe that smile off his face, even if he tried to.