Rewind, Restart, Redo
(Me again. Here you'll find a lot of things that don't really make sense. But it's fanfiction; who needs sense? Argh, never mind. On with the fic.)
When Syaoran got to Sakura's house, pandemonium greeted him.
"Don't touch me!" Sakura screamed, backing away. "Just stay away from me!"
"What did I do?" Toya said, unintentionally raising his voice. "Why are you backing away? Sakura! I'm your brother!"
"That's exactly it!" Sakura backed against the wall. Her eyes were blazing. "Go away!"
"Toya…Sakura was seriously injured, and she has no memory," Yukito said gently. "Why don't you give her some time? Sakura-chan? Do you need time? Or do you need to talk? Please talk to me. You never had a problem talking to me before."
Sakura looked at him with hatred, unlike the look of bliss she had whenever he spoke to her. "Why would I talk with my brother's friend?" she spat the word out. "Where is Syaoran? I need to talk to him!"
Toya scowled. "You mean that idiot?"
"Don't call him that!" Sakura cried out. Syaoran opened the door and in relief Sakura fell into his arms. "Syaoran-kun…"
OK, girl clinging onto me, brother's looking---ohh no…Toya's face was bright red with fury. Syaoran remembered Yukito saying something about a little sister complex…and that for Toya was as good as crazy. He didn't want to get in the way, if he wanted to preserve his body as it was now. Fortunately Sakura spoke up for him, however unknowingly she did it. "At least I can trust Syaorun, Nii-chan. So stay away from him…or else…" her voice trailed off.
So basically I'm watching over my bodyguard, Syaorun thought. That doesn't really make any sense, but…works for me. "Come on, let's go. You have to get used to the life outside." He held her hand and led her out the door. He looked back and almost reconsidered when he saw Toya's crestfallen face. There he decided that if Toya began contemplating suicide he would stop. He would do that much for Toya.
Or for Sakura, anyway.
*
"I don't remember it," Sakura said softly, looking at the school.
"You're a good runner and in the cheerleading club," Syaoran said with perfect truth (for once).
"I still don't remember…it's like you're describing somebody else." Sakura's shoulders sagged, and Syaoran observed how slender her shoulders were. "Syaoran…I really want my memory back." She was starting to speak more softly, as if she really believed she was a princess. And she held her head up. Now Syaoran knew how puppeteers felt. And sometimes it felt great, and other times it made him feel uneasy.
On a sudden impulse he kissed her forehead. "I promised you, I'll get you back your memory. Don't worry." He allowed her to bury her head in his chest, and they were both silent as the wind blew around them.
They weren't aware that they were being watched.
"Sensei, isn't that Sakura-chan and that new boy?" Rika asked, pointing with her right hand. Her left hand was closed tightly around Mr. Terada's right.
"Syaoran? Yes…oh my. They should know better than to hug like that in public!" Mr. Terada said sternly. "I'll have a talk with them when they get back to school."
"Sensei!" Rika laughed, but then grew serious. "I heard something awful happened to Sakura, and then she lost her memory or something. Maybe Syaoran's trying to get it back for her."
"I suppose…but hugging?"
"One of your favorite pastimes was going to the movies with your friends," Syaoran said as they walked away from the school. "Especially…let's see, you wanna watch "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?"
"What's it about?"
Syaoran shrugged. "Uhm…four martial artists battling for love and stuff. I dunno, that's why I wanna watch it. It's in Mandarin, though."
Sakura shook her head. "I don't understand Mandarin."
"I think they have English subtitles. Besides, I know Mandarin, even if Hong Kong prefers Cantonese." I'm babbling, Syaoran thought, shaking his head. "Come on, let's see?"
"Sure."
As they stood in line, Syaoran thought of the next bit of memory he would put in Sakura's mind. I've done her family…so I'll just say something about her friends and then ask for the Cards!
"This is where one of the greatest scenes in movie history occurred, and it wasn't even inside the theater," Syaoran said casually, wondering where the hell he'd gotten that line.
They were standing in line, waiting. "Oh?" Sakura said.
"Yup. You and your friends Rika and Chiharu had a big fight here. Rika accused you of stealing the attentions of her boyfriend, and you denied it, because of course you didn't. Chiharu sided with Rika, and together they yelled at you, calling you every single name in the book. Then Rika threw her soda over your face."
Sakura looked pale. "Is that really the truth?"
Syaoran nodded, much more vigorously than needed. "Rika tries to get back in your good graces…Sakura, all I can say is, most of the people that are nice to you are plotting to kill you. Being the Princess of the Clow Cards has its prices, and you've made a lot of enemies."
The Sakura without her memory was very susceptible to crying. "Why?" she said as her eyes filled with tears. "I've done nothing wrong."
Syaoran began to feel uncomfortable. Maybe now it was time to rush ahead. "Maybe it's the Cards that are causing you grief," he said. "Until you get your memory back and can deal with this emotionally, maybe the Cards should be kept with me. In fact, you would have a normal life without the cards. Your brother would love you, and so would your father. Rika would be your friend again. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"It would," Sakura said as they inched closer to the ticket counter. "I don't even know what the Cards are for."
Syaoran didn't tell her, he just egged her on. "Exactly. Sakura, I want you to be happy. So I'll take the Cards and all the weight they bear with me. Please give me the Cards."
Sakura's eyes misted over, but then they cleared and she nodded. "OK. When we go home, come up and I'll give you the deck."
*
Syaoran ran home, clutching the Clow Cards tightly in his hands. He couldn't believe Sakura had handed the cards over so willingly. He couldn't believe he had all of them. At least all the ones she had captured. And since Sakura was in no position to be fighting Clow Cards…he could be the Clow Master for now!
He used his sword to call out The Mirror again.
"Listen, I'm not your mental advisor or someone to chat with," it said irritably. "Are you going to use me to fight or what?"
"I don't see how, considering you have no power," Syaoran said smugly. "I have all your friends in here, thanks to you."
"Oh bloody joy."
"I'm not stopping this game. Sakura trusts me! It's fun making up these stories. I should be a writer."
"Kid, I hope you don't have to migrate to Mexico."
The Mirror floated around the room. "I just hope you realize how many people you're hurting. Sakura's brother, who loves his little sister so much, suddenly has her hating him. Sakura's father, pouring all his love into his daughter, his and Nadeshiko's child, finds her thinking he's evil and never loved her. Rika when she finds out, Chiharu when she finds out. And Tomoyo…"
"When did you get all mushy? Hey! How do you know this! Do I call you up in my sleep and talk to you like a diary?" Syaoran demanded suspiciously.
"I'm a Mirror, I can do a lot of things you couldn't even dream of. Why are the Cards so important to you? Besides, I notice you're attracted to Sakura."
"I am NOT!" Syaoran said hotly, leaping to his feet.
"Look at your reflection and try to lie."
Syaoran walked towards his dresser.
"Your reflection on my surface, you moron!" The Mirror yelled.
Syaoran bravely walked up and looked at himself. "I don't like Sakura," he said. But everything had given him away. His voice…his flushed face and warm eyes. He couldn't lie in front of The Mirror.
"I thought so," it said smugly. "So if you like her, then why are you hurting all the people she loves? Why are you hurting her? Why are you playing with her mind?"
Syaoran didn't answer. He was still staring at himself, the person he was before The Mirror had changed everything.
(Well, I've finished all the chapters, so there's really nothing to say. I'm writing notes for the sake of writing them. Oh well. I always say that, but oh we--never mind.)