[I don't own these characters. CLAMP does.]
A Day In the Cards Part 2, By John Fiala
[Version 1.1, with a bit more explanation of what was going on.]
Sakura woke up on a beautiful Saturday morning. Birds were
singing outside, the sun was shining, and Kero-chan was playing Final
Fantasy Something with the headphones on. Blinking blearily, she looked
around to see what had dragged her out of slumber and saw that Tomoyo
was missing.
After a few minutes her friend returned. "Good morning, Sakura-
chan!" Tomoyo said, and gave her a kiss before starting to get dressed.
"I'm sorry if I woke you."
Sakura yawned, and decided to get up. It's not like she could get
upset at Tomoyo when she was smiling. "Oh, it's okay. I've got some
chores I need to get started on, anyway. Want to get together for
lunch?"
Tomoyo nodded, and gave Kero-chan a pat on the head, which he
ducked, complaining that she'd mess up his score. "Sure. By then I
should be done with Mother's design group." One more kiss, and she
slipped out the door. They knew Touya or Yukito wouldn't say anything
about Tomoyo staying so much, but they were still unsure about Sakura's
father. So it was best to be discreet.
--
The morning went by slowly, at first. However, halfway through
moving the cleaned whites into the dryer, she suddenly felt a sense of
forboding wash over over, and a glimpse of Tomoyo in her inner eye.
Startled, she ran for the phone and dialed the Daidoji group.
"Hello, can I help you?"
Sakura recognized the voice as Daidoji-san's secretary. "Ainoto-
san, this is Kinomoto Sakura. Can I talk to Tomoyo-chan, please? It's
very important."
"I'm sorry, Kinomoto-san, but Tomoyo-san isn't here. Last night
she said she had an errand to run and couldn't make it."
"Oh," she said, "thank you." She hung up.
That was odd. Tomoyo had definately said today that she'd be at
the design group. However, Ainoto-san said that Tomoyo had cancelled
yesterday. Why would Tomoyo lie to her? Something was wrong. She
could feel it, the wrongness oozing through her soul. She sat
down and concentrated.
Suddenly, Tomoyo's voice came to her. "The Tokyo Hilton South.
Good enough." She wasn't sure when she'd heard it, but it felt like a
good place to start. She dropped the phone, strapped on her skating
equipment with the speed of experience, and was out the door, clearing
the steps in one leap.
--
She was almost to the hotel when a psychic pull grabbed her from
an alleyway. Skidding, she turned and entered the alley. Stepping
carefully, she crept up and peered around the corner.
It was Tomoyo, holding a gun to a chinese boy that Sakura had
never met before. The whole tableau was strange, from Tomoyo (the
gentlest creature on earth) holding a gun to the boy, who Sakura could
swear reminded her of... someone. Who? Why?
"You wouldn't leave it alone." Tomoyo's voice was flat, as if she
was talking about the weather. Sakura found that even worse. "You were
fine, you were safe. You didn't even lose status this time around. But
you had to come and cause problems. Every time, you keep coming back.
I won't be alone any more!"
Sakura frowned. Cause problems? And why was the boy's face so
facinating?
"You've got one of them," the boy said. "You've been using one of
the cards, haven't you?"
Tomoyo grinned. "There's so many cards. Why not one or two for
me? Why not Sakura, for me?"
"It's not right, Tomoyo. You can't shape the world around what
you want." He took a step forward.
"Bullshit! Why isn't it right? That's what magic is, the will
and power to change the world to suit you. I'm just using more
imagination than you two used. And I won't have to use it again,
because after this there's no more take-backs."
Shocked, Sakura felt at her friend with her senses. And skidded
off. It was like Tomoyo wasn't even there. She bit her tongue,
thinking quickly. Tomoyo had said 'or two'... was she using a card to
shield another card from her?
"I'll go back to Hong Kong, then. I'll let you be happy with your
doll. But one day your doll's going to wake up and realize that you're
playing with her life."
"Big talk from a guy who couldn't even beat a girl! I was always
the good friend, I helped you both out, and how did you repay me? By
taking my love for Sakura and tossing it out the door. At first, I
thought I'd kill myself - that would show you. But then, I realized a
better way. But you kept having to push me, didn't you?" Tomoyo's voice
was trembling, but her hand was very still.
The shield card. Sakura was sure of it. She pulled out her
cards, and shuffled through them for the Sword card. Pulling it out,
she noticed the boy's eyes flick towards her hiding place, and then back
to Tomoyo, as a smile threatened at his mouth. He knew she was there.
His name - was Li Shaoran. Memories flooded her mind, and she tried not
to be distracted as she held onto the Sword card and tried to use just a
smidgeon of it's power to slip through Tomoyo's Shield.
"Just let me go, Tomoyo. You don't want to kill me."
Tomoyo laughed. "I've killed you a few times already. What's one
more?"
Sakura had to bite her lip not to cry out as she slipped through
the shields. It was definately the Time card. She saw Shaoran nod at
her.
No time like the present. She stepped forward. "Tomoyo, don't!"
Tomoyo wheeled to face her, and as soon as Shaoran was out of her
field of vision he moved, his leg swinging around to send the gun down
the alley.
"Shit!" Tomoyo backpedaled, trying to keep them both in her
sight. "It's not fair!"
Shaoran tried to hit Tomoyo, but his fist suddenly stopped in mid
air. As she ran forward, Sakura realized that Tomoyo was using the
Shield at full strength now. She pulled out the Sleep, and activated it
as well.
The Sword flashed through the air as it cut through the Shield,
and then before Tomoyo could activate the Time, the Sleep was upon her,
sprinkling its dust. Tomoyo fell to the floor, asleep. And after that,
it was simply a case of claiming the cards again.
--
"Thank you, Sakura."
Sakura put on a straight face. "Who are you, anyway?" After
Shaoran's reaction, she giggled, and gave him a hug. "Thank you for
coming for me."
"Anytime." The stood there, in the alley, hugging. After a few
minutes, Shaoran sighed. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. I'd put things the way they were, but even though
she had gone nuts, I still do love Tomoyo." She picked up The Time.
"It's not fair. I don't know what to do. But we do need to set things
back to what they should be." She sighed. "I guess me, or the me in the
original timeline, didn't know Tomoyo was in love with me. Or her. And
so she used this," she waved The Time, "to get rid of you and have me to
herself."
"Do we need to move her?"
Sakura shook her head, "When I roll things back to before the
change, she shouldn't remember anything, and she won't be here. It's a shame,
she's been going back and changing little things, trying to arrange the world
to her liking. But every time, you came for me."
Shaoran blushed, but then leaned over and kissed her. "For luck."
She grinned. And then held out The Time, and activated it. "TIME
CARD! Return things to the way they were!"
At the last moment, she had an idea, and made the Time card make
one small change. One last take-back.
There was a beautiful flash of light.
--
Sakura and Shaoran walked up to the front door to her house, hand
in hand. "I had a good time, Shaoran," she said, smiling at him.
He nodded, not trusting his voice. Something inside had been
drawing him to her all his life, he thought. To be with her, finally...
And then stopped, as Sakura kissed him on the mouth, a gentle
blush on her cheeks. "See you at school," she said, disappearing
through the door.
"Yeah." He stood on her porch for a moment, hoping she'd come out
again, and then ran home, a smile on her face.
--
Stepping inside the dark living room, Sakura heard Tomoyo giggle
in the darkness. It was a gentle giggle of happiness, and for a moment
she wondered why that was so important. "Are you two making out in here
again?"
"YESSSS!" chorused Tomoyo and Sakura's twin sister Nadeshiko from
the couch, their voices dissolving into giggles.
Sakura rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "Get a room!" And
she left Tomoyo, happy on the couch, and Shaoran, happy at his
apartment, and went to a well-deserved rest.
[Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed my story!]
A Day In the Cards Part 2, By John Fiala
[Version 1.1, with a bit more explanation of what was going on.]
Sakura woke up on a beautiful Saturday morning. Birds were
singing outside, the sun was shining, and Kero-chan was playing Final
Fantasy Something with the headphones on. Blinking blearily, she looked
around to see what had dragged her out of slumber and saw that Tomoyo
was missing.
After a few minutes her friend returned. "Good morning, Sakura-
chan!" Tomoyo said, and gave her a kiss before starting to get dressed.
"I'm sorry if I woke you."
Sakura yawned, and decided to get up. It's not like she could get
upset at Tomoyo when she was smiling. "Oh, it's okay. I've got some
chores I need to get started on, anyway. Want to get together for
lunch?"
Tomoyo nodded, and gave Kero-chan a pat on the head, which he
ducked, complaining that she'd mess up his score. "Sure. By then I
should be done with Mother's design group." One more kiss, and she
slipped out the door. They knew Touya or Yukito wouldn't say anything
about Tomoyo staying so much, but they were still unsure about Sakura's
father. So it was best to be discreet.
--
The morning went by slowly, at first. However, halfway through
moving the cleaned whites into the dryer, she suddenly felt a sense of
forboding wash over over, and a glimpse of Tomoyo in her inner eye.
Startled, she ran for the phone and dialed the Daidoji group.
"Hello, can I help you?"
Sakura recognized the voice as Daidoji-san's secretary. "Ainoto-
san, this is Kinomoto Sakura. Can I talk to Tomoyo-chan, please? It's
very important."
"I'm sorry, Kinomoto-san, but Tomoyo-san isn't here. Last night
she said she had an errand to run and couldn't make it."
"Oh," she said, "thank you." She hung up.
That was odd. Tomoyo had definately said today that she'd be at
the design group. However, Ainoto-san said that Tomoyo had cancelled
yesterday. Why would Tomoyo lie to her? Something was wrong. She
could feel it, the wrongness oozing through her soul. She sat
down and concentrated.
Suddenly, Tomoyo's voice came to her. "The Tokyo Hilton South.
Good enough." She wasn't sure when she'd heard it, but it felt like a
good place to start. She dropped the phone, strapped on her skating
equipment with the speed of experience, and was out the door, clearing
the steps in one leap.
--
She was almost to the hotel when a psychic pull grabbed her from
an alleyway. Skidding, she turned and entered the alley. Stepping
carefully, she crept up and peered around the corner.
It was Tomoyo, holding a gun to a chinese boy that Sakura had
never met before. The whole tableau was strange, from Tomoyo (the
gentlest creature on earth) holding a gun to the boy, who Sakura could
swear reminded her of... someone. Who? Why?
"You wouldn't leave it alone." Tomoyo's voice was flat, as if she
was talking about the weather. Sakura found that even worse. "You were
fine, you were safe. You didn't even lose status this time around. But
you had to come and cause problems. Every time, you keep coming back.
I won't be alone any more!"
Sakura frowned. Cause problems? And why was the boy's face so
facinating?
"You've got one of them," the boy said. "You've been using one of
the cards, haven't you?"
Tomoyo grinned. "There's so many cards. Why not one or two for
me? Why not Sakura, for me?"
"It's not right, Tomoyo. You can't shape the world around what
you want." He took a step forward.
"Bullshit! Why isn't it right? That's what magic is, the will
and power to change the world to suit you. I'm just using more
imagination than you two used. And I won't have to use it again,
because after this there's no more take-backs."
Shocked, Sakura felt at her friend with her senses. And skidded
off. It was like Tomoyo wasn't even there. She bit her tongue,
thinking quickly. Tomoyo had said 'or two'... was she using a card to
shield another card from her?
"I'll go back to Hong Kong, then. I'll let you be happy with your
doll. But one day your doll's going to wake up and realize that you're
playing with her life."
"Big talk from a guy who couldn't even beat a girl! I was always
the good friend, I helped you both out, and how did you repay me? By
taking my love for Sakura and tossing it out the door. At first, I
thought I'd kill myself - that would show you. But then, I realized a
better way. But you kept having to push me, didn't you?" Tomoyo's voice
was trembling, but her hand was very still.
The shield card. Sakura was sure of it. She pulled out her
cards, and shuffled through them for the Sword card. Pulling it out,
she noticed the boy's eyes flick towards her hiding place, and then back
to Tomoyo, as a smile threatened at his mouth. He knew she was there.
His name - was Li Shaoran. Memories flooded her mind, and she tried not
to be distracted as she held onto the Sword card and tried to use just a
smidgeon of it's power to slip through Tomoyo's Shield.
"Just let me go, Tomoyo. You don't want to kill me."
Tomoyo laughed. "I've killed you a few times already. What's one
more?"
Sakura had to bite her lip not to cry out as she slipped through
the shields. It was definately the Time card. She saw Shaoran nod at
her.
No time like the present. She stepped forward. "Tomoyo, don't!"
Tomoyo wheeled to face her, and as soon as Shaoran was out of her
field of vision he moved, his leg swinging around to send the gun down
the alley.
"Shit!" Tomoyo backpedaled, trying to keep them both in her
sight. "It's not fair!"
Shaoran tried to hit Tomoyo, but his fist suddenly stopped in mid
air. As she ran forward, Sakura realized that Tomoyo was using the
Shield at full strength now. She pulled out the Sleep, and activated it
as well.
The Sword flashed through the air as it cut through the Shield,
and then before Tomoyo could activate the Time, the Sleep was upon her,
sprinkling its dust. Tomoyo fell to the floor, asleep. And after that,
it was simply a case of claiming the cards again.
--
"Thank you, Sakura."
Sakura put on a straight face. "Who are you, anyway?" After
Shaoran's reaction, she giggled, and gave him a hug. "Thank you for
coming for me."
"Anytime." The stood there, in the alley, hugging. After a few
minutes, Shaoran sighed. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. I'd put things the way they were, but even though
she had gone nuts, I still do love Tomoyo." She picked up The Time.
"It's not fair. I don't know what to do. But we do need to set things
back to what they should be." She sighed. "I guess me, or the me in the
original timeline, didn't know Tomoyo was in love with me. Or her. And
so she used this," she waved The Time, "to get rid of you and have me to
herself."
"Do we need to move her?"
Sakura shook her head, "When I roll things back to before the
change, she shouldn't remember anything, and she won't be here. It's a shame,
she's been going back and changing little things, trying to arrange the world
to her liking. But every time, you came for me."
Shaoran blushed, but then leaned over and kissed her. "For luck."
She grinned. And then held out The Time, and activated it. "TIME
CARD! Return things to the way they were!"
At the last moment, she had an idea, and made the Time card make
one small change. One last take-back.
There was a beautiful flash of light.
--
Sakura and Shaoran walked up to the front door to her house, hand
in hand. "I had a good time, Shaoran," she said, smiling at him.
He nodded, not trusting his voice. Something inside had been
drawing him to her all his life, he thought. To be with her, finally...
And then stopped, as Sakura kissed him on the mouth, a gentle
blush on her cheeks. "See you at school," she said, disappearing
through the door.
"Yeah." He stood on her porch for a moment, hoping she'd come out
again, and then ran home, a smile on her face.
--
Stepping inside the dark living room, Sakura heard Tomoyo giggle
in the darkness. It was a gentle giggle of happiness, and for a moment
she wondered why that was so important. "Are you two making out in here
again?"
"YESSSS!" chorused Tomoyo and Sakura's twin sister Nadeshiko from
the couch, their voices dissolving into giggles.
Sakura rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "Get a room!" And
she left Tomoyo, happy on the couch, and Shaoran, happy at his
apartment, and went to a well-deserved rest.
[Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed my story!]
