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Ad Finem 
('til the end) 
A work of Card Captor Sakura fanfiction 
by Michelle
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I've said before and I'll say again, this story is a *romance.* 
Its primary focus is a love relationship between two people. 
This means that the ending in particular (this chapter and the
next one) is going to be mushy, and sappy, and yes, corny, so if
this is not your idea of entertainment, if, for example, you
believe that boys, (or girls) have cooties, or you think that
that kissing stuff is all well and good but we want to see Sakura
in a fetish costume kicking some ass, then this might not be the
story for you. You may prefer the sequel which should be out in
a month or so and features a lot more blood and guest appearances
from some of the other manga characters, and even has a scene
with a man wrestling a bear for no reason. (Actually, there's no
bear. I just made that up.) You may even prefer to find a story
by a different author. Fanfiction.net has many to offer.

None of these characters belong to me. Really. Not one.

Big thankses to everyone who's sent replies so far. All of them
are appreciated very much! I'll try to return the favor when I
have reading time in my schedule again.

After this chapter, there'll be one more and then an epilogue.

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Chapter Seven
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 Beautiful white wings kept the cold of the world from her as
they encircled her; brushed against her skin; cradled her in
their intimate embrace. She wished for a moment that morning
would never come to take away the memory of being enfolded;
protected; loved, but knew that even now the urgent business of
her life was working its way up through her sleeping mind like
bubbles in a champaign flute. She knew that this dream like the
ones before it would leave its gift of hope, encouragement, and
comfort, and would then evaporate from her memory leaving her
happily puzzled, but stronger for having been here, like this,
with him, even for a moment, even in a dream.She instinctively
clung to the warmth, pulled it tight around herself and
concentrated on the sensation until she couldn't keep herself
from quietly moaning.

 The need to wake retreated for a moment, resigned to give
her the chance to take what pleasure she could, but there was
much to be done. Much to be done because today was the day. 
Much to be done because it was time.

 It was time.

 Her eyes opened abruptly.

 She closed them again.

 Why was it so bright in her room? Slowly she stretched. 
Something good must have happened in her dream because she was
smiling despite the unnaturally white state of her bedroom. This
time she opened her eyes more cautiously.

 The light said it was time.

 She squinted, but rose and made her way courageously to the
window and looked out at the glory of the year's first snow. The
woods were startling white against the black skeletons of trees. 
A thick, deep blanket grew thicker and deeper as the slow
downward waltz of countless flakes went on. Winter had been
coming to these hills just like this for thousands and thousands
of years, and would, no doubt, continue to do so for thousands
more. Today, though, the snow was the final messenger of what
she knew with greater and greater certainty with every moment
that passed. An outward sign that the world was remaking itself
today.

 Because it was time.

 Was today the day that Yue would return to her? A shy
tremulous joy took root inside her. Yue. Yue who had been her
constant companion for nearly two hundred years. Yue whose deep
purple eyes could calm her in the midst of any crisis magical or
personal. Yue whose place in her life she was only now beginning
to really admit to herself. 

 She felt a stab of guilt over the pleasure this hope gave
her, but Yukito had promised to come back, hadn't he? It wasn't
as if she were trading one for the other.

 It would be so good to see Yue again.

 And it was time.


***


 Placing Yukito carefully on a chair in the middle of her
study, she leaned over to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. 
"Don't be a stranger," she whispered. 

 He looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you for your help,
Sakura-chan. I ... I won't run away again."

 Much was communicated silently between them for a few
moments, then she stepped clear of her magic circle, and began to
gather her power.

 "Shouldn't we wait until moonrise?" Keroberus asked. "It's
almost full again."

 Sakura brought her hands out in front of her and held her
palms toward the subject of her spell. "That won't be necessary. 
This won't take much of his power." 

 Her aura flared around her for a moment and she closed her
eyes. "Appear before me," she commanded. "Yue."

 Moments passed and she felt Yukito look up at her self
consciously, but she didn't open her eyes. Keroberus made a
worried grunt. Sakura frowned, then reached for her mystical
connection to Yukito and allowed herself to fall into a minor
spell trance. She consciously traced her power from her own soul
into the one it supported and wasn't surprised to be met there by
a familiar presence. 'What now?' she asked him silently. 'I
know it's time for Yue to come back. Did I miss something?'

 Touya's spirit brushed up against hers gently. 'No,' he
admitted. 'Just wanted to say hi.'

 Sakura mumbled something about brothers who hadn't been this
talkative for the *last* couple of centuries, but she was
pleased. 'Are we doing alright?' she asked.

 'Okay, I suppose,' but his pride was evident. 'He's feeling
a lot better now, and I think it'll make Yue a little easier to
live with.' Smugness radiated from him and if she hadn't been an
ethereal expression of her pure spiritual being, she may have
blushed. He could be so ...

 'Sakura,' he whispered kindly. It surprised her out of her
embarrassment and her irritation.

 'Yes?'

 'Thank you. He's ... he's kind of important to me.'

 'I know, Onii-chan.'

 'Now,' he said, all business for once. 'Call him.'

 As his presence retreated, she probed Yukito's magical field
once more. His power flowed gently around her, but his physical
form hadn't changed. There was still no anomaly she could
detect. No clue to where she might look to find how Yue had been
sealed away. Call him, Onii-chan had said.

 Call him.

 The words touched something deep inside her, a desperate
longing to see him; hear his voice; let him know that she had
missed him.

 _Yue,_ her soul called out. _Please Yue! Come back to me! 
I need you, Yue! Return to me!_ 

 And every trace of her heart's longing echoed through
herself and through Yukito, and she thought she heard a brief
responding echo before a surge of light and power drove her
physical body back a step and she stumbled and fell to her knees
her hands going up to shield her eyes. All was very still in the
room for a very long three seconds and then she was aware of the
sound of wings above her and her arms came down and she slowly
opened her eyes.

 "Are you alright, master?" Yue asked, kneeling beside her. 
She took the arm he offered and let him help her to her feet. 

 It was Yue. It was her Yue, and she knew she shouldn't, but
it had been weeks and weeks and she threw herself into his arms
and hugged all the breath out of him.

 And he hugged her gently in return.


***


 Yue let the feelings of his master wash over him. He only
had vague recollections of the time he'd spent in his other form,
but it was good to know that he'd been missed. Very good. 
Giving her a gentle squeeze, he gave in to the spirit of the
moment. He took a bit of guilty pleasure in savoring her
emotions as they filled him. They were an appealing mixture of
joy and relief and love. He waited for them to settle; to fade a
little so that he could greet her without their distraction.

 They didn't seem to be going away.

 "Please never worry me like that again, Yue."

 "Forgive me, master." His hand came up and he began to
gently stroke her hair. "I don't really understand what
happened, but ..."

 He was touching her. Against all reason and good sense, he
was touching her. His arm around her waist; his hand in her
beautiful soft hair; her face pressed hard into his chest.

 Her feelings resonating through him.

 Ye gods.

 He couldn't push her away. Not this time. But something
was different. Something was shining and exquisite and pure. 
Something that on a very fundamental level left him terrified.

 Deep in his soul, he felt a familiar spark grow a little
hotter. This was an unforseen happening. He knew his own
strength. He knew the height and breadth and depth of his own
feelings. He knew that he could keep those feelings under
complete control for any number of centuries.

 Provided nothing changed their dimensions or the strength of
their pull on his heart, he knew he'd be safe. Free to stay as
detached and objective as a proper guardian should be. As long
as she continued to feel to him like a charge; a sister; an
innocent in need of his support and protection. As long as her
desire never matched or exceeded, or -- heaven help him --
outshone his own as a sun to a sparkling of fireworks. If
nothing ever blew on that tiny spark within him, if no one ever
added fuel or oxygen, as long as he never had a reason to believe
that she could return his feelings, add her own powerful emotions
to his, love him from the very depths of her perfect and fiery
soul, then ... then he would never be in danger of losing control
of his desire for her.

 He clung to her a little more tightly. If his feet had been
touching the ground, he might have gone a little weak in the
knees. It was too much. Her feelings for him had changed
greatly since they'd been together last. He wished he knew what
had caused it. For whatever reason, he felt her intense and
innocent desire as clearly as he felt her arms around him. 

 He considered his options. She didn't have to know that
he'd noticed. He could pretend that nothing had changed; that he
too was happy for their reunion and leave it at that. He felt he
needed time. Time to be alone. Time to reassess the spark
before it slipped any farther from his control. Time to think
about the possibilities and make sure that he would make a good
decision. What could he do? An appeal to Touya was followed
immediately by a strong impulse to kiss her. He repressed it
savagely.

 But there she stood. Loving him. She clung to him
demanding nothing; glad to be in his arms. He sensed no
expectation in her; no nervousness or need. She was content just
to be near him and know that he was well.

 Ah, Sakura.

 Always and forever more concerned with the happiness of
others than her own happiness. Always strong inside and out even
through her tears.

 She was so beautiful.

 She sniffed, overwhelmed by his return, and he smiled even
as a tremor ran through him. She loved him. She loved him with
the most pure devotion it was possible to feel. Affection,
passion, adoration, and a longing that made him ache for her.

 _Peace,_ he told his beating heart, lest it betray him. _We
must go carefully._ Carefully for the sorrow in his own soul. 
Carefully for all the loss she'd known in her life. Carefully
because he knew that if he hurt her, Touya would come back from
the grave and personally murder him.

 He pulled away slowly, found her tears and softly brushed
them from her face. And after two hundred years, he noticed,
perhaps for the first time, her perfect skin; her radiant green
eyes, her clear expression. Such things had never been important
to him before. Lately his heart had been pulled so many
different ways. He'd felt confused and angry for reasons that,
even now, he didn't fully understand. Now, an almost alien
clarity let him look at his master with new eyes.

 Would it be so terrible?

 Would it be so wrong to give in to the wild and sweet desire
that radiated from her? To throw himself into the passions she
kept so carefully from showing in her eyes?

 The spark was a flame, and it was growing and growing, and
if he wasn't careful it would go beyond his control and it would
be too late. He wouldn't be able to stop it. He'd love her with
that same abandon. He'd love her for all of his long long life.

 It should have mattered that he was her servant. It should
have mattered that someday she would die and leave him with an
eternity of sorrow. It should have mattered that nothing he ever
did would make him worthy of her.

 But somewhere seas were being set ablaze. Somewhere stars
were being pulled down from the sky.

 Nothing mattered.

 Nothing but the fire raging through him. Nothing but the
need in her heart.

 They needed to talk about this. They should sit down like
two rational adults and they should discus it. Once she knew
that her feelings were clear to him, they could ... they could
... they really should ...

 Yue's hand slowly brushed her jaw, then came to rest on her
cheek. She jumped, suddenly anxious, then stared up into his
eyes. What she saw there filled her with a terror and excitement
that almost undid the last of his control. He forced himself to
take a deep breath, then whispered her name.

 Sakura trembled in his arms. Her fear was undeniable, but
so was her desire. He might yet have escaped, but then she
smiled. Slowly. Uncertainly. With all the love in her
beautiful heart.

 He had to know the secret of that smile.


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One more chapter to go. That'll be out on Thursday. 

Next time: Himitsu desu. ^-^

See ya there!