seem to correspond with the last chapter, please tell me. I think I might have stuffed a bunch of inconsistencies in here on
accident, but they ellude me. I've been over it 35 times and I still can't find any. So I'm letting you as the reader look it over and
see if your eye is keener. Happy reading and enjoy!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. CLAMP, Nelvana and Kodansha all hold a part of it: Well, CLAMP has the copyright,
Kodansha owns the Japanese, and Nelvana is just borrowing it.
******
* Flashback*
" But, Min, why do you want to stay here? It's dangerous
you shouldn't..."
[ I don' wanna go back! I won'!!!!!]
Sakura and Li sighed. There was nothing they could
do. As long as she remained in her deer form, there was no way they
could force her back up to the building. Suddenly, Min reeled and scrunched
up in pain. Sakura was at her side in an instant.
" What's wrong?"
Suddenly, the pain stopped. Min looked up.
[ Ok. Yep. Okeedokee.]
" You sure?"
[ Yep.]
" All right. We'll leave you here, but stay out
of sight."
She nodded.
[ok.]
Leaving her hesistantly, they walked back to class,
both trying to make up some excuse as to why Min wasn't there. Had they
stayed a second longer, though, they would have seen the most extraordinary
sight. Min, sitting there washing her fur, felt the pain begin again. Suddenly
she glowed and began to lengthen. She had achieved a total of 2 more inches
when this was
finished, as well as gaining another 4 pounds. Another strange thing
had happened. Her eyes seemed to glaze over, and
suddenly she looked around in bewilderment.
[ What? Where am I? What's going on? What is this
place?]
She looked about, puzzled as to this strange environment.
[ Funny. I don't remember being here. But, then again,
I don't remember where I was. Come to think of it...who am I?]
Min wandered away in a daze towards the other side
of the school, confusion clearly written on her face.
******
That day at the end of class, Sakura and Li went
looking for Min. There'd been too much questioning during class, and it
was worrying them deeply. They didn't succeed in locating her where'd they'd
left her; sitting under their favorite tree in defeat, they sighed. This
was usually the spot where they ate together, always daydreaming of one
another, but today just wasn't one of
those days. They were both vaguely aware that everyone else had already
left, leaving them pretty much alone. Had the
circumstances been better, this would actually have been a romantic
time. Unfortunately, their anger and dismay was too high to
say the same.
" I could just slap Drake for what he was going to
do." Sakura seethed.
" Yeah," Li agreed quietly. The measures he was
thinking about were more drastic.
" I wonder where he left in such a hurry," She pondered
this then stood up as a faint bawling sound reached her ears," Hey did
you hear that, Syaoran? It sounded like crying."
" No?" Li looked at her curiously. Did she just
call him...Syaoran? Nahh...it was probably just his imagination.
" Hmm." Sakura seemed distracted so she wasn't aware
of the name change." I think I should check it out."
Sakura walked in the direction she'd heard the sound.
She was sure it come from around here. Around the corner of the
school, she turned and...
" OH MY...!!!!"
Li heard Sakura scream and ran to her assistance.
She was clutching the wall just in front of a corner, looking pale and
wide-eyed. A slight green tinged her face.
" Sakura, what happened?" She just looked shakily
around the corner, and fainted dead away. He caught her before she hit
the ground, and laid her gently on the pavement. He took a deep breath,
and was around the corner. As soon as he caught a
glimpse, he felt his stomach heave. An animal was lying in a bloody
heap, its fur matted with drying red. With stomach shredded
to ribbons, and a crimson lake quickly forming around it, you would
have thought a truck had gone by. All four of its little legs
were broken and hanging off at grotesque angles. What was more unfortunate,
was the fact that the poor thing was still
conscious. It didn't hear Li approach.
[ Why did that stupid kid have to beat me up like
this? I don't know what he has against me...Oooohh, if I weren't in this
tiny
body I'd...] Min!
Li's heart stopped. Something seemed different. He circled around to where she could see him. It couldn't be Min...could it?
" What happened?"
Min couldn't speak. Is this kid going to beat me
up too? Li tried to move up close to her and to pick her up, but she growled
threateningly.
[ Stay away from me!!!!!!]
" But, Min, its me..."
[ I don't know who you are, or what you want, but
I'm warning you to stay away from me!!!]
" Min! Don't move!"
The command came too late. She tried to get up, only to have her broken legs wobble. She collapsed, pain overwhelming her.
[ Owwwwww!!!!] Min started to bawl again. Li tried
to quiet her down.
" Don't worry...its okay...everything will be just
fine."
He looked around, unsure of what to do next.
" Here."
Li looked in surprise at the coat being handed to him by Madison. She was paler than usual and had a slight green look to her, but she knew her help was needed.
" Is that a...deer?"
" Yeah." Li said quietly.
" Where did it come from?"
" Its..." Li struggled to hold back tears of rage,"
Min..."
" Oh my..." Madison stepped back in horror. She
felt ready to hurl. " Excuse me."
Sakura was just getting up from her collapse as Madison rounded the corner, and started to cry at the sight of Min's poor little body. Li embraced Sakura comfortingly, much to her surprise, and proceeded to wrap Min with the coat. He stopped
" Go ahead." Madison said, a small fleck of saliva
on her chin. She was back and she knew what was on his mind," I can get
another one."
The coat was for winter, lucky for Li, and was long.
He was able to bundle up Min and carry her. Sakura was calming from her
fit. Min was still crying out, her limbs dangling uselessly at weird angles.
Li was fuming. Only one person came to mind that
could do this. Min looked up at Li.
[ Thank you. I guess I was wrong about you.]
" What are friends for?"
[ Truthfully? I wouldn't know. I've never had any
friends. At least I don't remember having any.]
" You don't remember me, or Sakura, or Madison?
How we talked with you in the school yesterday?"
[ I don't remember anything except being outside
this building. I got up, and this strange bell rang. All these little children
ran
out, and this one boy came and started yelling at me, then he did this!
I don't know what he has against me, but it must be
something serious. Oww! Can you walk without jolting me?]
" Sorry."
Li grumbled and tried to walk softly - he liked the
other Min better, or at least the Min that didn't talk in complete
sentences...that's it!! That was what was different!- but each
little jolt of foot on cement shook her broken legs, and made her
yell out. She finally asked Li a question he'd been dreading since
he'd seen her condition..
[ Am I gonna die?] Li was quiet. Then...
" Don't worry, Min, you'll be fine."
" Where can we take her?" Sakura said in a worried
tone," Tory will start asking questions. Madison's got too many
bodyguards. That just leaves..." The two girls looked at Li. He sighed,
and started to walk. He turned again.
" You two are going to have to help me."
" We'll clean her up."
" But, I was just going to say that..."
" You'd better fix up some food or something. You
know your kitchen better than we do."
" But, I...can't cook. And what do we feed her anyways?"
" Well, Drake did mention that she's a baby...something,
right? Just fix her some warm milk."
Li neglected to mention the fact that she was no
longer responding to him as a baby would. In fact one would have thought
she'd grown or something.
" Here, I'll do it." Madison volunteered.
They nodded in solemn agreement,and followed Li to
his house. Inside the bathroom, he set Min down gently in the tub, and
closed the door behind him and Sakura. He heard the clatter of pots
as Madison made something for Min to drink. Scratching
his head, he looked at the beraggled animal in puzzlement. Sakura pulled
up her sleeves and turned on the water. Min
immediately began to panic.
[No!] Min tried to get up, only to cry out in pain
as her broken legs wobbled. Sakura turned off the water, and stared at
Min in confusion.
" Min, I'm only trying to wash you. You're all covered
in blood."
[ I don't know how or why I know, I just know, that noise definitely
isn't a good one!!!]
" What is up?" Sakura seemed puzzled.
" Maybe she's afraid of the noise."
They tried again, but with the same results. She
was huddled in the farthest corner of the tub where she'd managed to squirm
herself. Both in the end, decided soap would work better. Then, Sakura
got the idea of just using water from a bucket and
rinsing Min with a sponge by squeezing water. Li didn't object, and
they started to lather Min down. Unfortunately, she refused
to go anywhere near the spout of the tub, so they were forced to squeeze
embarassingly close to reach her. Li could feel her
warm breath coursing down his neck, and Sakura couldn't help but breath
in the scent of autumn from his hair. Both were
scarlet by the time the clean-up was finished. When Min was all washed
down, they used a hairdryer, at low setting, and when
done she looked as good as new. Except that her wounds were bleeding
again. Li ran outside, and returned with a couple rolls
of cloth bandage, and they wrapped her stomach up. Min was acting curiously,
she kept leaning over, and touching her nose to
one leg, then as though tired, would drop back down, take a breath,
and continue with the next one. They had finished her
stomach, and were just about to do her legs, when she stood up.
[ Wow. I didn't know I could do that. It was just
instinct. I don't remember having powers, but then again I don't remember
being this pathetic little creature.]
" What in the world?" Sakura jumped back in surprise.
Li was still standing, and couldn't help but laugh. The little deer could
heal itself. But, why didn't Min heal herself when she was back at
the school?
"She was too weak. Plus, she probably didn't realize
she had powers at the time." Sakura seemed to have asked herself the
same question. Then as an afterthought, " Something seems strangely
different about her. She doesn't seem like the Min we knew."
Li had to agree with her there. Flashes of the conversation
back at school came to mind.
" Well, let's go get some milk for her." Sakura suggested.
They opened the door, and watched her stick her head
out slowly, then trot out carefully. She was startled by the deep
carpeting, trying to figure out why her feet were sinking into it.
They stepped over her, and continued to the kitchen, where
Madison had just finished with the milk. Li didn't have any baby bottles
in the house, for obvious reasons, so they just poured it
in a large bowl. Li carried Min over to the living room, and put the
bowl in front of her. They watched silently as she inspected
the food - it was quite amusing actually. She just looked at it strangely,
dipped her nose in it, snorted a little, then shook her
head. She tried again, and this time she opened her mouth, and found
to her delight that it was edible. That was all the testing
she needed, and soon she was lapping it up happily. The trio that was
sitting on the couch, just watched, and finally started to
talk.
" Who do you think did this?" asked Madison.
" Isn't it obvious?" Li asked in surprise.
" Oh. You don't think he would..."
" He would."
" That's cruel." said Sakura.
" So... can I stay over?" She asked bluntly.
" What?"
" Can I stay overnight? I mean, you can't take care
of Min alone."
" What?!!! Tory would have a fit! He's already eyeing
me everytime I even step foot near your house. What do you think he'd do,
if he found you at MY house?" Li was smacking himself mentally. He could
just see the hurt in Sakura's face.
" I can tell them I'm staying at a friend's house."
Sakura suggested.
" What about you, Madison?" Li said with a defeated
sigh.
" Well, I'm suppose to be over at Sakura's, so it
shouldn't be a problem."
" All right." Li said skeptically.
Sakura picked up the phone, and dialed up her house.
It was a Friday, so it wouldn't be a problem.
" Hello?" Her dad had answered the phone.
" Hey, dad?"
" Yeah, Sakura, your going to have to stay over
at a friend's house for the night, is that okay?"
" What?"
" Yeah, I've got tons of work to do, as does Tory,
so we won't be able to entertain Madison. So, I just thought you might
like to go over to one of your other little friends' house, and have a
sleepover or something."
" Uh, all right."
" I'm really sorry to disappoint you, Sakura, but
I have too many archaeological research projects to attend to, is that
all right?"
" Oh, yeah. It's fine dad, it just seemed so spontaneous."
" Will you be able to find someone to stay with?"
" Yeah!!!! Sure, no problem."
" All right then. It's settled. Well, see you tomorrow,
Sakura."
" Thanks, bye dad."
" Buh-bye."
Sakura jumped up and hugged Li. He turned red.
" I can stay!"
" Uh, great." He said. She suddenly noticed their
positions, and let go automatically. Min was staring at them. She turned
to
Madison.
[ Is that what mothers and fathers are suppose to
do?]
" Mothers and fathers?" Madison had a sweatdrop
on her head.
[ Yes. Something wrong?]
" What's going on?" Li demanded seeing Madison's
face go pale," What are you talking about?"
" NOTHING!" Madison shook her head frantically,"
Nothing whatsoever!"
[ I have decided to name them my foster parents,
seeing as that I don't know who my real parents are.] Min exclaimed to
Madison as if it were the most logical explanation..
" Uh...right..." Madison nervously watched 'mommy'
and 'daddy'. She'd better not mention that until later.
Min finished her milk and started looking about restlessly.
" What's up now?"
[ I'm hungry.] She said simply. Suddenly, a really
fat rat walked out of a nearby crack.
" Hey! So, that's what's been cleaning out the cereal."
Min readied herself, and to their shock, wrangled
the rat, worrying it like a small dog, then began to eat it. Li was wondering
how she managed to kill it. Maybe she had sharp teeth or something.
Sakura thought she would puke, until she saw Min give it
a look of disgust.
[ Disgusssttttiiiinggg. This doesn't taste like food.
Got to remember that.] She picked it up in her mouth, and dropped it in
the
trash can, and her tiny deer face twisted into a pout as she looked
about.
[ I'm...still...hungry...]
Li was sniggering quietly. She still seemed sort
of babyish in a way. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Madison
answered it, and in flew Keroberos.
" I sense a Clow Card here."
" What? What are you talking about?"
" You guys have a loose Clow Card, and a very powerful
one at that."
He turned the corner and saw Min.
" Holy Clow! What in the world? You guys are keeping
a Clow Card as a pet, now?"
" Min...is a..." Sakura started.
" Clow Card?" Li finished.
" Yeah, hello, that's why I sensed magic."
" What card is she?"
" Hmm. Let me see." He circled a puzzled Min several
times before flying eye to eye with Li.
" Well, it seems she is the Assassin card of the
Rogue Deck."
" Assassin!" Li screamed.
[ Assassin? Me? What a thought...mother am I really
an assassin?]
Sakura looked around puzzled.
" Mother? Your mom is here? I didn't know Clow Cards
had mothers."
" They don't." Said Kero.
[ Silly, playing dumb. You're my mother.] Min exclaimed,
Sakura was openmouthed. Kero had an eyebrow raised.
" That can't be good." Kero said, shaking his head.
Madison yawned really wide, she couldn't keep herself from laughing any other way. Li also had his mouth open.
[ Okay, fine. Dad...am I really an assassin?] Min looked at Li curiously. His mouth was clamped shut now, and his face was yet again scarlet red. Sakura's was too, at the thought of she and Li being parents, much less parents to the same child.
" Yes, Min you are an assassin." Madison said. Sakura
gave her a 'great-going" look. Madison shrugged back.
[ I don't remember being one though...]
" Excuse us for a second." Sakura dragged Li, Keroberos,
and Madison around the corner of a hallway. Once there, she
started yelling a Madison.
" You didn't need to tell her."
" Well, she was going to find out that she kills
people sooner or later."
" Kero, why doesn't she remember being our friend,
and why doesn't she talk like a baby anymore?" Li interrupted. That detail
just seemed to keep popping up.
" You mean to tell me, that the card used to talk
even simpler then that?" Kero's eyes went wider.
" Yeah, she couldn't even use complete sentences."
" Oh, oh."
" Kero, you mind filling us in?"
" Well, the Assassin card is a unique card. It was
made to 'grow'."
" What do you mean grow?" One eyebrow raised suspiciously
as Li inquired.
" I mean that's how it locates a victim. You see
the Assassin hunts long term. It lives with its victim for some time, then
kills
them. Right after it finishes with one victim it will die and be reborn
to renew itself. Right before death takes place, it picks its
next victim. It will then be transported to the victim's living place
and there the victim will care for it until it hatches."
" Hatches?"
" Yeah, the Assassin is born by egg. Anyway, as
far as I can calculate from what you've told me, yesterday she was in her
newborn stage, where she will get a feel for the victim and his/her
habits. This lasts about a couple years or so. Then she'd
move on to stage two. This period varies depending on the situation.
In stage two, all her memories are erased for a time being
so that her 'brain' can process the data. All emotional data is deleted,
and the remaining data restored back into her system.
This is to be sure that if she has any soft spots for her victim, they
are automatically erased so it will not interfere with her task.
She is currently midway into her stage two. Once her brain finishes
its re-sort, she'll be ready to take down her victim, and go
to stage three. Unfortunately, I don't know when stage three will start.
It could be days, weeks, or even minutes."
" Can you put that in simpler terms?"
"*sigh* She kills in cycle. First she starts out
as a little baby, she drops herself on a victim's doorstep, then once she
knows the victim's routines, she sorta goes through this little short-term
amnesia so her brain can file away all the stuff she's learned about her
victim, trashing any feelings that may stop her from killing the person,
then she kills them in stage three. The whole cycle starts over from there,
where she turns back into a baby...etc."
" What's stage three?"
" Dunno," Kero shrugged," No one's ever lived to
tell us."
" Isn't there anyway to stop her from killing?"
" Yeah, but that could only happen if she would
sacrifice her life for people she cared about, blah blah blah, - you know
the old cliche legend - and we already know she can't care because of the
amnesia. The killing cycle is just going to keep going."
" Well, she's not going to kill anyone as long as
she doesn't know she can."
" You can't hide it from her forever. She's going
to find out. The minute she ends stage two, poof, she's back to herself.
She'll
remember, and the mission will continue."
" Yeah, Sakura, you might as well tell her now and
try to get her to stop the memory thing, or have her find out the hard
way." Li.
" No! She's just a kid. Besides, if she does, she
might try and use whatever killing powers she has to get back at Drake.
He's
the one she's been with the entire time, so he must be the victim."
" Why would you care about Drake?" Li demanded,"
Don't you remember what he did to her?!!!"
" Hold on a second," Keroberos interrupted," Would
that be Drake Derrias?"
" Yeah, he's after us cuz we have Min, why?"
" Uh oh. YOU HAVE THE FOREBODINGS'S MASTER AFTER
YOU AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"
" Foreboding's master? We didn't know that."
" Ugh. Now you're in real trouble. If the Card of
Nothingness is after Min, then he's going to get Min."
[ Why?]
Everyone jumped. Min was standing behind them, staring
at them with large curious eyes. She was afraid, that couldn't be
disputed, but curiosity was getting the better of her. Before they
could answer, the doorbell rang. Min's ears pricked up, and
she raced down the hallway, taking a sharp left, and careening into
a room. Sakura and Madison followed her, while Li
answered the door. When he opened it, he found to his utter horror,
and anger, Drake.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
" What's wrong Min?" Sakura asked.
[ Whoever's at the door doesn't like me. I can sense
it. They're going to make me into deer pie!] Min screamed.
" That's not true. Who's ever heard of deer pie."
Madison said reassuringly.
Min, unfortunately, was not reassured. She just huddled
under the bed, refusing to move an inch. Madison and Sakura looked at each
other and shrugged.
Min shook silently. Had Sakura and Madison looked
under again, they would have seen her body convulse in a brief pain, then
glow, and within seconds grow another couple inches longer. She was starting
to get older. The stage two 'brain clean' was almost complete.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
" What do you want?" Li said coldly to the visitor.
" Where is she?!!!" Drake shouted.
" Who?" Li tried to act nonchalant and ignorant
of whoever Drake was looking for. No success.
" Min, you dimwitted fool! Bring her to the park
in ONE HOUR, or your little girlfriend's going to get it when she leaves!"
" You wouldn't dare!"
" You'd do the same thing in my place, if one of
your possessions was taken!"
" Min's not YOURS. She is perfectly content where
she is!"
" Either her, or the girl goes! This is your only
warning." Drake turned to leave then," If you think I'm bluffing, then
ask Min. She knows my wrath well enough."
Drake laughed as Li gave him a venomous glare. Then,
Li slammed the door. He went to the room where Sakura and Min and Madison
were. He found Madison and Sakura with their heads under the bed. He sighed
in amusement. Going over to Sakura, he tapped her on the shoulder. She
jumped and rammed her head under the bed. Li apologized frantically as
she came out rubbing her head.
" I'm really sorry, Sakura."
" It's alright." She continued to rub her head,
which wasn't much help for his guilt.
" Where's Min?" He wasn't going to tell them about
the threat, just yet.
" She was under there, until I scared her with my
jumping."
" Where is she now?"
" She's somewhere in this room." Said Madison, already
looking under all the furniture. They discovered her hiding behind the
drapery. Li picked her up - boy she seemed a lot heavier then at the school
yard- and petted her. Hey, it worked the first time at school. She continued
to shiver, until Sakura put her hand on Min's head and began to scratch
her ears. She stop for a
second, and seemed to be contemplating the extra attention. She suddenly
felt better and she didn't know why.
She watched Li and Sakura. She could sense their
care for each other, but she could also sense their fear of rejection.
She
didn't really understand why, but Min decided to play matchmaker again.
She casually moved her neck out of Sakura's reach
by switching to Li's far side. Sakura, unaware of what she was doing,
lay down on her stomach, and reached across Li to Min.
Her hand met his, and stopped on it for a second. Time seemed to freeze
for the two of them. Madison was so excited. That
little rascal had managed to do what she'd been trying to do her entire
time of knowing the two.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Li stared at the beautiful sea green eyes staring
back at him. Their gazes for some reason just couldn't break from one another.
He smiled unconciously, it was a faint one, not like his usual grins. It
seemed like her eyes were the only thing besides the back of her head,
that he'd memorized. He knew what they looked like in every mood, and he
could read her emotions just by looking into them, the window to her soul
to coin a phrase. Everything just seemed to fade out for them. He closed
his eyes,
and bent towards her.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Sakura looked up at the two orbs of amber. They were
his most dominant feature, they reflected every mood, every emotion. She
could distinctly smell the scent of autumn leaves in the air. With just
a hint of summer. It was pleasing. She slowly got up, never breaking her
gaze. Unbeknownst to either of them, Min had sneaked out of their grip.
She didn't want to break the moment. Mom and Dad should get together. Madison
didn't notice either when Min opened the door just a crack. Another fact
Min hadn't shared with them, was the fact that she'd heard the entire conversation
between Li and Drake. If it meant that her two foster parents could stay
together, maybe it was better that she go. She glowed again, and this time,
her body grew in over 3 feet in length. Min stared down at herself digging
at the floor to keep from screaming. Suddenly, it was as if everything
had clicked in. The pain vanished, and all the memories of the past few
days, and years, swept back to her. The brain clearing had been successful
once again. Her mission was clear now. Without hesitation, she went down
the hall, and looked up at the door knob. Changing back into her human
disguise form, which had also grown - she was almost 14 years old now-
she opened the
door, and walked towards the park. She made it 15 steps before...
______
Sakura saw Li lean towards her, and she instinctively
leaned towards him. Their lips would have met, they were so close, but
were it not for a very startling scream. Both of them turned to see
the door open. They looked at each other in panic, and ran
outside. Madison went with them, cursing the interruption.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Min grabbed a wound on her arm. Drake held out his sword.
" That was for running away, you pitiful excuse for a card!!!!!! Now, where are the two brats?"
Min didn't answer.
" I know you can talk!!!! You screamed a second ago
did you not?!! Well!!! Speak up! Where are they?!!! And don't you
give me any of that baby talk. You fooled me into thinking you were
a babe, but not this time! You're definitely not a baby." By
that he meant her size. Min looked almost Tory's age now.
[They are none of your concern. What matters is
that you die!]
" Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't do that! It took some
time, but I've finally discovered who the Card Mistress is!"
[ That's good for you, but what does that have to
do with your imminent fate?!!!]
" Don't you see? That girl is the Card Mistress!!!!!!!!!!!
I've finally found MY victim!" He cackled violently. Min was
wide-eyed.
[ You can't drag the Card Mistress into this!!!
This is between you and ME!!!]
" That was before I knew that the girl was so close!
Ah, here is the famous lady now!"
Min turned in regret to see Li and Sakura standing
behind her, both ready to fight. Li hadn't had time to change into his
outfit,
but he still had his sword, and Sakura's Clow wand was out and ready
to be used. Drake just laughed.
" You pitiful little fools! You think anyone can kill me? Well, let me give you a demonstration of my finesse."
Suddenly, Sakura flew up in the air, Li shouted in surprise. Drake just sneered.
" You, Card Mistress, will be the first to go as a sweet revenge for my loyal yet foolhardy minion, Foreboding."
Sakura stayed hanging in the air for a second, then
was swung swiftly around, before being slammed head on onto the
pavement. She got up shakily.
" You, Clow Card have underestimated me. Card of
Nothingness return to your power...confined!!!"
Drake slowly morphed back into his card form, and flew into Sakura's waiting hand. Li looked at the card in apprehension.
" Be careful, Sakura."
" Don't worry, I'll be..." Suddenly, the card started
to shift. A dark bubble expanded around Sakura, as Li tried to help her
out of it, it shocked him aside. Min changed back into her deer form, and
began headbutting it. She had now become almost 5 feet in length, and was
entering the 3rd and final stage of her development. Suddenly, black energy
surged through the entire bubble and Sakura screamed in pain. It continued
only seconds, when Li shouted.
" Force know my Plight...Release the Light! Lightning!!" A bolt of lightning struck the sphere.
It faded, and Sakura fell to her knees, before collapsing on the cement. Li picked her up, and cradled her head, as she regained conciousness. Min was standing over her, still in deer form. She looked down at Sakura, gasping for breath as her paralyzed lungs tried to finish the task they'd been born to do. And she realized that she felt nothing. No hate, no love, no guilt. Min continued to stare at the pair. Suddenly, something impossible happened...she felt an emotion: Sadness.
[ Please don't go...mother...] Min said tearfully.
She nuzzled Sakura encouragingly.
" Sakura, please...don't die on me. I couldn't bear
living without you...don't...I...I love you." Li murmurred.
Sakura smiled weakly at Li," I love you too, Syaoran."
Lismiled. So he hadn't been imagining it that day...
Li took Sakura's hand and gave her an encouraging squeeze. Min grinned
foolishly. She could feel again! Li held Sakura tightly for a long
while, until he felt her give a shudder and go still. He let her go,
and looked at her paling face. Those beautiful eyes, closed forever.
" No. No...Sakura...wake up. Please, Sakura! Wake up...please..." His eyes were bright with tears unshed. He let out a loud cry and hugged her body close, wistfully hoping that some magic would bring her back. But, she lay still and limp in his arms. He put her down gently, and without much thought, kissed her gently cooling lips, reminding him of fresh strawberry, and sat there, head hung low. Min, throughout all this, sat quietly looking at the boy holding his now dead love. Her eyes seemed ready to cry, then suddenly she bristled. She turned on Drake, who was smirking throughout the entire procession. As soon as his body had reformed from the card, he clapped.
" Bravo!!! Entirely entertaining performance. Pity.
She was such a frail thing. I'd hope for something a little more challenging..."
[ YOU KILLED HER!]
" Congratulations, you've finally registered it.
Let's give her a hand and a gold star!"
[ YOU MURDERED MY MOTHER!]
" That girl? Your mother?" Drake chuckled," Don't
be absurd. You have no mother, you're nothing, but a card!"
[ YES. I AM A CARD AREN'T I?!!! THAT'S ALL YOU KNOW.]
" What more is there to know?" Drake said, more
seriously.
[ You are a fool! Don't you know who I am?!!! What
I do?!!!]
" You are the so-called Assassin Card!" Insulted,
Drake retorted," But, so far you've demonstrated nothing!"
[ You call yourself a card! You never read up on
my powers have you?]
" What is there to know? One card's the same as
any other."
" Min, back off." Li said, more out of caution for
his friend's safety, then in pity for Drake.
[ I am the only card of the Rogue Deck! I am created
as an assassin, and just like an assassin.] A chilling grin appeared on
her innocent face as this was announced.[ I can adapt to my victim! Behold!
The Final Stage!!!]
Slowly, her body began to grow. It lengthened,
and each hair of downy brown became a drop of liquid silver. She was
melting. Slowly, her body became a puddle of mercury like liquid. But,
she wasn't finished yet. The pool slowly made its way
towards Sakura. At first, Li was afraid, and tried to protect his dead
companion, but remembering it was Min that was
approaching, backed down. The silvery liquid engulfed the corpse, and
sat motionless for seconds. Then, the body seemed to
get up, and the liquid withdrew, showing a very much alive Sakura.
Only, her wand was different. Instead of a bird headed
wand, she now had a long staff of metallic grey topped with a large
cobra shape. Sakura's eyes were still closed, like she was
asleep. Li gaped.
" Sakura!"
Drake was aghast as well. She'd been dead as a door nail! How could she possibly have risen back?
" You're an assassin card! You can't do things like
that!" Drake demanded.
[ Oh, but I can! Assassin is merely a general term.
I can kill anything.] The pool glowed,[ Even death itself.]
[ And now, I will finish the task I've been waiting
for, KILLING YOU!!!]
" So, I'm your target am I? Well, you'll never kill
me...all right, you've proven your power! Now fight like the card you are!"
[ Oh, but I'm not finished yet!] The liquid slithered
it's way to Li. He watched in amazement as it curled up his arm, and
wrapped itself around his sword. The sword seemed to soak it in, and
on its blade, was now the imprint of a large snake,
seemingly engraved into the metal. Li felt new power well up within
him.
[ They will help me,]
" Hey! That's not very fair is it?!!!"
[ Alls fair in love and war, dear brother card.
You hurt my friends so now they will revenge against you ten-fold! It will
complete my task and help them in the same instance. Killing two birds
with one stone you might say.] She cackled.
" Now, you'll pay for hurting Sakura!!!!" Li cried,
and readied himself. Sakura's eyes flicked open and she did the same.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Whooooeeee. That was one LONG chapter. I don't think I could top any
of my others with this one. This definitely takes the
cake. This is the Finale of Blossom Hunter, meaning I'm not making
a prequel or another
sequel. I have other ideas, and I don't want them to go to waste. So
R+R, please, and tell me what you think!
DragonLass!
PS Thanks to all of you who reviewed Blossom Hunter, I really enjoy
seeing the opinions of my readers, because it hurts me
deeply when I get accused for not satisfying some subconcious request.
(This being other sites I've written to.) So, my
homepage is still in shambles, but It'll be up and running soon, so
keep a lookout! Sayonara!