No due to contrary belief, I am not dead. I just got a really bad flame (I'm talking a step by step dissection of just how bad this series was) for this story and gave up. Fortunately, AzNTiGeR brought me to my senses and so I present to you the long awaited untitled Chapter five. You all better thank her because I was honestly thinking of deleting this story. ^_^
Girl of Their Dreams
Chapter Five
By Kelly
Touya groaned as the alarm went off, signifying that it was 5:00 a.m., piercing the silence. Well, maybe groan was too strong a word to use, to groan would actually take energy and more than 45 minutes of sleep. He hit the snooze button and rolled over on his side, he didn't need to run this morning.
A sharp pain hit his abdomen as he turned, it was probably just a stitch from last night. He pulled the covers up tighter around his throat, was it just him or was it really cold in the house? He'd have to check the thermostat when he got up at 5:30, right now he just needed sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*
Sakura woke at 5:45, it had to be a new record for her, even Kero was still asleep. She carefully shut his drawer and then turned on her bedroom light. She had awoken early this morning because she wanted to have breakfast started before her brother came back from his daily run.
She stretched and put on her uniform, wondering how Touya was doing this morning. He had come home from the Li's house last night at about ten o'clock in a very strange mood, but she guessed it was understandable. After that incident with Sanae he probably couldn't sleep. She shuddered and began to run a brush through her hair, thinking of Touya's expression when he found out that Sanae had powers. It made Sakura dread the day when she told Touya of her own. But she had to tell him - someday. She had never kept anything like this from him before. They may not have seemed to be close but they shared something so deep it was unexplainable. Or maybe she was overlooking the simplest explanation, their mother.
After she had died, it wasn't her father Sakura had turned to, though she loved him dearly, it was Touya. He had always been there for her. They'd been there for each other. The nights when they could hear their father crying from downstairs, Touya always snuck into her room; told her it was going to be okay; stayed with her until she fell asleep. He usually slept on her floor, he didn't want to be alone either on those nights. She remembered what he used to say to her, "I'll be right here if you need me. I won't leave you, I promise. We're in this together, mom would've wanted it that way." Sometimes, even now, he just looked at her - stared her right in the eyes - and she could tell he wasn't just looking at her, he was looking at their mother too. He always told her she had their mom's eyes. The eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She couldn't stand here thinking about her family all day, there was a breakfast to make.
*~*~*~*~*
"She's got to save him, he's the one. She must. She's got to." Voices whispered at her, reverberating through the meadow without a source, "Please help us. We need your help. You have to protect him. Please, we need your help. Please save him."
"Save who? Who are you?" Sanae asked. "Why do you keep talking to me? What do you mean?" She'd had this dream a thousand times before, as far back as she could remember, but she always woke up before figuring out what they wanted. It never made any sense and the speakers never revealed themselves.
"The time grows nearer. Soon, soon the dark one will return and try to destroy him. But you must save him. He will someday perform a great task. We need him. Please, you must help us. You must, before the dark one prevails. Please."
"I want to help you, I really do. But I don't see how I can . . . who do I need to save?"
"You will know when the time comes. You must not be afraid."
"She mustn't,"agreed another voice, "Or it won't work. Don't be afraid, it's your purpose. Your fate. You were created to save him." The voices always told her the same thing: to save him, to protect him, to not be afraid, but she just didn't understand. She'd done her best to take care of Syaoran, what more could she do? What was her purpose? Was it even Syaoran she was supposed to save?
"Please, you have to tell me something more. Who do I have to save?"
"You must save him. Please."
"Just tell me who. What does he look like?"
The voices pleaded with her, "The boy. Please, you must save him. Promise you will." All of a sudden they rose and became panicked, "Quiet! Run, all of you, the dark one approaches. He comes for you child . . . where is our master? "
A thick black mist descended over the field and she could no longer hear anything but a low snake-like hiss, cold and barely audible, as though the fog was personified in the words, "Sanae . . . Sanae . . ." It called to her, "No one can save you now . . ."
"What are you talking about?" she sounded small and choked, the fog was making it hard to breathe. Sanae felt like she was drowning, gasping for breath. The air was heavy and she couldn't get enough of it into her lungs.
"Clow warned you not to fall in love again, but you were never one for listening to men, were you Sanae?" A pair of red eyes flashed for a split second through the grayness. "It's only a matter of time now, my dear, soon you will be mine once more. And those that stand in the way will be crushed," he sounded almost happy as he said the last words.
"I'll never be yours!"
"The strong spirits are all the more satisfying once you've broken them. Blood will be shed tonight, mark my words. Goodbye for now, my unfaithful love. I will break you, Sanae." His voice echoed her name, a sick chant that she wanted to end, "Sanae . . . Sanae . . . Sanae . . . Sanae . . . "
"Sanae . . . Sanae? Come on, wake up, it's almost six o'clock." It was Syaoran. She groaned, she had slept through her alarm.
"It's six?" she yawned and rolled out of bed, "Thanks for waking me up."
"No problem. So, why'd you sleep in?" She could tell he was trying desperately to keep his voice casual. He wanted to know something.
"I had a late night."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"So, what did you do while you were up?"
"The usual. Successfully invented a perpetual motion machine, you know, nothing big." It was fun to play with him a little. After all, he had gone behind her back and given Touya the Rayshon orb. Not that she really minded . . .
He smirked, "Wow. You know from my bedroom it sounded like you were talking with Sakura's brother."
"There must be amazing sound distortion in this house."
"Come on, tell me something Sanae."
"Nope. All you're getting is that were dating now. That's it."
"That's a start, but think about it - I'm the one that got you two together. You at least owe me /some/ of your conversation. I mean, I gave him the Rayshon orb."
"Yeah, and it could've turned out a lot worse than it did. You're just lucky I'm not throttling you this morning."
"Lucky - yes. Satisfied - no. Throw me a tiny morsel of your conversation. Anything."
"Alright, gossip monger, Touya's least favorite subject is art."
"That's all you're going to tell me?"
"Hey, you said anything," she replied simply. He looked at her exasperatedly.
"That's not exactly what I meant."
*~*~*~*
Oh God, he was going insane . . . why was this happening to him? It had started again, Yue was talking to him, wanting to take over his body, "Leave me alone!" Yukito pleaded, knocking his textbooks off his bedroom desk and gripping on to the edge, his knuckles turning white. He had to fight it.
He knew it wasn't normal. It started when he was four . . . but then everyone had imaginary friends . . . his had just lived in his head. It was Yue who had told him to be Touya's friend, Yue who had conditioned him to be nice to Sakura, Yue who had helped him through the trying years of kindergarten through grade two. By then everyone had started to grow out of their imaginary friend phase, but Yukito kept hearing the voice.
And so he forced it back. He kept ignoring it and ignoring it until it stopped. He thought he had beaten it, but six months ago it had started again, little by little. He started thinking things he never would've before; going up on the roof whenever there was a full moon. He hadn't noticed it at first, but it got slowly stronger, so much that he had to fight just to wake up in the morning. He was afraid to go to sleep. In fact, he hadn't slept in a week, since he met Sanae.
He knew it was crazy, but since she came to Tomoedo, Yue seemed to grow stronger and fight him more. It was like he was drawing strength from her. Every time Yukito saw Sanae, a quiet voice in the depths of his mind whispered something about a predecessor. He didn't understand it any more than he understood why he was faced with this problem . . .
He couldn't go to school today, he had to deal with this alone. He knew the moment Touya saw him he'd know something was wrong, and Yukito just couldn't tell him what. He didn't want to admit he heard voices, no matter how you told a person they were automatically going to assume that you had snapped. But he knew deep down that he hadn't, that there was actually someone else living inside his head . . . or maybe he really was going insane . . .
*~*~*~*
Sakura flipped the last of the pancakes out onto a plate and began to break them apart with her fork, waiting for her brother to return from his morning run. It was strange, Touya was usually home by this time. Leaving her breakfast, she got up from the table to investigate.
His sneakers were at the front door, which meant that he was either back from his run or that he had never left. Sakura climbed upstairs to see if he was in the shower, but there was no water running and the bathroom door was wide open. Perplexed, she knocked on his closed bedroom door. A quiet moan sounded from within and she entered. Her brother was still asleep, his back to the door.
"Touya, it's quarter after six, aren't you going to get up for school?"
He rolled over so that she could see his face. His normally bright, deep blue eyes stared back at her - lethargic and glassy, rimmed with dark circles. His skin was paler than usual and had a waxy, sallow look to it, while his lips were dry and cracked. He groaned again and squinted from the hall light. "Alright, I'm up," his voice was hoarse and weak.
"Are you okay? Maybe you should stay home, you don't look very good."
"Nah," he said, sitting up and rubbing his temples. "I'm fine, besides, I've got a huge physics test today which I can't miss." He stood shakily and steadied himself against the wall.
"But Touya . . ." she trailed off, it was almost no use to argue with him. Once he made up his mind he rarely changed it.
"Really, squirt, I'm fine, I just . . ." His eyes went wide and he dashed past her into the bathroom without saying anything more. She followed him and arrived seconds later to find him kneeling over the toilet. He withdrew from the bowl breathing deeply, looking pale and sweaty. Sakura ran him a glass of water from the sink and he sipped it slowly, closing his eyes. Her brother leaned against the bathroom wall, "Okay, maybe I should stay home," he conceded, "I feel awful."
"Come on, let's get you back to bed." Touya leaned on her heavily and she lead him back to his room, "Do you want me to stay home with you today?"
"Nice try, but your not getting out of school too. I'll be fine here."
"Alright then, I'll be back here as soon as school is over. I just feel so bad about leaving you here alone when you're sick."
"I can manage. Wait a minute, don't you have cheerleading practice after school today?"
"Yes, but it's okay, I can miss it."
"Sakura, I'll be fine. Go. Cheer. Lead. Wave pom poms or whatever it is you do. I can take care of myself. Can you just get either Yukito or Sanae to pick up my homework for me?"
"No problem. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yeah, I'll just be sleeping all day anyway."
*~*~*~*
Touya awoke to the sound of a ringing doorbell at a quarter to three. Maybe if he didn't answer they would go away. The rings grew louder and closer together, and were soon accompanied by incessant knocking. So much for that theory. Groaning, he grabbed his robe, rolled out of bed, and stumbled down the steps to the front door, shivering. Standing on the front porch were a man and a woman dressed in business clothes. The woman handed him a pamphlet with a picture of a family sitting outside in their yard, where a panda and a lioness were playing happily with the children.
The woman smiled at him, "Do you believe that people and animals could live in harmony like this? That this picture could indeed someday be possible?"
He had dragged himself all the way downstairs for this? "No," he answered shortly, trying to close the door. Unfortunately, the man had his hand on the frame and Touya didn't really want to hurt him . . . much.
"Well," he said, giving Touya a huge and phoney smile, "We of the Creaturia faith believe that this is the way that life is supposed to be. All creatures, living and working together. We believe we can make this picture a reality."
Touya narrowed his eyes, "Can you please remove your hand from the door?"
"If you'll just read through this pamphlet . . ."
"Please remove your hand from the door."
The man acted as if he hadn't heard Touya, "We truly believe that this situation can be achieved if . . ."
"Look," he replied, exasperatedly, "Do you know why this picture can't be a reality?"
"Because we don't have your support?" asked the woman. These people were really starting to grate on his nerves, and today was not the day to be doing it. He tended to lose his temper very easily when he got sick, "That's why we're here today. If you'd just take a look at our pamphlets . . ."
"Wrong. The reason it won't ever happen is . . ."
"Because we don't have enough members. This is where you come in. With your help, we know this is possible."
"You're not listening to me! It can't EVER happen because lions and pandas live in entirely different climates. Anybody could tell you that. If you're going to make up some crackpot religion and try to get financial support or people to join, next time at least make the pictures somewhat plausible. Then, when you drag people who feel like shit out of their beds, they won't get so damn pissed and rant at you like I'm doing! And if you don't remove your hand from the doorframe right now,"he said through gritted teeth, "you're going to lose it!" The man withdrew his hand and both of them stared at Touya in shock. He slammed the door.
"We'll just leave the pamphlets in the mailbox," called the woman from the porch. Touya sighed. Okay, possibly on another day he would have been more polite and at least tried to feign interest, but he really felt terrible. He was cold, achy, weak, and he couldn't seem to stop his teeth from chattering. To top it all off, he swore he was hallucinating. He'd been hearing these strange noises coming from Sakura's bedroom all day. It was probably from lack of food . . .
Though he was incredibly hungry, the thought of eating made him want to retch. He shuffled into the kitchen to make himself some tea, he knew he could at least stomach that and he might as well if he was already downstairs. Touya placed the kettle on the stove to boil, then collapsed in one of the diningroom chairs. His sister had left him a note on the table, and beside it sat a bottle of Tylenol and their thermometer,
"Dear Touya,
If you're downstairs I hope that means you're feeling better. I'll be home right after cheerleading practice, around 5:30. I'll make you dinner then if you feel like eating. Take care of yourself,
Sakura."
The letter was short, sweet, and to the point, but at least she was thinking about him. Touya yawned and put the thermometer under his tongue. Removing it a few minutes later, he groaned. No wonder he felt so cold, his temperature was 101.9 degrees. He dry swallowed two tylenols, then lay his head down on the table in his arms, waiting for the water to boil.
*~*~*~*
Sanae adjusted her backpack, which was twice as heavy as usual since she was carrying Touya's books, and made her way up the Kinomoto's front steps. Sakura had asked her to bring Touya his homework and also to check that he was okay after school, apparently he had a very bad stomach flu. She slid her finger across the top of the door frame and a small silver key fell to the right of the doormat, just as Sakura had said.
She entered the house quietly and slipped off her shoes, she didn't want to awaken Touya if he was sleeping. She crept up the steps as silently as she could and peeked into his room. The bed was empty. Padding back down the stairs, she started to search the other rooms in the house.
Sanae found him in the kitchen, sleeping on the table, with a kettle of what she assumed used to be water boiled completely dry on the range. She placed a gentle hand on his forehead, which was clammy and hot to the touch, "Touya?"
He made a soft noise of protest, then stirred and awoke, "Sanae? What are you doing here?" He was shaking visibly and looked as if he felt terrible, his skin pale and sweaty, his eyes glassy, his hair disheveled. She filled with sympathy.
"I came to see how you were feeling."
"Horrible," he replied, putting his head back down on the table.
She brushed a stray strand of hair from his eyes, "What are you doing down here?"
"I came down to make tea. I guess I fell asleep."
"You poor thing. Why don't you go back up to bed and I'll bring you up the tea, alright?"
"But . . ."
"If we're going to start dating, you're going to have to learn that I don't take no for an answer."
He smiled at her a little, "Okay."
- - - -
Thinking, he made his way up the stairs to his room. He hated to make all this trouble for Sanae, but it was also kind of nice to have some company, especially hers. After last night he felt as if they understood each other. He wasn't the least bit self-conscious around her, even though he knew he probably looked like shit today. The good thing about it was she didn't seem to care how he looked, only how he was feeling. She was perfect.
He crawled under the warm sheets, still shivering, and she came up to his room about five minutes later, carrying the thermometer and a cup of tea.
"Do you mind if I take your temperature before you drink the tea?"
He was honestly too tired and weak to protest, not that he really wanted to. "Go nuts," he replied.
After three minutes, she removed the thermometer. She looked at him, concern filling her eyes, "Oh Touya, you're burning up." She handed him the tea, "I'll be back in just a second okay?"
He stared at the tea uninterestedly. He didn't feel like it now, he just wanted to lay down. He reached over and set it on his bedside table, leaning back against the pillow and closing his eyes. He ached all over, he didn't think he'd get back to sleep. He heard the sound of Sanae crossing his bedroom floor as she approached the bed.
The cloth felt cool and rough as it moved gently over his fevered forehead. Somehow her just being here made him feel better. "Touya, I'm so sorry. It's my fault that you're sick."
"No it's not. You weren't the one who told me to go running in the freezing cold rain for over an hour. That was all my bright idea."
"Still, it was because of me and I want to make it up to you."
"How?" Touya was intrigued.
"Just turn over on your stomach."
Touya did as he was told. Her soft hands moved across him, massaging his shoulders and back. It was unbelievable. As soon as she started, the aching feeling melted away. Her hands slowly moved up the bottom of his shirt, lifting it so his back was exposed. Touya let himself fall into the lull of the melodic press and knead of Sanae's hands and shortly fell asleep.
*~*~*~*
Sakura slid her key into the lock and entered the dark house, nearly tripping over a backpack as she did. She saw a faint light shining from the small lamp in the hallway upstairs and followed it. Sanae didn't noticed her at first, she sat at Touya's bedside smoothing a wet face cloth on his forehead, but suddenly she turned and waved at Sakura. Rising from the chair, she closed Touya's door and joined Sakura in the hallway.
"Hi Sakura. How are you?"
"Fine." To be quite honest, she'd had one of the worst days at school she'd had in a long time. Syaoran had been avoiding her all day, and she couldn't keep her mind off Touya. "Sanae, how is he?"
"Touya's got a really high fever. It was 102.3 when I took it at 3:30, but I'm sure he'll be okay." Sanae smiled at her, "Most flu's just blow over in a day."
"Thanks for coming after school."
"No problem. Hey, if you need any more help, just give me a call, alright?"
"Okay."
"I'm going to head home now. Hopefully Syaoran hasn't burned down the kitchen in my absence," she laughed quietly, "See you later, Sakura."
"Before you go . . ." Sakura trailed off. It was sort of embarrassing. "Could you give this to him?" She held out a note she'd written today during lunch, "Please don't read it."
Sanae looked at her thoughtfully, "Sure. I'll give it to him. You have my word that I won't read it."
"Thank you."
*~*~*~*
Syaoran sat at his bedroom desk, staring at the unopened note with malice. The nerve of her . . . he'd been trying to apologize to her all day but she'd been specifically avoiding him. This little piece of paper was probably just a bomb waiting to be dropped, she had to still be upset at him because he hadn't told her about Meilin
He was happy that Sanae and Touya had worked out their problem last night, but unfortunately he and Sakura hadn't managed to progress that far. It was ironic really, they'd known each other much longer that Touya and Sanae had. Syaoran opened the note and began to read, expecting the worst.
"Dear Syaoran,
I know you've been avoiding me all day because of what happened last night, and I'm sorry that I overreacted. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me that you and Meilin were engaged. I thought as friends we could be honest with each other. Apparently I was wrong.
Your friend (I guess),
Sakura Kinomoto"
Her being hurt by him was much worse than her being mad at him. Syaoran felt sick inside, the reason he didn't tell Sakura was because he loved her. He knew that now. All the mean remarks to her, the apathetic looks, the cruel acts were his desperate attempts to hide his true feelings for her. From the moment he met Sakura he knew that he had never truly loved Meilin. He had to talk to her, it was him who should have been apologizing.
The digital numbers on his clock radio read 1:27. He couldn't call Sakura now, it was far too late, she'd be asleep. In fact, he should have been himself. Syaoran changed into his pyjama's and lay on top of his sheets, staring at the cracks on the ceiling. He vowed that he would talk to her first thing tomorrow morning; apologize to her; maybe confess how he felt; and at least try to repair their friendship. He owed her that much.
The phone rang, shattering his thoughts and the silence of the house. Who would be calling them at this time of night? Syaoran picked it up halfway through the first ring, "Hello?"
The sound of sobs met his ear, "Syaoran?"
"Sakura? What happened, are you okay?" The only answer he got was more crying, "Please tell me what's wrong."
"Can I talk to Sanae?"
"What? Sure Sakura, just hold on a second." He opened his door to find Sanae standing in the hall outside it, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Who's on the phone?"
"It's Sakura, she wants to talk to you."
"Me?" Sanae grabbed the cordless from his room, "Hello. . . what? . . . Just try and calm down . . . Yeah . . . I'll be right over . . . yeah . . . hold on . . .alright . . .it's going to be okay . . .shh . . . okay . . . good bye." Sanae looked at him, "I'm going over to the Kinomoto's. It's Touya. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"I'm going with you."
They sped through the dark, foggy night in Sanae's car, neither of them speaking. Sakura met them at the front door, her eyes were red and rimmed with tears, "He's breathing but he won't wake up. His temperature's 104, I took it before I realized. Oh God, he's going to die." She broke down and began to weep.
"Sakura, it's okay. We're going to help him. Is Touya upstairs?" asked Sanae calmly. Syaoran was amazed, she never lost her composure in situations like this and he admired her greatly for it, "Syaoran, I want you to call 911. Sakura, come with me."
He grabbed a phone off the coffee table in the living room and was about to place the call when he realized there was no dial tone, instead he heard a cold voice whispering, "Call Sanae . . . she can help . . . call her house . . . bring her here . . .you have to . . . Call Sanae . . .she can"
Syaoran pressed 911 over the strange message, but all he heard was the voice again, "That's not Sanae . . . " the phone dialed a number and it began to ring at the other end.
As it picked up he heard his own voice, "Hi, this is the Li residence. We are unable to come to the phone right now but please leave your name and message after the beep and we will return your call as soon as possible . . ." He slammed down the phone. What was happening?
*~*~*~*
Sakura watched as Sanae stood beside Touya, taking his hand in hers. "Spirits of my ancestors, help me, I beg. Bequeath your powers to my hand so I may take this undue pain for my own. Help me to heal him . . ."
Sanae fell to the floor beside the bed, breathing deeply. She turned to Sakura, panting in fatigue, "There, he should . . . be okay until the paramedics come." Syaoran entered the room. "Did you . . .call them?"
"I can't get through, the phone connected me to our house."
"It did the same thing to me," agreed Sakura, worry creasing her face as she looked at her brother. He was unnaturally pale,"Even the cell phone." She couldn't lose him, she loved him too much. He meant everything to her.
Sanae rubbed her temples in thought, "Alright, we'll go to the hospital in my car." They carried the still unconscious Touya down the stairs, Sanae taking the brunt of the lower body weight and Syaoran and herself both supporting a shoulder. Stepping out onto the front porch, Sakura heard a cruel laugh.
"My, isn't this dramatic?" came a sneering voice. Sakura followed it across the front lawn to the gate. There stood a man, clocked in black silk as Sanae had been the first time Sakura had met her. The material, which had looked like liquid ebony on her, hung stiffly off his shoulders as if it were composed solely of lead. Softly glowing black fog spewed in billows from his outstretched hands.
Sakura didn't trust the fog, it seemed to be reaching for her, pulling on her magic. The very concept that the light it shed was dark scared her more deeply that she had ever been in her life. Beside her, Touya groaned and awoke. "What's going on?" he asked groggily, turning towards her. He was still only partially conscious.
"Sakura, Syaoran," said Sanae, her voice taut and quiet, "take Touya back into the house."
"Oh, I'm sorry," replied the man with a bitter laugh, his voice as cold as the creeping fog. He waved his hand and the door slammed, "That option is no longer open. Besides my dear, they can't leave. The entertainment is just about to begin."
"What do you mean by that, Nao?" spat out Syaoran, stepping out from under Touya's shoulder and calling forth his sword.
"Temper, temper," Nao smirked. A thick black ribbon shot out from his left wrist and writhed around Syaoran's sword, throwing it somewhere into the street, the sound of metal hitting concrete echoing through the eerily still night. "One would expect more control from the next leader of the Li clan."
"Is that was this is about? Are you here because you want to be the leader?" asked Syaoran bitterly, "You're welcome to it."
"Oh no, I aspire for more than that. I wouldn't want to limit my power to that of the clan alone. I have so much more planned . . . after I claim what's rightfully mine of course."
"She's not rightfully yours and never was, asshole. Why don't you just leave us alone?"
"Not only do you have a temper, you're an insolent little fuck too. I'm not here for you anyway. You're really of no use to me, except for enjoyment. . ." more thick cords shot out of his wrist, wrapping themselves around Syaoran's waist, ankles, wrists, and throat. He was pulled toward the strange man, his eyes wide, his mouth gasping silently for more breath as the ribbons cut off his air supply. He hung in the air like some twisted puppet while the life was slowly squeezed out of him. Sakura was frozen in fear, she couldn't use her powers in front of Touya.
"Syaoran!" screamed Sanae, running off the steps of the porch where Sakura was left alone with Touya, "Ancestors from ancient lands, grant your powers to my hands. Sever!" Her magic barely moved the ribbons. Nao curled his index finger and the cord around Syaoran's neck fell like a dying snake to the ground.
"Sanae, the angrier you get the more beautiful you become. Did you really believe you could overpower me? I'm impressed though, you've certainly gotten a backbone since I saw you last."
"Really? Because you're still as slimy as an invertebrate. You know he's not the one you want, let him go."
"Very true," he said evenly, dropping the still gasping Syaoran from ten feet in the air. A sickening crack filled the night as his leg shattered. "We can't have him running off to get help, now can we? Not that the phones work anyway." He pulled Sanae towards him with a ribbon around her waist, tying her hands behind her back. Nao traced his long thin finger across her cheek, drawing blood with his nail, "Oh, my dear, beautiful, broken Sanae, you were so easy to find once you stopped traveling around the globe . . . so easy to catch . . .but I was too late, I'm afraid."
She looked at him in disgust, "Too late for what?"
"To gain your powers, of course. By the laws of the Li clan I still hold possession of them because we're still married. I have your powers for as long as I have your heart. Wherein the problem lies, my dear. You've given your heart away, but I'm not about to give your power up. No, from the moment I saw you I knew your powers far exceeded that of a normal Li. And when you spun his staff, I knew you weren't just a descendant of Clow, you were his creation. I know all about you, I found an old book he had written."
"You're crazy. What are you talking about? My parents were both Li's. And neither of them were Clow."
"You don't know?" he asked, licking the blood off Sanae's cheek. She stared back at him, anger growing in her eyes.
"That bastard," whispered Touya under his breath beside Sakura. She prayed Nao wouldn't hear him.
"You don't know," exclaimed Nao in delight, red eyes dancing in cruel amusement, "It's story time, gather round children." He smirked before continuing, "You were Clow's bitch. He used you whenever he needed a good fuck."
"What?"
"It was all in the book my dear. Clow was just screwing around with the cards one day when he was struck with a prophetic vision of a woman holding a baby girl. He knew the girl was important, but it was the mother he fell for. She haunted his every waking thought and consumed his dreams, but he knew he'd never meet her. So he set out to create someone like her, not only to be his wife but the judge of the cards. Unlike the current guardians, however, she did not draw her power from the sun or the moon - she drew it from him like the cards. And like the cards she grew too strong. But he couldn't seal her or destroy her, he had created her to come back at the same time the other guardians were supposed to. So he tried to arrange it so she would be born into a magical family, but not interfere with the cards. Unfortunately for him and yourself, it didn't work out quite as he had planned. It couldn't have been better for me, though. That is, of course, except for the unforseen glitch you fell in love with. But he will be easy to eliminate, he's practically dead anyway." Almost instantly, more black ribbon shot from Nao's hand and dragged Touya across the front lawn.
"Leave him alone," pleaded Sanae, tears filling her eyes, "Please, I'll be your wife. I'll give you my powers. Just don't hurt him."
"It's too late for that. You love him, what you just said proves that beyond a doubt. I need to have your heart fully or I can never gain your magic, and the only way to do that is to kill him." Nao pressed his fingertips together and Sakura noticed a small dark orb growing in his hands. He kicked Touya, who lay on the ground, in the stomach, "What? Afraid to call me a bastard now? Afraid to look up and face your downfall boy?"
Touya lifted his head off the cold, wet earth, "I still think you're a bastard, and I'd be ashamed if I let someone like you be my downfall."
Anger flared in Nao's eyes, "Those are strong but stupid last words." He released the dark sphere which darted towards Touya.
"Shield Card!" yelled Sakura. She watched in horror as the dark circle barely slowed when it passed through the barrier of green light the shield card cast. Touya's body jerked violently once, then lay still. Sakura ran from the porch to his side, but it was no use, he was dead. Nao had killed him and Sakura hadn't stopped it in time because she'd been too afraid to use her magic in front of her brother.
How could Touya leave her? She remembered back to when they were younger, when he sat in her room. She could still hear his voice, "I'll be right here if you need me. I won't leave you, I promise. We're in this together, mom would've wanted it that way." He'd lied to her. She needed him now and he'd left her. And it was all her fault.
"Now for you, my dear," he grinned madly at Sanae, "The time has come for you to give me the ultimate gift."
"No stop!" Sakura screamed, praying that Nao wouldn't take Syaoran's cousin as he had taken her brother.
"Sakura," Sanae addressed her softly, "Don't, I'm not worth it. I'm what he wants. Once he gets my power he'll leave. No one else needs to be hurt." She turned to Nao, "I'm ready."
Sakura could see the magic glowing around the two, Sanae's a pristine yellow and Nao's the same colour as the thick fog. He pulled her into a deep kiss, and a sound like a great wind rushing into a cove filled the night. Sakura watched in revulsion as the yellow light started to coat Nao's black magic around his mouth, slowly spreading over his entire face. Sanae's own light began to dim.
"Element: Fire," came a shaky cry from the street. Syaoran had managed to pull himself over to his sword.
Sakura joined him, "Fire card, release and dispel." Flames licked at Nao's robe and he loosened his grip on Sanae from shock, the diversion was all she needed. Sanae broke free and called forth her own sword, holding it to his throat. This was the first time Sakura had seen Sanae's weapon and it's appearance surprised her. She had expected a double edged strait sword like Syaoran's but instead it was curved, one edged and very aciculate.
Her voice was as hard and cold as Nao's had been, "Games are almost over now, Nao, but I've got one more I want you to play. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat . . . why I shouldn't murder you like you murdered your parents . . . like you murdered Touya . . . like you murdered me inside."
"Because then you would be just like me," he replied, his lips curling into an ugly smile, "But that's something you have to face my dear, you are like me. Everyone is a little bit, society's just conditioned most of us to repress our lust for power and pain, but you know you want it as much as I do. We could work together, just beneath your surface I know we're alike. Why do you think I killed my parents? They were as bad as Yoshino-san. You think you're so different from me? You would've killed Touya, too. And I think deep down you know it."
"I'm nothing like you," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, "I never would have killed him for my own personal gain, and I will not take any pleasure in ending your life. Do you think I'll rejoice after this? No, I'll wonder how it ever came to this point. The only thing I can take solace in is the fact that I stopped it from going any farther." She pulled the sword across his throat and he fell to the ground. Sanae dropped on her knees beside him, sobbing. Sakura was astonished by what happened next: the fog that had blanketed the area drew in over their yard, creating a thick cloud under Nao's body which raised him several feet into the air, surrounded by the dark glow. In an instant he vanished and the fog disappeared without a trace.
"He was totally consumed by his own darkness," reflected Sanae, still kneeling beside the spot where Nao fell, a few feet from Touya. That was when she heard the voices again . . . but she wasn't dreaming. The cards Sakura had captured floated down from her bedroom.
"Please, you must save him. You must. Don't be afraid, it's your purpose. Your fate. You were created to save him," They pleaded with Sanae, repeating their words from her dreams, "He will someday perform a great task. We need him. Please, you must help us." She didn't know how long she sat there - listening to their pleas, watching Sakura cry. She knew now was the time.
"Sanae, please don't," begged Syaoran. When had he arrived at her side? Seconds? Minutes? Hours ago? Time seemed to have no meaning. "I know what you're thinking, but you can't mess with something like this."
"Can't you hear them Syaoran?"
"Hear who?"
"The Clow cards. They need me. They need Touya. I have to save him."
"Sanae, no, please don't. This isn't your time to leave here. I'd miss you."
"Oh Syaoran, I'm going to miss you too, but don't you see? This /is/ my time to leave here. Everything Clow created had a purpose and it's time for me to fulfil mine, I've been searching for it my whole life." She pulled him into a long hug. "I love you so much." Sanae could feel the sobs racking his small body, she often forgot that he was still just a child, "You going to be okay, I know you, Syaoran. You'll get along fine without me."
"But I don't want to, you're the only who really cares about me." She stroked his hair with her hand.
"Syaoran, someday you'll find someone who cares for you as much as I do and you'll be happy. They'll be everything I was to you and more. Love's a wonderful thing, even if you only have it for a short time."
"I'll never forget you."
"I'll never forget you either. You were the best thing I ever had in my life. Goodbye Syaoran." She placed her right hand over Touya's heart and her left hand over her own. Closing her eyes, she began to chant, "Spirits of my ancestors, help me, I beg. Bequeath your powers to my hand so I may take this undue pain for my own and heal the mortal body of the bearer." Both Touya and Sanae were washed in an eerie glow and she began to scream, her cries piercing the night.
Then all fell silent. They lay motionless for several minutes, the crisp fall air stirring the blades of grass in waves. In the distance, the sound of a single, solitary bird trilling broke the morning air. It was Touya who rose from the cold ground to hear its song.
And for once in his life, Syaoran allowed the tears to come.
~The End~
And there is the conclusion to the series everyone ^_^. I was crying when I wrote this . . . R+R if you want. Though I did write it in part because people kept e-mailing me to update it, I mostly wrote it for me. It took the great advice of one author to make me see that stories shouldn't be about reviews or flames, they should be exactly what they are: the author's love and passion captured on page. My sincerest thanks to you, AzNTiGeR. I'm forever in your debt. And to all the rest of you, thank you for being such a patient and supportive audience. I hope your time spent reading this fic has not been wasted. This series is dedicated to my best friend, Amanda, who was taken away from us all before her time.
Girl of Their Dreams
Chapter Five
By Kelly
Touya groaned as the alarm went off, signifying that it was 5:00 a.m., piercing the silence. Well, maybe groan was too strong a word to use, to groan would actually take energy and more than 45 minutes of sleep. He hit the snooze button and rolled over on his side, he didn't need to run this morning.
A sharp pain hit his abdomen as he turned, it was probably just a stitch from last night. He pulled the covers up tighter around his throat, was it just him or was it really cold in the house? He'd have to check the thermostat when he got up at 5:30, right now he just needed sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*
Sakura woke at 5:45, it had to be a new record for her, even Kero was still asleep. She carefully shut his drawer and then turned on her bedroom light. She had awoken early this morning because she wanted to have breakfast started before her brother came back from his daily run.
She stretched and put on her uniform, wondering how Touya was doing this morning. He had come home from the Li's house last night at about ten o'clock in a very strange mood, but she guessed it was understandable. After that incident with Sanae he probably couldn't sleep. She shuddered and began to run a brush through her hair, thinking of Touya's expression when he found out that Sanae had powers. It made Sakura dread the day when she told Touya of her own. But she had to tell him - someday. She had never kept anything like this from him before. They may not have seemed to be close but they shared something so deep it was unexplainable. Or maybe she was overlooking the simplest explanation, their mother.
After she had died, it wasn't her father Sakura had turned to, though she loved him dearly, it was Touya. He had always been there for her. They'd been there for each other. The nights when they could hear their father crying from downstairs, Touya always snuck into her room; told her it was going to be okay; stayed with her until she fell asleep. He usually slept on her floor, he didn't want to be alone either on those nights. She remembered what he used to say to her, "I'll be right here if you need me. I won't leave you, I promise. We're in this together, mom would've wanted it that way." Sometimes, even now, he just looked at her - stared her right in the eyes - and she could tell he wasn't just looking at her, he was looking at their mother too. He always told her she had their mom's eyes. The eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She couldn't stand here thinking about her family all day, there was a breakfast to make.
*~*~*~*~*
"She's got to save him, he's the one. She must. She's got to." Voices whispered at her, reverberating through the meadow without a source, "Please help us. We need your help. You have to protect him. Please, we need your help. Please save him."
"Save who? Who are you?" Sanae asked. "Why do you keep talking to me? What do you mean?" She'd had this dream a thousand times before, as far back as she could remember, but she always woke up before figuring out what they wanted. It never made any sense and the speakers never revealed themselves.
"The time grows nearer. Soon, soon the dark one will return and try to destroy him. But you must save him. He will someday perform a great task. We need him. Please, you must help us. You must, before the dark one prevails. Please."
"I want to help you, I really do. But I don't see how I can . . . who do I need to save?"
"You will know when the time comes. You must not be afraid."
"She mustn't,"agreed another voice, "Or it won't work. Don't be afraid, it's your purpose. Your fate. You were created to save him." The voices always told her the same thing: to save him, to protect him, to not be afraid, but she just didn't understand. She'd done her best to take care of Syaoran, what more could she do? What was her purpose? Was it even Syaoran she was supposed to save?
"Please, you have to tell me something more. Who do I have to save?"
"You must save him. Please."
"Just tell me who. What does he look like?"
The voices pleaded with her, "The boy. Please, you must save him. Promise you will." All of a sudden they rose and became panicked, "Quiet! Run, all of you, the dark one approaches. He comes for you child . . . where is our master? "
A thick black mist descended over the field and she could no longer hear anything but a low snake-like hiss, cold and barely audible, as though the fog was personified in the words, "Sanae . . . Sanae . . ." It called to her, "No one can save you now . . ."
"What are you talking about?" she sounded small and choked, the fog was making it hard to breathe. Sanae felt like she was drowning, gasping for breath. The air was heavy and she couldn't get enough of it into her lungs.
"Clow warned you not to fall in love again, but you were never one for listening to men, were you Sanae?" A pair of red eyes flashed for a split second through the grayness. "It's only a matter of time now, my dear, soon you will be mine once more. And those that stand in the way will be crushed," he sounded almost happy as he said the last words.
"I'll never be yours!"
"The strong spirits are all the more satisfying once you've broken them. Blood will be shed tonight, mark my words. Goodbye for now, my unfaithful love. I will break you, Sanae." His voice echoed her name, a sick chant that she wanted to end, "Sanae . . . Sanae . . . Sanae . . . Sanae . . . "
"Sanae . . . Sanae? Come on, wake up, it's almost six o'clock." It was Syaoran. She groaned, she had slept through her alarm.
"It's six?" she yawned and rolled out of bed, "Thanks for waking me up."
"No problem. So, why'd you sleep in?" She could tell he was trying desperately to keep his voice casual. He wanted to know something.
"I had a late night."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"So, what did you do while you were up?"
"The usual. Successfully invented a perpetual motion machine, you know, nothing big." It was fun to play with him a little. After all, he had gone behind her back and given Touya the Rayshon orb. Not that she really minded . . .
He smirked, "Wow. You know from my bedroom it sounded like you were talking with Sakura's brother."
"There must be amazing sound distortion in this house."
"Come on, tell me something Sanae."
"Nope. All you're getting is that were dating now. That's it."
"That's a start, but think about it - I'm the one that got you two together. You at least owe me /some/ of your conversation. I mean, I gave him the Rayshon orb."
"Yeah, and it could've turned out a lot worse than it did. You're just lucky I'm not throttling you this morning."
"Lucky - yes. Satisfied - no. Throw me a tiny morsel of your conversation. Anything."
"Alright, gossip monger, Touya's least favorite subject is art."
"That's all you're going to tell me?"
"Hey, you said anything," she replied simply. He looked at her exasperatedly.
"That's not exactly what I meant."
*~*~*~*
Oh God, he was going insane . . . why was this happening to him? It had started again, Yue was talking to him, wanting to take over his body, "Leave me alone!" Yukito pleaded, knocking his textbooks off his bedroom desk and gripping on to the edge, his knuckles turning white. He had to fight it.
He knew it wasn't normal. It started when he was four . . . but then everyone had imaginary friends . . . his had just lived in his head. It was Yue who had told him to be Touya's friend, Yue who had conditioned him to be nice to Sakura, Yue who had helped him through the trying years of kindergarten through grade two. By then everyone had started to grow out of their imaginary friend phase, but Yukito kept hearing the voice.
And so he forced it back. He kept ignoring it and ignoring it until it stopped. He thought he had beaten it, but six months ago it had started again, little by little. He started thinking things he never would've before; going up on the roof whenever there was a full moon. He hadn't noticed it at first, but it got slowly stronger, so much that he had to fight just to wake up in the morning. He was afraid to go to sleep. In fact, he hadn't slept in a week, since he met Sanae.
He knew it was crazy, but since she came to Tomoedo, Yue seemed to grow stronger and fight him more. It was like he was drawing strength from her. Every time Yukito saw Sanae, a quiet voice in the depths of his mind whispered something about a predecessor. He didn't understand it any more than he understood why he was faced with this problem . . .
He couldn't go to school today, he had to deal with this alone. He knew the moment Touya saw him he'd know something was wrong, and Yukito just couldn't tell him what. He didn't want to admit he heard voices, no matter how you told a person they were automatically going to assume that you had snapped. But he knew deep down that he hadn't, that there was actually someone else living inside his head . . . or maybe he really was going insane . . .
*~*~*~*
Sakura flipped the last of the pancakes out onto a plate and began to break them apart with her fork, waiting for her brother to return from his morning run. It was strange, Touya was usually home by this time. Leaving her breakfast, she got up from the table to investigate.
His sneakers were at the front door, which meant that he was either back from his run or that he had never left. Sakura climbed upstairs to see if he was in the shower, but there was no water running and the bathroom door was wide open. Perplexed, she knocked on his closed bedroom door. A quiet moan sounded from within and she entered. Her brother was still asleep, his back to the door.
"Touya, it's quarter after six, aren't you going to get up for school?"
He rolled over so that she could see his face. His normally bright, deep blue eyes stared back at her - lethargic and glassy, rimmed with dark circles. His skin was paler than usual and had a waxy, sallow look to it, while his lips were dry and cracked. He groaned again and squinted from the hall light. "Alright, I'm up," his voice was hoarse and weak.
"Are you okay? Maybe you should stay home, you don't look very good."
"Nah," he said, sitting up and rubbing his temples. "I'm fine, besides, I've got a huge physics test today which I can't miss." He stood shakily and steadied himself against the wall.
"But Touya . . ." she trailed off, it was almost no use to argue with him. Once he made up his mind he rarely changed it.
"Really, squirt, I'm fine, I just . . ." His eyes went wide and he dashed past her into the bathroom without saying anything more. She followed him and arrived seconds later to find him kneeling over the toilet. He withdrew from the bowl breathing deeply, looking pale and sweaty. Sakura ran him a glass of water from the sink and he sipped it slowly, closing his eyes. Her brother leaned against the bathroom wall, "Okay, maybe I should stay home," he conceded, "I feel awful."
"Come on, let's get you back to bed." Touya leaned on her heavily and she lead him back to his room, "Do you want me to stay home with you today?"
"Nice try, but your not getting out of school too. I'll be fine here."
"Alright then, I'll be back here as soon as school is over. I just feel so bad about leaving you here alone when you're sick."
"I can manage. Wait a minute, don't you have cheerleading practice after school today?"
"Yes, but it's okay, I can miss it."
"Sakura, I'll be fine. Go. Cheer. Lead. Wave pom poms or whatever it is you do. I can take care of myself. Can you just get either Yukito or Sanae to pick up my homework for me?"
"No problem. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yeah, I'll just be sleeping all day anyway."
*~*~*~*
Touya awoke to the sound of a ringing doorbell at a quarter to three. Maybe if he didn't answer they would go away. The rings grew louder and closer together, and were soon accompanied by incessant knocking. So much for that theory. Groaning, he grabbed his robe, rolled out of bed, and stumbled down the steps to the front door, shivering. Standing on the front porch were a man and a woman dressed in business clothes. The woman handed him a pamphlet with a picture of a family sitting outside in their yard, where a panda and a lioness were playing happily with the children.
The woman smiled at him, "Do you believe that people and animals could live in harmony like this? That this picture could indeed someday be possible?"
He had dragged himself all the way downstairs for this? "No," he answered shortly, trying to close the door. Unfortunately, the man had his hand on the frame and Touya didn't really want to hurt him . . . much.
"Well," he said, giving Touya a huge and phoney smile, "We of the Creaturia faith believe that this is the way that life is supposed to be. All creatures, living and working together. We believe we can make this picture a reality."
Touya narrowed his eyes, "Can you please remove your hand from the door?"
"If you'll just read through this pamphlet . . ."
"Please remove your hand from the door."
The man acted as if he hadn't heard Touya, "We truly believe that this situation can be achieved if . . ."
"Look," he replied, exasperatedly, "Do you know why this picture can't be a reality?"
"Because we don't have your support?" asked the woman. These people were really starting to grate on his nerves, and today was not the day to be doing it. He tended to lose his temper very easily when he got sick, "That's why we're here today. If you'd just take a look at our pamphlets . . ."
"Wrong. The reason it won't ever happen is . . ."
"Because we don't have enough members. This is where you come in. With your help, we know this is possible."
"You're not listening to me! It can't EVER happen because lions and pandas live in entirely different climates. Anybody could tell you that. If you're going to make up some crackpot religion and try to get financial support or people to join, next time at least make the pictures somewhat plausible. Then, when you drag people who feel like shit out of their beds, they won't get so damn pissed and rant at you like I'm doing! And if you don't remove your hand from the doorframe right now,"he said through gritted teeth, "you're going to lose it!" The man withdrew his hand and both of them stared at Touya in shock. He slammed the door.
"We'll just leave the pamphlets in the mailbox," called the woman from the porch. Touya sighed. Okay, possibly on another day he would have been more polite and at least tried to feign interest, but he really felt terrible. He was cold, achy, weak, and he couldn't seem to stop his teeth from chattering. To top it all off, he swore he was hallucinating. He'd been hearing these strange noises coming from Sakura's bedroom all day. It was probably from lack of food . . .
Though he was incredibly hungry, the thought of eating made him want to retch. He shuffled into the kitchen to make himself some tea, he knew he could at least stomach that and he might as well if he was already downstairs. Touya placed the kettle on the stove to boil, then collapsed in one of the diningroom chairs. His sister had left him a note on the table, and beside it sat a bottle of Tylenol and their thermometer,
"Dear Touya,
If you're downstairs I hope that means you're feeling better. I'll be home right after cheerleading practice, around 5:30. I'll make you dinner then if you feel like eating. Take care of yourself,
Sakura."
The letter was short, sweet, and to the point, but at least she was thinking about him. Touya yawned and put the thermometer under his tongue. Removing it a few minutes later, he groaned. No wonder he felt so cold, his temperature was 101.9 degrees. He dry swallowed two tylenols, then lay his head down on the table in his arms, waiting for the water to boil.
*~*~*~*
Sanae adjusted her backpack, which was twice as heavy as usual since she was carrying Touya's books, and made her way up the Kinomoto's front steps. Sakura had asked her to bring Touya his homework and also to check that he was okay after school, apparently he had a very bad stomach flu. She slid her finger across the top of the door frame and a small silver key fell to the right of the doormat, just as Sakura had said.
She entered the house quietly and slipped off her shoes, she didn't want to awaken Touya if he was sleeping. She crept up the steps as silently as she could and peeked into his room. The bed was empty. Padding back down the stairs, she started to search the other rooms in the house.
Sanae found him in the kitchen, sleeping on the table, with a kettle of what she assumed used to be water boiled completely dry on the range. She placed a gentle hand on his forehead, which was clammy and hot to the touch, "Touya?"
He made a soft noise of protest, then stirred and awoke, "Sanae? What are you doing here?" He was shaking visibly and looked as if he felt terrible, his skin pale and sweaty, his eyes glassy, his hair disheveled. She filled with sympathy.
"I came to see how you were feeling."
"Horrible," he replied, putting his head back down on the table.
She brushed a stray strand of hair from his eyes, "What are you doing down here?"
"I came down to make tea. I guess I fell asleep."
"You poor thing. Why don't you go back up to bed and I'll bring you up the tea, alright?"
"But . . ."
"If we're going to start dating, you're going to have to learn that I don't take no for an answer."
He smiled at her a little, "Okay."
- - - -
Thinking, he made his way up the stairs to his room. He hated to make all this trouble for Sanae, but it was also kind of nice to have some company, especially hers. After last night he felt as if they understood each other. He wasn't the least bit self-conscious around her, even though he knew he probably looked like shit today. The good thing about it was she didn't seem to care how he looked, only how he was feeling. She was perfect.
He crawled under the warm sheets, still shivering, and she came up to his room about five minutes later, carrying the thermometer and a cup of tea.
"Do you mind if I take your temperature before you drink the tea?"
He was honestly too tired and weak to protest, not that he really wanted to. "Go nuts," he replied.
After three minutes, she removed the thermometer. She looked at him, concern filling her eyes, "Oh Touya, you're burning up." She handed him the tea, "I'll be back in just a second okay?"
He stared at the tea uninterestedly. He didn't feel like it now, he just wanted to lay down. He reached over and set it on his bedside table, leaning back against the pillow and closing his eyes. He ached all over, he didn't think he'd get back to sleep. He heard the sound of Sanae crossing his bedroom floor as she approached the bed.
The cloth felt cool and rough as it moved gently over his fevered forehead. Somehow her just being here made him feel better. "Touya, I'm so sorry. It's my fault that you're sick."
"No it's not. You weren't the one who told me to go running in the freezing cold rain for over an hour. That was all my bright idea."
"Still, it was because of me and I want to make it up to you."
"How?" Touya was intrigued.
"Just turn over on your stomach."
Touya did as he was told. Her soft hands moved across him, massaging his shoulders and back. It was unbelievable. As soon as she started, the aching feeling melted away. Her hands slowly moved up the bottom of his shirt, lifting it so his back was exposed. Touya let himself fall into the lull of the melodic press and knead of Sanae's hands and shortly fell asleep.
*~*~*~*
Sakura slid her key into the lock and entered the dark house, nearly tripping over a backpack as she did. She saw a faint light shining from the small lamp in the hallway upstairs and followed it. Sanae didn't noticed her at first, she sat at Touya's bedside smoothing a wet face cloth on his forehead, but suddenly she turned and waved at Sakura. Rising from the chair, she closed Touya's door and joined Sakura in the hallway.
"Hi Sakura. How are you?"
"Fine." To be quite honest, she'd had one of the worst days at school she'd had in a long time. Syaoran had been avoiding her all day, and she couldn't keep her mind off Touya. "Sanae, how is he?"
"Touya's got a really high fever. It was 102.3 when I took it at 3:30, but I'm sure he'll be okay." Sanae smiled at her, "Most flu's just blow over in a day."
"Thanks for coming after school."
"No problem. Hey, if you need any more help, just give me a call, alright?"
"Okay."
"I'm going to head home now. Hopefully Syaoran hasn't burned down the kitchen in my absence," she laughed quietly, "See you later, Sakura."
"Before you go . . ." Sakura trailed off. It was sort of embarrassing. "Could you give this to him?" She held out a note she'd written today during lunch, "Please don't read it."
Sanae looked at her thoughtfully, "Sure. I'll give it to him. You have my word that I won't read it."
"Thank you."
*~*~*~*
Syaoran sat at his bedroom desk, staring at the unopened note with malice. The nerve of her . . . he'd been trying to apologize to her all day but she'd been specifically avoiding him. This little piece of paper was probably just a bomb waiting to be dropped, she had to still be upset at him because he hadn't told her about Meilin
He was happy that Sanae and Touya had worked out their problem last night, but unfortunately he and Sakura hadn't managed to progress that far. It was ironic really, they'd known each other much longer that Touya and Sanae had. Syaoran opened the note and began to read, expecting the worst.
"Dear Syaoran,
I know you've been avoiding me all day because of what happened last night, and I'm sorry that I overreacted. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me that you and Meilin were engaged. I thought as friends we could be honest with each other. Apparently I was wrong.
Your friend (I guess),
Sakura Kinomoto"
Her being hurt by him was much worse than her being mad at him. Syaoran felt sick inside, the reason he didn't tell Sakura was because he loved her. He knew that now. All the mean remarks to her, the apathetic looks, the cruel acts were his desperate attempts to hide his true feelings for her. From the moment he met Sakura he knew that he had never truly loved Meilin. He had to talk to her, it was him who should have been apologizing.
The digital numbers on his clock radio read 1:27. He couldn't call Sakura now, it was far too late, she'd be asleep. In fact, he should have been himself. Syaoran changed into his pyjama's and lay on top of his sheets, staring at the cracks on the ceiling. He vowed that he would talk to her first thing tomorrow morning; apologize to her; maybe confess how he felt; and at least try to repair their friendship. He owed her that much.
The phone rang, shattering his thoughts and the silence of the house. Who would be calling them at this time of night? Syaoran picked it up halfway through the first ring, "Hello?"
The sound of sobs met his ear, "Syaoran?"
"Sakura? What happened, are you okay?" The only answer he got was more crying, "Please tell me what's wrong."
"Can I talk to Sanae?"
"What? Sure Sakura, just hold on a second." He opened his door to find Sanae standing in the hall outside it, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Who's on the phone?"
"It's Sakura, she wants to talk to you."
"Me?" Sanae grabbed the cordless from his room, "Hello. . . what? . . . Just try and calm down . . . Yeah . . . I'll be right over . . . yeah . . . hold on . . .alright . . .it's going to be okay . . .shh . . . okay . . . good bye." Sanae looked at him, "I'm going over to the Kinomoto's. It's Touya. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"I'm going with you."
They sped through the dark, foggy night in Sanae's car, neither of them speaking. Sakura met them at the front door, her eyes were red and rimmed with tears, "He's breathing but he won't wake up. His temperature's 104, I took it before I realized. Oh God, he's going to die." She broke down and began to weep.
"Sakura, it's okay. We're going to help him. Is Touya upstairs?" asked Sanae calmly. Syaoran was amazed, she never lost her composure in situations like this and he admired her greatly for it, "Syaoran, I want you to call 911. Sakura, come with me."
He grabbed a phone off the coffee table in the living room and was about to place the call when he realized there was no dial tone, instead he heard a cold voice whispering, "Call Sanae . . . she can help . . . call her house . . . bring her here . . .you have to . . . Call Sanae . . .she can"
Syaoran pressed 911 over the strange message, but all he heard was the voice again, "That's not Sanae . . . " the phone dialed a number and it began to ring at the other end.
As it picked up he heard his own voice, "Hi, this is the Li residence. We are unable to come to the phone right now but please leave your name and message after the beep and we will return your call as soon as possible . . ." He slammed down the phone. What was happening?
*~*~*~*
Sakura watched as Sanae stood beside Touya, taking his hand in hers. "Spirits of my ancestors, help me, I beg. Bequeath your powers to my hand so I may take this undue pain for my own. Help me to heal him . . ."
Sanae fell to the floor beside the bed, breathing deeply. She turned to Sakura, panting in fatigue, "There, he should . . . be okay until the paramedics come." Syaoran entered the room. "Did you . . .call them?"
"I can't get through, the phone connected me to our house."
"It did the same thing to me," agreed Sakura, worry creasing her face as she looked at her brother. He was unnaturally pale,"Even the cell phone." She couldn't lose him, she loved him too much. He meant everything to her.
Sanae rubbed her temples in thought, "Alright, we'll go to the hospital in my car." They carried the still unconscious Touya down the stairs, Sanae taking the brunt of the lower body weight and Syaoran and herself both supporting a shoulder. Stepping out onto the front porch, Sakura heard a cruel laugh.
"My, isn't this dramatic?" came a sneering voice. Sakura followed it across the front lawn to the gate. There stood a man, clocked in black silk as Sanae had been the first time Sakura had met her. The material, which had looked like liquid ebony on her, hung stiffly off his shoulders as if it were composed solely of lead. Softly glowing black fog spewed in billows from his outstretched hands.
Sakura didn't trust the fog, it seemed to be reaching for her, pulling on her magic. The very concept that the light it shed was dark scared her more deeply that she had ever been in her life. Beside her, Touya groaned and awoke. "What's going on?" he asked groggily, turning towards her. He was still only partially conscious.
"Sakura, Syaoran," said Sanae, her voice taut and quiet, "take Touya back into the house."
"Oh, I'm sorry," replied the man with a bitter laugh, his voice as cold as the creeping fog. He waved his hand and the door slammed, "That option is no longer open. Besides my dear, they can't leave. The entertainment is just about to begin."
"What do you mean by that, Nao?" spat out Syaoran, stepping out from under Touya's shoulder and calling forth his sword.
"Temper, temper," Nao smirked. A thick black ribbon shot out from his left wrist and writhed around Syaoran's sword, throwing it somewhere into the street, the sound of metal hitting concrete echoing through the eerily still night. "One would expect more control from the next leader of the Li clan."
"Is that was this is about? Are you here because you want to be the leader?" asked Syaoran bitterly, "You're welcome to it."
"Oh no, I aspire for more than that. I wouldn't want to limit my power to that of the clan alone. I have so much more planned . . . after I claim what's rightfully mine of course."
"She's not rightfully yours and never was, asshole. Why don't you just leave us alone?"
"Not only do you have a temper, you're an insolent little fuck too. I'm not here for you anyway. You're really of no use to me, except for enjoyment. . ." more thick cords shot out of his wrist, wrapping themselves around Syaoran's waist, ankles, wrists, and throat. He was pulled toward the strange man, his eyes wide, his mouth gasping silently for more breath as the ribbons cut off his air supply. He hung in the air like some twisted puppet while the life was slowly squeezed out of him. Sakura was frozen in fear, she couldn't use her powers in front of Touya.
"Syaoran!" screamed Sanae, running off the steps of the porch where Sakura was left alone with Touya, "Ancestors from ancient lands, grant your powers to my hands. Sever!" Her magic barely moved the ribbons. Nao curled his index finger and the cord around Syaoran's neck fell like a dying snake to the ground.
"Sanae, the angrier you get the more beautiful you become. Did you really believe you could overpower me? I'm impressed though, you've certainly gotten a backbone since I saw you last."
"Really? Because you're still as slimy as an invertebrate. You know he's not the one you want, let him go."
"Very true," he said evenly, dropping the still gasping Syaoran from ten feet in the air. A sickening crack filled the night as his leg shattered. "We can't have him running off to get help, now can we? Not that the phones work anyway." He pulled Sanae towards him with a ribbon around her waist, tying her hands behind her back. Nao traced his long thin finger across her cheek, drawing blood with his nail, "Oh, my dear, beautiful, broken Sanae, you were so easy to find once you stopped traveling around the globe . . . so easy to catch . . .but I was too late, I'm afraid."
She looked at him in disgust, "Too late for what?"
"To gain your powers, of course. By the laws of the Li clan I still hold possession of them because we're still married. I have your powers for as long as I have your heart. Wherein the problem lies, my dear. You've given your heart away, but I'm not about to give your power up. No, from the moment I saw you I knew your powers far exceeded that of a normal Li. And when you spun his staff, I knew you weren't just a descendant of Clow, you were his creation. I know all about you, I found an old book he had written."
"You're crazy. What are you talking about? My parents were both Li's. And neither of them were Clow."
"You don't know?" he asked, licking the blood off Sanae's cheek. She stared back at him, anger growing in her eyes.
"That bastard," whispered Touya under his breath beside Sakura. She prayed Nao wouldn't hear him.
"You don't know," exclaimed Nao in delight, red eyes dancing in cruel amusement, "It's story time, gather round children." He smirked before continuing, "You were Clow's bitch. He used you whenever he needed a good fuck."
"What?"
"It was all in the book my dear. Clow was just screwing around with the cards one day when he was struck with a prophetic vision of a woman holding a baby girl. He knew the girl was important, but it was the mother he fell for. She haunted his every waking thought and consumed his dreams, but he knew he'd never meet her. So he set out to create someone like her, not only to be his wife but the judge of the cards. Unlike the current guardians, however, she did not draw her power from the sun or the moon - she drew it from him like the cards. And like the cards she grew too strong. But he couldn't seal her or destroy her, he had created her to come back at the same time the other guardians were supposed to. So he tried to arrange it so she would be born into a magical family, but not interfere with the cards. Unfortunately for him and yourself, it didn't work out quite as he had planned. It couldn't have been better for me, though. That is, of course, except for the unforseen glitch you fell in love with. But he will be easy to eliminate, he's practically dead anyway." Almost instantly, more black ribbon shot from Nao's hand and dragged Touya across the front lawn.
"Leave him alone," pleaded Sanae, tears filling her eyes, "Please, I'll be your wife. I'll give you my powers. Just don't hurt him."
"It's too late for that. You love him, what you just said proves that beyond a doubt. I need to have your heart fully or I can never gain your magic, and the only way to do that is to kill him." Nao pressed his fingertips together and Sakura noticed a small dark orb growing in his hands. He kicked Touya, who lay on the ground, in the stomach, "What? Afraid to call me a bastard now? Afraid to look up and face your downfall boy?"
Touya lifted his head off the cold, wet earth, "I still think you're a bastard, and I'd be ashamed if I let someone like you be my downfall."
Anger flared in Nao's eyes, "Those are strong but stupid last words." He released the dark sphere which darted towards Touya.
"Shield Card!" yelled Sakura. She watched in horror as the dark circle barely slowed when it passed through the barrier of green light the shield card cast. Touya's body jerked violently once, then lay still. Sakura ran from the porch to his side, but it was no use, he was dead. Nao had killed him and Sakura hadn't stopped it in time because she'd been too afraid to use her magic in front of her brother.
How could Touya leave her? She remembered back to when they were younger, when he sat in her room. She could still hear his voice, "I'll be right here if you need me. I won't leave you, I promise. We're in this together, mom would've wanted it that way." He'd lied to her. She needed him now and he'd left her. And it was all her fault.
"Now for you, my dear," he grinned madly at Sanae, "The time has come for you to give me the ultimate gift."
"No stop!" Sakura screamed, praying that Nao wouldn't take Syaoran's cousin as he had taken her brother.
"Sakura," Sanae addressed her softly, "Don't, I'm not worth it. I'm what he wants. Once he gets my power he'll leave. No one else needs to be hurt." She turned to Nao, "I'm ready."
Sakura could see the magic glowing around the two, Sanae's a pristine yellow and Nao's the same colour as the thick fog. He pulled her into a deep kiss, and a sound like a great wind rushing into a cove filled the night. Sakura watched in revulsion as the yellow light started to coat Nao's black magic around his mouth, slowly spreading over his entire face. Sanae's own light began to dim.
"Element: Fire," came a shaky cry from the street. Syaoran had managed to pull himself over to his sword.
Sakura joined him, "Fire card, release and dispel." Flames licked at Nao's robe and he loosened his grip on Sanae from shock, the diversion was all she needed. Sanae broke free and called forth her own sword, holding it to his throat. This was the first time Sakura had seen Sanae's weapon and it's appearance surprised her. She had expected a double edged strait sword like Syaoran's but instead it was curved, one edged and very aciculate.
Her voice was as hard and cold as Nao's had been, "Games are almost over now, Nao, but I've got one more I want you to play. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat . . . why I shouldn't murder you like you murdered your parents . . . like you murdered Touya . . . like you murdered me inside."
"Because then you would be just like me," he replied, his lips curling into an ugly smile, "But that's something you have to face my dear, you are like me. Everyone is a little bit, society's just conditioned most of us to repress our lust for power and pain, but you know you want it as much as I do. We could work together, just beneath your surface I know we're alike. Why do you think I killed my parents? They were as bad as Yoshino-san. You think you're so different from me? You would've killed Touya, too. And I think deep down you know it."
"I'm nothing like you," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, "I never would have killed him for my own personal gain, and I will not take any pleasure in ending your life. Do you think I'll rejoice after this? No, I'll wonder how it ever came to this point. The only thing I can take solace in is the fact that I stopped it from going any farther." She pulled the sword across his throat and he fell to the ground. Sanae dropped on her knees beside him, sobbing. Sakura was astonished by what happened next: the fog that had blanketed the area drew in over their yard, creating a thick cloud under Nao's body which raised him several feet into the air, surrounded by the dark glow. In an instant he vanished and the fog disappeared without a trace.
"He was totally consumed by his own darkness," reflected Sanae, still kneeling beside the spot where Nao fell, a few feet from Touya. That was when she heard the voices again . . . but she wasn't dreaming. The cards Sakura had captured floated down from her bedroom.
"Please, you must save him. You must. Don't be afraid, it's your purpose. Your fate. You were created to save him," They pleaded with Sanae, repeating their words from her dreams, "He will someday perform a great task. We need him. Please, you must help us." She didn't know how long she sat there - listening to their pleas, watching Sakura cry. She knew now was the time.
"Sanae, please don't," begged Syaoran. When had he arrived at her side? Seconds? Minutes? Hours ago? Time seemed to have no meaning. "I know what you're thinking, but you can't mess with something like this."
"Can't you hear them Syaoran?"
"Hear who?"
"The Clow cards. They need me. They need Touya. I have to save him."
"Sanae, no, please don't. This isn't your time to leave here. I'd miss you."
"Oh Syaoran, I'm going to miss you too, but don't you see? This /is/ my time to leave here. Everything Clow created had a purpose and it's time for me to fulfil mine, I've been searching for it my whole life." She pulled him into a long hug. "I love you so much." Sanae could feel the sobs racking his small body, she often forgot that he was still just a child, "You going to be okay, I know you, Syaoran. You'll get along fine without me."
"But I don't want to, you're the only who really cares about me." She stroked his hair with her hand.
"Syaoran, someday you'll find someone who cares for you as much as I do and you'll be happy. They'll be everything I was to you and more. Love's a wonderful thing, even if you only have it for a short time."
"I'll never forget you."
"I'll never forget you either. You were the best thing I ever had in my life. Goodbye Syaoran." She placed her right hand over Touya's heart and her left hand over her own. Closing her eyes, she began to chant, "Spirits of my ancestors, help me, I beg. Bequeath your powers to my hand so I may take this undue pain for my own and heal the mortal body of the bearer." Both Touya and Sanae were washed in an eerie glow and she began to scream, her cries piercing the night.
Then all fell silent. They lay motionless for several minutes, the crisp fall air stirring the blades of grass in waves. In the distance, the sound of a single, solitary bird trilling broke the morning air. It was Touya who rose from the cold ground to hear its song.
And for once in his life, Syaoran allowed the tears to come.
~The End~
And there is the conclusion to the series everyone ^_^. I was crying when I wrote this . . . R+R if you want. Though I did write it in part because people kept e-mailing me to update it, I mostly wrote it for me. It took the great advice of one author to make me see that stories shouldn't be about reviews or flames, they should be exactly what they are: the author's love and passion captured on page. My sincerest thanks to you, AzNTiGeR. I'm forever in your debt. And to all the rest of you, thank you for being such a patient and supportive audience. I hope your time spent reading this fic has not been wasted. This series is dedicated to my best friend, Amanda, who was taken away from us all before her time.