>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wild Dreaming
by animefreak
Not long after Sakura got home it started raining. Kero was nowhere to be seen around the room, so she figured he was asleep. It was kind of late. She knocked softly on the drawer Kero slept in, and waited until he came out.
"Sakura!" he greeted sleepily "What time is it?"
"Sometime around midnight" she answered simply.
The toy like creature flew over to her, immediately noticing something off about his Mistress. She looked so tired...and it wasn't just from skiing.
"What's going on, Sakura?"
"Well, Kero..." she began, trying to stifle a sob "This was a really...horrible trip"
And she broke down in tears. Kero hovered over her, not sure about what he should do. This was just so odd.
"Oh, Sakura, don't cry!" he tried to comfort her, though concern dripped in his voice "You know you can tell me anything! You can trust me!"
She got up from her bed and walked over to the window, wiping her tears away. Where to begin?
"Something's wrong with me, Kero" she sighed "I think I'm going crazy"
"What happened?"
"I think I saw something, but I'm not sure. Something tells me I'm in trouble here, but there aren't any clues to what could be happening...I feel helpless...and it scares me" Her voice came across sad, low, almost...defeated.
"What is it that you saw?"
"That's the thing, I don't know. It couldn't possibly be a Clow Card...because I've got them all...or could it be?" she asked, a silent plea present in her voice.
"Not that I know of" he answered, crushing every bit of hope Sakura could have had. She had years of experience as a Card Captor, so if it had been a Clow Card, even a difficult one, she would have been able to handle it. But an unknown enemy, an enemy that was messing with her head...she just didn't know.
"I think I'm going to call it a night, Kero" she whispered "Maybe some rest is what I need to figure this out"
"I think you should too" he replied, little arms crossed on his chest.
She smiled at him and patted his head. She felt a lot better to know Kero was there by her side in case anything happened.
*****
Syaoran finally sat up on his bed. Again, he couldn't sleep. He had the distinct feeling that something was missing, but he couldn't quite place a finger on what it was.
For the umpteenth time that night, his thoughts drifted off to the lovely Card Captor. He had felt the same thing she had, but he didn't tell her. If he told her, she would know she wasn't imagining things, but it would scare her beyond words. He knew something was out there to get them, but he would be damned if he allowed anything to happen to her. What was it? An evil spirit? A monster? He wasn't exactly the expert on these things. Where would he begin investigating? The thing didn't leave a lot of clues behind it. All he had was this feeling tugging at the corner of his mind...a very scared sorceress...not really a strong basis for investigation. But he had to find out. He didn't really care much about what happened to him; he had to do this for her.
Sakura rollerbladed slowly to school next morning. She didn't want to get there. She remembered the time when she used to enjoy every inch of the way to school. Even though she had been chosen as the Card Captor, she was still free and happy. Not that she was unhappy now, but everything seemed different. She was sad, and scared...she felt helpless against whatever this was that was stalking her. She could now feel it strongly, following her every move, as if waiting to attack her at her weakest. She felt defenseless and strangely alone, like no one could possibly help her if she needed it.
It was really early when she got there. She changed into her school shoes and headed for her classroom. She couldn't stop thinking about this past weekend, everything weird about it...the dream. The thought had crossed her mind that this dream was something someone set up. But it didn't quite match. Why would someone make her dream about...that? With what purpose? To make her reel? To make her so embarrassed that she would...stay away from Syaoran? That didn't make any sense. Why would someone want to keep her away from him? What horrible thing could possibly happen if she got any closer? Besides, she and Syaoran were only friends and that's what they would always be. She would never have enough courage to tell him how she felt, so it was bound to stay a secret forever.
She opened the classroom door. There he was, sitting in his usual place, chin in hands looking out the window.
"Good morning" she whispered, as if not to interrupt his meditation. He turned around to look at her, frown knitting his brow as usual.
"Good morning" he replied hesitantly. She got the impression that he was about to tell her something else.
"What's...up?" Sakura couldn't hold back a smirk, noting the troubled expression on his face.
"I need to talk to you" his voice was quiet, almost an unintelligible whisper.
"Well--" she began, just as they heard the door slide open. Tomoyo.
"Hello, you guys!" she greeted happily "Did you get any rest last night? It's so weird to see you two here so early..."
Suddenly she noticed she had interrupted something. She grinned mischievously and muttered an apology that sounded way too much like a snicker. Sakura and Syaoran both blushed furiously.
"No, no, don't apologize!" Sakura waved her hands giggling nervously in front of her "We were just talking!"
"In that case..." Tomoyo smiled "I edited the tapes from the trip. Will you come to my house today to watch them? You too, Li" she added.
Sakura cast a quick glance at Syaoran, whose eyes silently asked her to decline. This must be serious then, she thought.
"You know, Tomoyo, I remembered I'll have a ton of housework to do this afternoon. My father's away at another dig you see? And Touya has this very tough test on Friday and he'll be out studying like crazy...so you see, everything's up to me this afternoon!" she excused herself. Tomoyo fought the sly grin that tugged at the corners of her mouth. It was obvious she was lying, and that she was going to meet Syaoran that afternoon. That's so sweet, she thought.
"Well, it's okay" Tomoyo conceded "We'll do it some other time"
*****
The day passed by as slowly as it possibly could, at least for Sakura and Syaoran. History, Literature, Art...and finally Maths. Syaoran, who was very good in maths and was usually the first one to solve any kind of problem they were given, was stuck in a stupid equation. He couldn't concentrate. He had reached the same conclusion Sakura had hours ago: that dream of his was induced by someone, something...for some reason he had yet to figure out. It was probably the same Sakura had thought she'd seen back at the mountains. Which meant that he had to gather every ounce of courage he had, and tell her about what he'd felt, about his dream...everything. The presence was only getting stronger as time passed by.
The last bell finally rang, a collective sigh of relief rose from the crowd of tired teens. Everyone began gathering their stuff, talking gaily to each other about the plans for this afternoon, the surprisingly small amount of homework they had been given that day, and anything a bunch of seventeen year olds were bound to talk about. Sakura, however, remained at her desk, patiently waiting for everyone to leave the room, so that she and Syaoran could resume the morning talk that had been interrupted. She waved and smiled sweetly to everyone who said goodbye to her, and declined gently every invitation she received from any friend to get some ice cream, watch a movie...Syaoran was starting to feel bad about it. She wasn't at all like him. She was beautiful and happy, she had friends, a life of her own. It was so unfair to deprive her of that. Maybe he should really figure this out on his own.
"Maybe you should go out and have some fun, Sakura" he said softly "Maybe that's what you need"
"You needed to talk to me...so we'll talk" she replied, determination in her voice "So, Penguin Park?" a knowing smile crossed her features. Penguin Park was such a familiar place for the both of them. They had shared so much at that park. He nodded and walked to the door, sliding it open for her.
They walked to the Penguin Park in silence. By the look on his face, this was a really important issue he wanted to discuss with her and she couldn't help but wonder. He was sorting out the words in his mind. How would he tell her about this? It was private, deeply embarrassing...it involved her, for crying out loud. They finally reached the park and sat on the swings.
"Brings memories, ne?" she tried to lighten up the atmosphere, feeling suddenly nervous and uncomfortable.
"I had a dream too, Sakura" he blurted out, not wanting to wait any more. The tone of his voice, the deep concern present in it sent a cold shiver down her spine. This was big, she could tell. A fierce blush covered his cheeks.
"A...dream?"
"Yes. A dream. A dream...about you"
------------------------------------------------------------------------